
Bangkok rises 4 places in global study destination survey
The Thai capital placed 55th in the QS Best Student Cities rankings, up from 59th in 2024.
'Bangkok has a low cost of living and relatively cheap tuition fees,' it said, adding that the Thai capital is also a location for tertiary education institutions recognised by the authoritative QS World University Rankings.
Seoul led all cities for study this year, changing places with London which fell to third place, while Tokyo remained second. Munich and Melbourne rounded out the top five.
The South Korean capital was praised for hosting leading universities and being a safe place, among other factors. Seoul is the location of three universities in the QS Global Rankings: Seoul National, Yonsei and Korea universities.
The city-state of Singapore stayed at 11th, followed immediately by the Malaysian capital. 'Singapore's reputation as a centre of educational excellence has flourished in recent years,' the survey said.
'Considering the multicultural, exciting student lifestyle on offer, it's unsurprising that Kuala Lumpur has proved popular with students.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Bangkok Post
4 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Chinese arrivals to dip below 5m
Despite flight subsidies and incentive group stimulus, the number of Chinese tourist arrivals this year is expected to plunge below 5 million, significantly lower than the 6.7 million recorded last year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, deputy governor of international marketing for Asia and South Pacific at TAT, said the government's stimulus package worth 750 million baht should help drive Chinese arrivals to 5 million. She said travel agents have started to submit plans to operate chartered flights, which should start in August. "We're examining both tour prices and itineraries to ensure they are high-quality," said Ms Pattaraanong. Chuwit Sirivejkul, executive director of the East Asia region at TAT, said the agency is working directly with the provincial governments in China to promote tourism between the two countries. "Chinese tourists want sincerity from the Thai government, not a boast that all places are safe. They love Thailand, but they want to be warned or recommended about activities or incidents," said Mr Chuwit. Lertchai Wangtrakuldee, director of the Shanghai office, said all five TAT offices in China are less reliant on social media influencers and are pivoting to user-generated content about Thailand, encouraging tourists to submit their content to the TAT in exchange for gifts supported by tourism operators. Mr Lertchai said the decline of the Chinese market this year can be attributed to more intense competition from Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, which have invested heavily in an effort to attract Chinese tourists. Vietnamese packages sold to the Chinese only cost 999 yuan (4,522 baht) in recent months, he said. As of July 20, Thailand has recorded more than 2.53 million Chinese tourists. The best-case scenario for this market in 2026 is 6.9 million, noted the TAT. The agency said daily Chinese arrivals only tally 15,000, while their average spending is 52,000 baht per trip. Mr Lertchai said room remains to attract tour groups from six regions under the TAT's Shanghai office, including Anhui, Shandong and Jiangsu, areas where tour groups accounted for 90%, 40% and 35% of total arrivals, respectively. This trend is similar to other regions, such as Hainan and Jiangxi in southern China, and Liaoning and Shanxi in northern China, which all have tour groups as a major segment. According to Dragon Trail International, 31% of Chinese travellers used travel agents or tour guides to find tourism information. Many large agents use live-streaming to sell packages, said Mr Lertchai. Ruedee Cheawsamoot, director of TAT's Kunming office, said the agency is tapping niche markets that are willing to spend, such as seniors. The agency is also planning to host a dance competition and a party in Thailand, which are their favourite activities. In addition, the TAT is promoting Thailand via campaigns targeting Chinese university students learning the Thai language in Yunnan and nearby provinces.

