A recent survey of international travelers has identified Thailand as the world's top travel destination despite a widespread perception that the country suffers from "civil unrest".

The survey, conducted by Visa International Asia Pacific and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), found that 52 percent of respondents were considering Asia as their next travel destination, 9 percent more than in the previous year's survey.

Thailand was again rated the No. 1 destination on travelers' holiday lists, followed by Japan and China, the survey released by Thai local newspaper The Nation on Tuesday said.

At least half of the respondents in each market surveyed chose Thailand as their most likely holiday spot despite international media attention on Thailand's civil unrest in the weeks before the survey was conducted. They emphasized the country's reputation as a relaxing place where visitors could enjoy the local culture, natural beauty and friendly people.

The survey, called "Asia Travel Intentions 2007", questioned more than 5,000 international travelers from 10 key travel markets around the world and examined their travel intentions, as well as the drivers of and barriers to their travel.

Source: Xinhua