Canadian travellers have voted Phuket the top wellness destination in Air Canada Vacations' 2026 Travellers' Top Picks Awards, presented on 22 September near Toronto. The result lands in a Canadian market that is growing modestly: Thailand received 180,510 visitors from Canada between 1 January and 21 September 2026, up 2.35% on the year before. This briefing from a Thailand DMC for travel agents sets out the award, the numbers, how Canadians reach Thailand, and how to build a wellness programme around the result.
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What the award is
The Travellers' Top Picks Awards are run by Air Canada Vacations, the tour operator of Canada's largest airline, and 2026 is their second year. The operator reports more than 1.3 million votes across ten categories. Phuket won the Wellness category. Other winners included Paris for romance, Prague for arts and culture and New York City for a city break.
A consumer vote run by a tour operator is not a market study, and it should not be sold as one. It is still a useful signal: it shows that Canadian travellers already connect Phuket with wellness, which makes a wellness-led product easier to explain to them.
The Canada market in numbers
Figures reported by The Nation put Canadian arrivals at 180,510 from 1 January to 21 September 2026, up 2.35% year on year, and describe Canada as Thailand's ninth-largest long-haul source market. It is a small market beside Thailand's largest, but a steady one at a time when overall arrivals are below last year.
The Thai government has linked the award to its aim of attracting higher-spending travellers rather than more of them. For an agent, that points to longer, better-planned trips rather than short, price-led ones.
How Canadians reach Thailand
Air Canada operates a nonstop service between Vancouver and Bangkok. In September 2025 the airline announced that the route, until then seasonal, would become year-round from summer 2026, and it describes itself as the only airline with continual nonstop service from North America to Thailand. Frequencies change by season, so confirm the days for your client's dates. Clients from eastern Canada often connect over Vancouver or through an Asian or Gulf hub.
The journey is long in either case, so plan the first day in Thailand as an arrival day. Our North America market briefing covers trip length and itinerary shape for long-haul North American clients.
Building a wellness trip around Phuket
Choose the stay before the treatments. The resort sets the tone. Look for a property with a real spa programme, quiet grounds and a restaurant that can follow a client's diet.
Give the programme time. A wellness stay works best over five nights or more, with treatments spread across the days and free time between them. Phuket can be the second half of a trip that starts in Bangkok or Chiang Mai.
Keep the logistics invisible. A private transfer from the airport, set times for treatments and a single contact for changes let the client rest. A Thailand DMC can plan the resort, the treatments and the transfers together. See our wellness tourism service, our Phuket destination guide and our briefing on the Global Wellness Summit in Phuket.
Next steps
Use the award in your marketing as what it is, a traveller vote, and pair it with a clear itinerary and inclusions. Our page for Canadian agents explains how we work with the market. Send your dates and the client's wellness goals to the trade desk, and your Thailand DMC will return a programme with the ground arrangements costed together, drawing on our full Thailand DMC services.
Frequently asked questions
What award did Phuket win?
The Wellness category in Air Canada Vacations' 2026 Travellers' Top Picks Awards, a traveller vote presented on 22 September 2026 near Toronto.
How many Canadians visit Thailand?
180,510 from 1 January to 21 September 2026, up 2.35% year on year, according to figures reported by The Nation.
Is there a nonstop flight from Canada to Thailand?
Yes. Air Canada flies nonstop between Vancouver and Bangkok and announced that the route would become year-round from summer 2026. Confirm frequencies for your client's dates.
How long should a wellness trip to Phuket be?
Five nights or more at the wellness resort works best, often as part of a two- or three-week trip that starts elsewhere in Thailand.
Can you arrange the resort, treatments and transfers?
Yes. We plan and quote the resort stay, the treatment programme and the transfers together for the trade.