Bangkok Post
14 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Chinese travel agents call for clarity
Chinese travel agents have already quizzed Thai tour operators about the clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border over concerns the situation may impact their clients' travel plans, says the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), while Thai AirAsia has observed a surge in Thai passengers on its flights serving Cambodian cities. Following clashes on Thursday, which caused at least 13 Thai civilian fatalities, some countries, including the United Kingdom (UK) and the US, issued a warning to their citizens to avoid border areas in the provinces of Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) issued a statement assuring the safety and security of tourists as the top priority of relevant government authorities. The statement advised travellers to avoid certain areas in seven provinces in the East and Northeast, including the provinces of Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi and Trat. Atta president Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn said the incident would undeniably hamper tourism for the remainder of this year, but the scale of the impact would depend on how long the conflict persists. 'Even though most Chinese agents are still confident that major tourism cities remain robust, the problem is with Chinese tourists' perception following media reports and whether they will delay their trips' said Mr Thanapol. At Atta's roadshow scheduled to visit Chongqing, Lanzhou and Hangzhou next week, the association plans to use the opportunity to clear up any misinformation and reassure the Chinese that Thailand is safe to visit. Another focus is informing tour agents they stand to benefit from joining the Thai government's stimulus programme. Mr Thanapol said the dispute will require the government to work much harder to secure 5 million Chinese tourist arrivals this year, which is the state's minimum target. Sarawadee Thiamprasert, managing director of At Ubon Travel, a tour operator based in Ubon Ratchathani, said a tour group of more than 20 domestic tourists maintained their bookings scheduled for next week, but they did ask the company for clarification of the situation. Mrs Sarawadee said popular attractions were not located near the Cambodian border, but the Mun River and Pha Taem National Park were quite close to the border with Laos. She said the risky areas were mainly located within agricultural zones and neighbourhoods, where the authorities already helped Thais to evacuate to safe areas. In addition, Ubon Ratchathani airport is operating as normal. Last year Ubon Ratchathani received 3.8 million visitors generating 9.1 billion baht in revenue. If the conflict persists, tourism revenue might contract from last year, attributed to weak travel confidence, slow economic growth stemming from the conflict, and sluggish border trade, said Mrs Sarawadee. As of July 24, Cambodian arrivals had plunged by 27% year-on-year to 229,240. Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia reported its routes serving Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, each operating two flights a day, had an average load factor of 80% and 90%, respectively, during the first half of 2025. During July 21-25, the airline secured a high load factor, with the number of Thai passengers surging, prompting it to use Airbus A321neos with 236 seats rather than Airbus A320s to accommodate more passengers.

Bangkok Post
16 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Central Pattana in tie-up with Fazaa Card
Central Pattana Plc (CPN), a leading real estate developer and the operator of Central shopping centres nationwide, has announced a major collaboration with Fazaa Card, the largest national CRM programme in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to offer privileges to wealthy Emiratis. CPN is the first and only shopping centre developer in Asia to enter into a partnership at the ecosystem level with a UAE national-level partner and is offering special privileges at CentralWorld, Central Village and Central Phuket, which are located at top tourist destinations. The Fazaa Card is a premium membership card established by the UAE's Ministry of Interior with over 1.5 million members including high-ranking government officials and civil servants, investors, those who receive special privileges from the Golden Visa Card, and those with high purchasing power. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, chief marketing officer at CPN, said Middle Eastern tourists are a high-value and high-potential market for Thai tourism. In 2025, members of this group can generate a cash flow of up to 90,000-100,000 baht a trip from their spending, he said. This partnership reflects CPN's success in connecting with high-end international customers worldwide, aligning with the Tourism Authority of Thailand's focus on attracting quality shoppers, he added. Mr Nattakit said there are three strategies fuelling the partnership. Firstly, the company has established a strategic alliance with a national-level CRM that includes the Fazaa Card. He said this alliance not only helps to accurately reach the upper-level target group, but also elevates Thailand's potential to become a 'Global Elite Destination'. It can utilise the Fazaa Card's powerful CRM database and platform to design joint campaigns to boost consumer spending and promote the image of Thai brands internationally. Previously, CPN collaborated with the Esaad Card, a UAE membership card established by Dubai Police. Secondly, CPN curates experiences for high-spending tourists. Fazaa card members will enjoy welcome packages with discounts of up to 40% from leading stores in shopping centres; exclusive lounge access at CentralWorld and Central Village; Aquaria Phuket tickets at Central Phuket; shuttle bus passes from CentralWorld to Central Village and from Central Village to Suvarnabhumi Airport; and free gifts and exclusive discounts from selected brands. Lastly, Mr Nattakit said the company is strengthening its reputation as a global elite destination and creating a complete tourism ecosystem by seamlessly connecting with world-leading partners. These include WeChat Pay, Alipay, MasterCard, Klook, The Shilla, Lotte Duty Free and Daimaru.