TRAVEL POLL

What do travellers want? Service, service, service...

Readers opted for simplicity and local flavour. The demand was for service, service, service. Kudos to these doughty winners who emerged after vigorous scrutiny by a super-critical audience wearying of post-Covid staff shortages and sub-par standards.

JUMP TO Best Airlines | Best Business Class | Best Cabin Service | Best Budget Airlines | Best Luxury Hotels | Best Holiday Destinations | Best Cities for Meetings | Best Airports | Best Business Hotels | Best Value Hotels | Best Spa Hotels | Best Conference Hotels | Best Boutique Hotels | Best Family Hotels | Best Wedding Hotels | Best Leisure Hotels

THE results of the Smart Travel Asia 20th Anniversary BEST IN TRAVEL POLL are in. While classics continued to excite, many opted for fresh faces, simplicity, and local flavour. Not all picks were at the top of the luxury spectrum. Winners ranged from marble-slathered palace hotels to friendly boutiques with knee-bumping furniture; from big thrumming cities to unassuming locations. Younger readers opted for contemporary products with a faster pulse while older readers stayed with nostalgic aspiration.

Our broad mix of frequent travellers —Zoomers, Millennials and Baby Boomers — emerging from years of frustrating lockdowns, were in the mood for the real essentials of travel — service, warmth, value. (Millennials proved to be increasingly brand conscious - but confusion about brand promise and identity was rife, especially amongst leisure travellers.)

{Staggered destination reopenings affected rankings with stronger cities lifting their products but muscle memory remained strong for some brands

Service has been hard to secure these days as hotels and airlines struggle to staff up and retrain personnel. Speaking of passenger frustrations on a flight to Japan, one reader wrote: "According to her [the cabin attendant], the airlines can’t find new recruits so they’ve been pulling people out of retirement or offering incentives to stick around." He adds: "While it’s great to employ people regardless of age, a few of the elderly attendants seemed too tired to do the work."

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There were complaints about excessive costs for hotels and food, and lost baggage on airlines. But chiefly, it was about waning service.

The poll ran through September 2023, open to a global audience without restrictions, via our website, newsletters, word of mouth, and airline and hotel referrals. We talked with focus groups across our network and sought editorial input. Affluent frequent travellers poured in from USA and Europe, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Australia. We received votes from South America and Latin America and even from embattled Russia and Ukraine. This is a true bird's-eye view from people who travel frequently to and within Asia.

Average travel stood at 10 trips annually (down from 14 in 2018) while a noticeably younger audience ranked key travel interests as: adventure/nature, culture/history, dining/nightlife, spas, shopping, family travel, and weddings. Business travel remained strong and conference travel intent had picked up.

THE SmartTravelAsia.com BEST IN TRAVEL POLL is a market research exercise that has run since 2005. This purely online magazine was launched in January 2003, the first of its kind in Asia. This is an independent, free, and fair poll with no nomination fees. We track anomalies and eliminate repeat votes and garbled entries. The drop-down menus provided on the polling page are purely a spelling check device. The spell check does not indicate a finite universe and voters are free to key in their choices. In severale categories, products (especially hotels) are bunched together as the scores are too close to call. This poll has done away with the customary TOP 25 Lists and opted for a TOP 10 that has narrowed ranks considerably.

Top 10 Airlines WORLDWIDE 2023 Rank 1. Singapore Airlines 2. Emirates 3. Qatar Airways 4. Japan Airlines 5. All Nippon Airways (ANA) 6. Cathay Pacific Airways 7.  Garuda Indonesia 8. Korean Air 9. Air France 10. Thai Airways International Top 10 Airlines, Cabin Service WORLDWIDE 2023 Rank 1. Singapore Airlines 2. Emirates 3. Cathay Pacific Airways  4. Qatar Airways 5. Garuda Indonesia 6. Japan Airlines 7. Bangkok Airways 8. Thai Airways International 9. Vistara 10. Air Astana Top 10 Holiday Destinations ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Bangkok 2. Bali 3. Maldives     Hokkaido 4. Tokyo 5. Phuket     Taipei     Macau 6. Goa     Kyoto 7. Koh Samui     Siem Reap (Angkor) 8. Langkawi     Danang & Hoi An     Seoul 9. Palawan     Bhutan     Sanya 10. Phu Quoc       Raja Ampat, East Indonesia       Bohol Top 10 Luxury Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Kudadoo Maldives 2. Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape, Bali 3. COMO Uma Punakha. Bhutan     Amankila, Bali 4. Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Bali 5. Aman Tokyo     Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur 6. Raffles Singapore     Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok 7. The Peninsula Hong Kong     Rosewood Hong Kong     The Upper House, Hong Kong 8. Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok     Bulgari Hotel Shanghai    The St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort 9. Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An     Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, Hokkaido, Japan     Signiel Seoul 10. The PuXuan Hotel & Spa, Beijing       The Siam Hotel, Bangkok      Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi Top 10 Business Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. The Oberoi New Delhi 2. The St Regis Bangkok 3. Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok 4. The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai     Mandarin Oriental Tokyo 5. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore      Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong 6. Rosewood Beijing     Waldorf Astoria Bangkok 7. Park Hyatt Bangkok 8. Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok     The Upper House, Hong Kong 9. Regent Taipei     Fairmont Makati, Manila 10. Grand Hyatt Hong Kong       Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Top 10 Spa Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Ayana Resort & Spa Bali 2. Banyan Tree Phuket     Kamalaya Koh Samui 3. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island     Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan 4. COMO Shambhala Estate, Bali     Bulgari Resort Bali     Chiva Som Hua Hin 5. Banyan Tree Samui     Zannier Hotels Bai San Ho, Vietnam 6. Six Senses Samui     Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa          Penang 7. The Royal Pita Maha, Bali     JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa 8. Maya Ubud Resort & Spa    The Peninsula, Bangkok    Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel 9. Hyatt Regency Bali     Pangkor Laut Resort 10. Tugu Bali       The PuLi Hotel and Spa, Shanghai       SO/ Bangkok Top 10 Family Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Soneva Jani, Maldives 2. InterContinental Bali Resort 3. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa 4. Alma Resort Cam Ranh, Vietnam     Centara Reserve Samui 5. Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa,       Penang 6. The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa     Shangri-La Boracay 7. Grand Hyatt Bali 8. W Singapore Sentosa Cove     The Fullerton Ocean Park Hotel 9. Santiburi Koh Samui     Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa 10. Sofitel Sanya Leeman Resort       Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok Top 10 Value Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Hotel Continental Saigon 2. Novotel Bangkok Ploenchit Sukhumvit Hotel 3. The Chow Kit - an Ormond Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 4. Jen Singapore Orchardgateway by Shangri-La 5. Aloft Kuala Lumpur     Courtyard by Marriott Bali Nusa Dua Resort 6. Humble House, Taipei 7. Villa Nirvana, Ubud, Bali 8. The Funny Lion, El Nido 9. Jambuluwuk Oceano Seminyak, Bali 10. Colonel's Retreat, New Delhi

