Florence in Italy, San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and Rome, Italy were the other cities that made up the top five.

Bangkok returns to the No 1 spot, having last held that ranking in 2008. The capital ranked third last year and Chiang Mai was fifth.

A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with ROI Research Inc, was made available to its readers from Dec 15, 2009, to March 31, 2010.

Bangkok  Governor  MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that he will go to New York next week to receive the award, the ceremony for which will be held next Wednesday.

MR Sukhumbhand said he is pleased with the award and it shows that Bangkok's popularity among tourists worldwide remains good.

"It must be noted the survey was completed in March when the political situation and the red shirt protest were not yet critical," he said.

“Bangkok regained the top spot in Travel + Leisure’s 2010 World’s Best Awards readers’ survey, announced last week, closely followed by Chiang Maiin the second. Meanwhile, 10 Asian hotels are placed in the top 100 hotels in the world, with Peninsula Bangkok (named as Asia’s number 1 city hotel) coming in at number 7 and Four Seasons Singapore at 14. Other Asian properties placed in the list’s top 50 include Shangri-La Singapore at number 20, the Four Seasons Resort in Chiang Mai (27), the Hotel de la Paix in Cambodia (29) and the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, also in Chiang Mai (45).

Also scoring highly in the poll, voted for by readers of all six editions of Travel + Leisure, are Singapore Airlines (Top International Airline) and Bali (Top Asian Island and fourth in the Top Islands Overall category).”

The above is culled from our own T+L SEA press release, but it doesn’t delve into how Bangkok won, what it means, and how it should be interpreted. Some of the livelier forums, at least here in Bangkok, have been buzzing about this “honor,” with many users complaining that it’s inaccurate at best.
This is wrong-headed thinking, although it’s clear that some confusion has arisen as to the nature of the results. Well, it is what it is, to be honest. First off, the poll—accessible online by readers of the U.S. and international editions of T+L under stringent U.S. survey/polling regulations—is a reader survey (not a dubiously subjective editors’ opinion piece) of global travelers’ favorites.

In the Best City category, readers were asked to rate sights, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people, shopping, and value. It is not any sort of “livability” index, or any other imaginative interpretation of “World’s Best City.” It was also conducted from December 2009-March 2010, before the recent problems in Bangkok kicked off.

That said, the strong showing of Asian properties and destinations is really no surprise. Asia, and particularly Southeast Asia, continues to offer some of the most attractive world-class properties, located in such varied locations as exotic rain forests, vibrant cities, and even on water; with such a choice, Southeast Asia will remain one of the world’s most popular regions.

In addition, the fact that Bangkok has been voted in the top spot this year, as it was in 2008, is testament not only to the myriad attractions on offer and the variety of top-drawer hotels, but also to the Thai people and culture, both of which bring so much joy to travelers. My hope is that this win will further boost Bangkok tourism recovery efforts, which all of us are committed to.

The full results will be published in the August edition of Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, out August 1.

Chiang Mai was the first apperance the World's Best in year 2005 in to the top ten at the 5th place and 2nd Place for Asia's Best Cities, year 2006, 2007 & 2009was the 5th Place.

Chiang Mai, the "City of Life & Prosperity" of its own unique culture and nature with 715 years old city (Ancient Kingdom of Lanna) used to voted as the following accolades;

ASIA's Most Livable Cities
Voted by AsiaWeek Magazine / CNN.com

Year 1998 (Ranked 20th) Year 1999 (11th) Year 2000 (13th) Year 2002 (13th) Year 2009 (9th)

Here it is - Asiaweek's urban equivalent of the annual report card. What makes a city a pleasant place to live in? Clean air counts, as does economic vitality. Of course, good looks help too - and a sense of fun. The 40 candidates surveyed can't parade in front of judges, so we have measured them by allocating points depending on their performance in 23 indicators:

- average life expectancy, - hospital beds per 1,000 people, - per-capita state expenditure for education, - average class size in primary school, - university-educated people as a percentage of total population, - sulfur dioxide in the air (ppm), - dust/suspended particles in the air - micrograms per cubic meter (?g/m3)
- average monthly rental per sq meter, - ratio of housing price to income, - sq meter of parks and fields per capita, - vehicles per km of city road
- existence of a mass transit rail system, - number of movie theaters per 100,000, - unemployment rate, - GDP growth, - annual urban inflation rate
- vacation and public holidays per year, - criminal cases for every 10,000 persons, - number of telephones per 1,000 people, - average time taken to commute to work, - number of TV sets per 1,000 people, - percentage of population with sewerage

Chiang Mai City would like to give a big applause to the following distinguishers who are work either direct or indirect behind the scene to pick up for this award.

1.    Mr. Amonphan Nimanan, Governor of Chiang Mai City
2.    Mr. Boonlert Buranupakorn, President of Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organization
3.    Mr. Tassanai Buraupakorn, Mayor of Chiang Mai City
4.    Mr. Somchai Maichandaeng, Director Office of Chiang Mai Tourism & Sport
5.    Mr. Chalermsak Suranan, Director Chiang Mai Office, Tourism Authority of Thailand
6.    Mr. Narong Kongprasert, President of Chiag Mai Chamber of Commerce
7.    Mr. Sarawut Saetiao, President of Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association
8.    Mr. Phunut Thanalhaopanich, President of Thai Hotels Association (Upper North Chaper)
9.    Mr. Somrit Haicome, President of Chiang Mai Guide Association
10  Ms. Sunisa Tuvanont, President of Chiang Mai Restaurant Club
11. Mr. Pakin Plypicha, President of Thailand Spa
12. Mr. Chinarong Yokthongma, President of Chiang Mai Car Rent Club
13. Mr. Thaweewat Thaveephol, President of Chiang Mai Glof Course Club
14. The peoples of Chiang Mai