The kingdom of Thailand is at the heart of Southeast Asia. It is a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar and Southern China. It is naturally divided into four quadrants with mountains to the north, vast rice paddies in the Central plains and semi-arid farmlands on the Northeast plains. In the south, lies a string of tropical islands that follow the coastline of the peninsula southward.

Thailand is a country of 76 provinces divided into districts, sub-districts and villages. Bangkok is the capital city and is also the core of political, industrial, cultural and commercial activity. It is also the seat of Thailand's revered Royal Family where His Majesty, the King is recognized as Head of State, Head of Armed Forces, Upholder of Buddhist and all other religions.

Thai tourism is expanding with a projected end of year total of 13.8 million international visitors in 2007. Tourism has brought in revenue earnings projections of around 486 billion Baht.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has set a goal of 14.8 million international revenues of 547.5 billion Baht.

Between January and September of 2007, international visitor arrivals from East Asia rose by 23.54% to a record 5,694,169 persons.

In addition the following areas have experienced record growth:

• Korea +41.52%
• China +36.93%
• Hong Kong +33.85%
• Taiwan +26.36%

Other areas of growth were seen from European visitors with international visitor arrivals from:

• Europe +24.66%
• Russia +97.45%
• UK +10.40%
• Germany +21.04%
• Sweden +46.06%
• Norway +33.11%
• Finland +30.39%

Visitors who are coming to Thailand tend to go for the luxury villa rentals for which Thailand is so well known. Surrounded by beautiful beaches, mountains and top quality recreation and cultural activities, there is always something to do in Thailand.

Standing out from the rest is Phuket and Krabi with luxury villas, immediate occupancy and a choice between a bit more urban or totally secluded and private.

Thailand has won many awards for its high quality of tourism, the top-notch infrastructure and accommodations. It was recently featured in the Swedish travel publication, Travel News and was presented with the annual Grand Travel award. This award is equivalent to the Oscars of the travel industry with this has being its 15th consecutive year. Thailand is considered first in the world for having the Best Tourist country, making this the fifth consecutive year that Thailand has won the prestigious Swedish Grand Travel Award ranking equal with countries like South Africa, the United States, Italy, China, Greece, Denmark, Spain, France and Croatia.

Thailand has won other awards as well. These include Asia's very own award-winning, luxury, travel and lifestyle magazine, DestinAsian, which bestowed the DestinAsian Best Hotel award to Bangkok.

At the outset in Bangkok, guests are pampered, and when it comes to luxury villas for rent, they roll out the red carpet of choices. Stunning villas are located only a few hours from the capital making weekend getaways very popular for high-flying professional arriving from Hong Kong. All they are looking for is relaxation and special spa treatments next to their private pools in their luxury villa, and that's exactly what they receive in the paradise called Thailand.