Top 10 Airlines, Business Class WORLDWIDE 2023 Rank 1. Emirates 2. Qatar Airways 3. Singapore Airlines 4. Cathay Pacific Airways 5. Japan Airlines 6. All Nippon Airways (ANA) 7. Garuda Indonesia 8. Thai Airways International 9. EVA Air 10. Delta Air Lines Top 10 Budget Airlines ASIA 2023 Rank 1. AirAsia 2. IndiGo 3. Jetstar Asia 4. Scoot 5. Spice Jet 6. Cebu Pacific 7. Peach 8. Air Arabia 9. HK Express 10. Vietjet Top 10 Airports WORLDWIDE 2023 Rank 1. Singapore Changi Airport 2.Hamad International Airport, Doha 3. Incheon International Airport, Seoul 4. Haneda Airport, Tokyo 5. Munich Airport 6. Zurich Airport 7. London Heathrow, T2 8. Beijing Daxing International Airport 9. Hong Kong International Airport 10. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport         Mumbai, T2 Top 10 Cities for Meetings ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Singapore 2. Bangkok 3. Phuket     Bali 4. Danang     Dubai 5. Langkawi      Ho Chi Minh City 6. Seoul 7. Taipei     Goa 8. Kuala Lumpur 9. Manila 10. Hanoi Top 10 Boutique Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Aleenta Phuket Phang Nga Resort & Spa 2. Capella Ubud, Bali 3.  Amorita Resort, Bohol     Tanah Gajah, a Resort by Hadiprana, Ubud, Bali 4. Wild Coast Tented Lodge - Relais & Chateaux,        Sri Lanka     Azerai Ke Ga Bay     La Reserve 1785, Canggu, Bali 5. Hotel Indigo, Bangkok 6.  The Warehouse Hotel, Singapore 7. Hotel Proverbs, Taipei 8. TIA Wellness Resort, Danang     The Library, Koh Samui 9. Sujan Jawai, Rajasthan, India      Asai Bangkok Chinatown 10. MansionHaus, Goa       SALA Khaoyai       The Fleming, Hong Kong       Diaoyutai Boutique Hotel Chengdu Top 10 Conference Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Shangri-La Hotel Singapore 2. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore 3. The St Regis Singapore 4. JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach 5. The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali     Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur 6. The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore     The Athénée Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel,         Bangkok 7. InterContinental Bangkok     Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong 8. Conrad Bangkok     Grand Hyatt Hong Kong 9. Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur     Grand Hyatt Seoul     JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong 10. Wynn Palace Cotai, Macau       Raffles Jakarta       Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing       Niccolo Chengdu Top 10 Wedding Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula          Resort 2. Amanpuri Phuket 3. Ayana Resort & Spa Bali 4. Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali 5. Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin     Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay 6. The Datai Langkawi     Capella Bangkok 7. Waldorf Astoria Bangkok     The Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur     Capella Singapore 8. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa    The Apurva Kempinski Bali    The Athénée Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel,         Bangkok 9. Grand Hyatt Bali 10. Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok       Trisara, Phuket       Samode Palace Jaipur Top 10 Leisure Hotels ASIA 2023 Rank 1. Amankila Bali 2. Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Bali     Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at         Chao Phraya River 3. Andaz Bali     Patina Maldives 4. Dusit Thani Maldives     Centara Reserve Samui 5. Shangri-La Boracay     InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula          Resort 6. Azerai La Residence, Hue 7. SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort     E&O Penang 8. JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa     Regent Phu Quoc 9. The Standard Bangkok Mahanakhon     Sofitel Legend Metropole, Hanoi 10. The Chedi Muscat, Oman       Rosewood Bangkok

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