New York in the 1920s. London in the 1960s. Hong Kong in the 1980s – if certain decades encapsulate a city’s boom years, then Bangkok is nailing the 2020s.
The Big Mango rounded off the year as 2024’s most visited city, attracting 35 million international arrivals – short of its initial 40 million target but well ahead of runners-up Istanbul, London and Hong Kong.
There have always been plenty of reasons to visit the Thai capital, from its wondrous temples and thrumming street markets to the fabulous food and raucous nightlife.
Recently, however, Thailand has been encouraging visitors to stay longer, extending visa-free breaks from 30 days to 60 for citizens of 93 countries, including the United Kingdom.
Digital nomads can also now apply for a Destination Thailand Visa, allowing holders to reside in the Land of Smiles for 180 days per entry, valid for up to five years. Plans are also in the pipeline for a “Six Countries, One Destination” initiative, similar to Europe’s Schengen visa, to facilitate seamless travel between half a dozen Asean nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Malaysia).
This all provides the perfect opportunity to eat your way across the region, starting in Bangkok, of course, where the latest Michelin Guide dished out 45 Bib Gourmand awards (many to street food stalls), 26 single Michelin stars, seven awards of two Michelin stars, and three stars to the exceptional Thai restaurant Sorn.
Recognition from the Michelin guide forms part of a push towards attracting more high-spending travellers. Thai hospitality has always set a high bar, thanks in large part to the warmth of the people, who follow Buddhist beliefs that encourage compassion, patience, generosity and a tolerance towards others. This is enhanced by the Thai love of “sanook”, a concept that values fun and enjoyment as an everyday part of life. It’s a winning combination that along with an influx of Thai and foreign investment has brought a flurry of new hotels to what was already a thriving scene.
Over the past five years, Bangkok has seen the arrival of cool US brand The Standard, preppy pet-friendly Kimpton Maa-Lai, architecturally striking Sindhorn Kempinski, swish integrated wellness retreat Rakxa, Jean-Michel Gathy-designed Four Seasons, as well as Capella Bangkok, which was voted number one in the World’s 50 Best Hotels list in 2024. Not long before that, the city’s Mandarin Oriental came top in The Telegraph’s own Hotel Awards.
I recently swung by the just-opened Dusit Thani. The André Fu-designed hotel was awash with beautiful people in black tie and couture gowns attending a high-society awards ceremony. Ferraris and Lamborghinis were being valet-parked out front.
I devoured a £250-a-head white truffle tasting menu at Cannubi, the latest outpost of chef Umberto Bombana, and spent the following evening doing laps of the hotel’s fifth-floor infinity pool staring into the inky black abyss of Lumphini Park ringed by dozens of sparkly new skyscrapers. It was a scene as glamorous as anything you might find in Paris or Hong Kong.
Most notable among the new edifices was One Bangkok, the city’s latest lifestyle hub, built at an estimated cost of US$4 billion (£3.3 billion). It’s home to offices, residences, designer malls, art spaces, a concert hall and, eventually, five luxury hotels.
The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok was the first of these to debut, in December 2024, with 260 park-view rooms and suites, an ethereal spa and a French restaurant. It will be joined by the sleek Andaz One Bangkok at the end of this year. Elsewhere, the 52-suite Aman Nai Lert is slated to open in February, with further five-star competition coming down the line from the Langham, set on the Chao Phraya River in the beautiful old Customs House, which featured in the dreamy Wong Kar-wai film In the Mood for Love, and the eco-futuristic Six Senses Forestias, located in the city’s banyan-shrouded suburbs.
Paper pushing and the hard hats of construction have also been teamed with some spectacular soft-power moves of late. In a news cycle that feels overwhelmed with war, despair and despotic billionaires, the Land of Smiles has given us regular reasons to grin – something impossible to put a price on.
Even the new series of The White Lotus (airing from Feb 17) is getting in on the act, partly filmed at none other than the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, as well as in Koh Samui and Phuket. It stars Thai rapper and singer Lisa, one of K-pop’s biggest celebrities; Britons may not have heard of her but she is by far the most globally famous member of the cast.
The show benefited from a 30 per cent cash rebate on all international film and television projects, which the fourth Jurassic World film, Jurassic World Rebirth, due for release in July, also took advantage of. Then there’s Thailand’s first Oscar-nominated film, How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies, a bittersweet family drama set in Bangkok’s atmospheric Talat Phlu neighbourhood. It’s been a huge box-office smash across Asia.
The weepy is currently available to view on Netflix, alongside dozens of “boy love” and “girl love” television dramas it has shown such as 2gether (2020), KinnPorsche (2022) and Moonlight Chicken (2023), which have transformed queer television – and not just in Asia.
Thailand’s support for LGBTQ+ rights is also delivering a major win for the country, as only the second country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage fully, following Taiwan. Thailand’s marriage equality bill comes into effect imminently, on Jan 22, with hundreds of couples expected to tie the knot in Bangkok that day, before registration rolls out across all 928 of Thailand’s districts.
The bill is anticipated to bring in an additional four million tourists annually, and, according to online travel agency Agoda, will boost the economy by US$2 billion (£1.6 billion).
Throw in the return of direct flights with British Airways from Heathrow to Bangkok and there may never have been a better time to take a bite out of the Big Mango.
Dusit Thani Bangkok offers doubles from £321, Capella Bangkok from £658 and Mandarin Oriental Bangkok from £452.