Conducted by the popular travel website, TripAdvisor, the index aims at helping US travellers identify the destinations that offer the best value by comparing the price of a one-week trip to different Asian cities between 1 November, 2015, and 30 April, 2016. It evaluates primary travel expenses including a seven-night hotel stay and average round-trip airfare from the US as well as a year-over-year comparison of the overall costs.

In the rankings of the top 20 best value destinations in Asia, Chiang Mai came in fourth, Bangkok in seventh place, and Phuket – Kathu in particular – tenth.