Phuket In Thailand Ranks As The Top Asian Bucket List Destination

The fact that Phuket in Thailand is a popular bucket list destination for 2019 will come as a surprise to no one. Over 9-million travellers flock to the island’s sun-soaked shores every year, and it is considered to be one of the world’s finest coastal destinations.

We recently conducted a survey asking travellers across the globe (including Europe, North America, and Australasia) to identify the top countries, cities, attractions, and events on their bucket lists. Respondents were allowed to offer multiple answers for each category since many people don’t have only one destination on their bucket list.

You can view the global results of the survey here. Below, we take a look at the results specific to Asia.

Thailand features on 41.7% of the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by Japan (33.3%), Vietnam (30.6%), China (27.8%), Indonesia (25.2%), Cambodia (23.2%), India (22.8%), Singapore (22.2%), Malaysia (19.4%), and Nepal (13.9%).

Thailand remains a firm favourite on bucket lists around the world, ranking first in Asia and fourth globally, following Australia, the USA, and Canada. The country has enjoyed steady growth over recent years, recording a 7.5% growth in visitor arrivals in the past year totalling 35-million nationwide, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

This has been attributed to the cooperation and creativity of the entire Thai travel and tourism industry to ensure that it remains the country’s primary sector for job creation, distribution of income nationwide, and contribution to cultural, heritage, and environmental preservation.

The country also continues to draw crowds due to its fantastic cuisine, beautiful beaches, and stunning Buddhist temples. Thailand also has many islands, including the famous Phuket Island, and glorious weather that is warm and sunny all year round.

Phuket, Thailand (48.6%) appeared most frequently on the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by Tokyo, Japan (37.1%), Hong Kong, China (31.9%), Singapore, The Republic of Singapore (31.2%), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (25.7%), Bangkok, Thailand (22.9%), Delhi, India (17.8%), Mumbai, India (17.1%), Shenzhen, China (11.4%), and Macau, China (8.6%).

Phuket is still an overwhelmingly popular city on bucket lists around the world, proving to be the most popular destination in Asia by a significant margin, and it is also the second most popular destination worldwide (with Sydney, Australia taking the top spot). Even though it's becoming an increasingly expensive destination, it still ranked higher than other popular destination, such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and much more.

Over 9-million travellers flock to the island’s sun-soaked shores every year, creating a 15:85 ratio of Thai locals to foreign tourists, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office. It offers travellers over 30 stretches of white, sandy beaches along a bright, warm ocean, and visitors can enjoy a speedboat trip to the famous Phi Phi Islands, or enjoy a relaxing cruise around the Phang Nga Bay.

The Great Wall of China in China has been added to 41.7% of the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by Mount Fuji in Japan (37.2%), The Forbidden City in China (36.8%), Taj Mahal in India (36.1%), Ha Long Bay in Vietnam (28.2%), Mount Everest in Nepal and Tibet (27.8%), Angkor Archaeological Park in Cambodia (26.3%), Komodo Island in Indonesia (25.7%), The Grand Palace in Bangkok (25.1%), and Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai (22.2%).

Every year, more than 10-million people flock to the Great Wall of China, making it one of the world's most popular tourist attractions. It is also the top bucket list destination for Asia and the second most highly ranked tourist attraction globally after the Great Barrier Reef.

It is so popular, in fact, that officials have set a visitor cap at China's busiest Great Wall section – especially during holiday seasons – set at 65,000 visitors a day in an effort to improve the safety of visitors and the protection of the tourist sites, according to the Badaling District Office.

Every year, a marathon is run on the Great Wall – and event that made it into the top 10 of bucket list events in Asia despite being one of the toughest running races on earth. The event attracts 25,000 participants from over 60 nations.

The Dragon Boat Festival in China (42.9%) is the event that has been added most frequently to the bucket lists of those surveyed. This is followed by Chinese New Year in Singapore (41.2%), Winter Light Festival in Japan (40.1%), Lantern Festival in Taiwan (37.1%), Rainforest World Music Festival in Malaysia (22.9%), Songkran in Thailand (20.3%), Holi in India (18.6%), Thaipusam in Malaysia (17.1%), Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea (12.5%), and the Great Wall Marathon in China (11.4%).

The Dragon Boat Festival has been celebrated in China for over 2,000 years and is the top bucket list item in Asia as well as the second most globally after Carnival in Brazil. It is a celebration where attendees eat rice dumplings (zongzi), drink realgar wine (xionghuangjiu), and race dragon boats.

Dragon boat racing is a time-honoured custom of the festival, derived from worshipping activities for totem pole dragons in ancient China. It has now become an international sporting event, attracting nearly 90 million tourists during that time, according to a report by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The Dragon Boat Festival was also selected as one of the National/UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage items on May 20th, 2006. The festival is important for the country’s economy, raising nearly 40 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) during the three-day break.

Related reports:

• Global travel bucket list trends 2019 report
• Top bucket list destinations - Europe
• Top bucket list destinations - Africa