In recent years, Thailand has been actively stimulating culinary tourism as a vital strategy to boost its tourism industry. Personally, I do believe that there are both advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
On the positive side, Thailand has the diverse culinary so that it is easy to lure tourists to explore regional and local destinations through a variety of dishes, this may lead to tourism expenditure increase. For example, in 2023, Thailand was held the enormous events to showcase the authentic Thai dishes to lure foreign travellers to explore their country. As a result, there are a lot of tourists from many countries exploring Thailand and experiencing local cuisines, this may lead to tourism revenue increase for Thailand. We cannot deny that food is one aspect of soft power to attract tourists, stimulate tourism spending and contribute to Thai economy.
On the negative side, Thailand may face environmental challenges due to food production increase to serve the numerous demand of travellers, this may bring about more waste generation. This have a bad effect on residents’ health and Thailand tourism industry. For example, travellers often go to Thai markets to enjoy local cuisines, this can lead to crowded concentration, so that, the amount of waste generated is much higher. Some studies show that the amount of waste in markets in Thailand can be up to 5 kg/per business household per day. This large amount of waste causes many environmental problems and the quality of life
In conclusion, the promotion of culinary tourism is a primary economic strategy. However, it is necessary to acknowledge both benefits and drawbacks of this approach.