French magazine ranks Thailand 5th best place in the world for retired people
Thailand has been ranked the fifth best place in the world and the best in Asia for retired people, according to a French magazine, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said.
The list published by the magazine "Capital" was made available by the website Retraite sans Frontieres.
Greece, Portugal and Spain top the list.
The ranking was based on 12 criteria: cost of living, real estate, medical, cultural heritage, environmental heritage, food, weather, leisure activities, safety, difficulty in adaptation, transportation convenience, and infrastructure. Each criterion has a different value depending on how elders chose cities to retire.
Thailand scored high on cost of living, real estate, and medical. Thailand was only one of two Asian cities/countries on the list apart from Bali, which reflects the good image of Thai tourism, the website said.
The website added that the Covid-19 pandemic and transportation hurdles might have affected the rankings, as other countries in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea were listed due to their proximity to France. In spite of that, Thailand took fifth place.
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Most importantly, Thailand also has no territorial links to France nor does it use French as an official language. It confirmed that Thailand is the favourite tourist spot for French tourists, especially elders, the website said.