Good to see that Thailand just about topped Rwanda. I might go there for a holiday next year. http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag.../laughlong.gif Then again, North Korea has a good comparable ranking. Is this an early April Fool joke??? Must have been compiled just as the PAD were hijacking the airport.

Thailand Performs Badly as a "brandname"
 

In today's world it is more important than ever for countries to manage how they are perceived. International prestige and clout, exports, foreign investment and tourism are all closely tied to a country's image. Powered by Perception Metrics*, East West Nation Brand Perception Reports provide detailed analysis of how your country is perceived in major media throughout the world, compiled by state-of-the-art computer programs that draw on massive data resources. Can you guess where Thailand is ranked in the list of 200 countries? We are not first as that honour belongs to Singapore. We didn't even beat Columbia or Bosnia. We are in fact quite a long way down the list. Check out our placement here:

http://www.eastwestcoms.com/global_annual_2008.htm

At least it's not based on this forum, that be really bad then

In Sweden Thailand is still the third most popular destination (after Denmark and Spain), as it has been for the last couple of years.

What we can see however is the shift towards charter and all inclusive packages, and a reduction in people who buy chairs only.

Hi

If you look at the methodology used for this graph it almost makes sense.
they are baseing it on negative or positive news reports or mentions in 32
different publications. It seems like anytime i see an article about Thailand in western press it is always negative. so a very skeewed view.

Lately we've had democracy overthrown by military coup, democracy overthrown by civil coup, largescale massacres and extra judicial killings in the south, nearly invading Cambodia and human rights attrocities with Burmese refugees.

Maybe the ratings not so surprising.

I always give Thailand a big "up" when talking to people about the manufactured goods there as a lot of them don`t know the difference between chinese made "goods"? and Thai goods.
Maybe because nobody knows anything that Burma produces, the country has no negative feedback.
Just my thoughts

I don't think I know anyone who as a casual tourist would consider Rwanda or Burma ahead of Thailand. A lot of people are just interested in beaches and sunshine and as long as there are reasonably cheap flights and packages to be had people will keep coming, and travel agents will keep pushing them. Those with a bit of experience will know that it's quite rare for Thai politics to have any impact on tourism, like the closing of the airport.

Competition, especially on price, from newly-established beach resorts would have a much more significant effect than more positive media mentions for Burma, Rwanda, Andorra or Ireland.

worse than Burma? now that does surprise me.

The ranking is about Thailand as a brandname - not about products. It is how the international media (and therefore the world) see Thailand. The rankings shouldn't be dismissed so quickly because we rely on tourism so much. If Rwanda has a better reputation than us then people will go there next year for their holidays. The link I gave is an average for the year 2008. You can click on links to see the ranking for earlier in the year. For example, in the second quarter Thailand was ranked 122nd.