Food Tourism, Policy and Sustainability: Behind the Popularity of Thai Food

Abstract

Behind the success of Thailand’s food tourism lies national strategies and initiatives promoting the globalisation of Thai food. This chapter analyses government policies related to the food and tourism industries and investigates the evolution of food production and food tourism development in terms of food supply and sustainable food tourism. The economic sustainability of food production and distribution has been the focus of the past 17 years of Thai food policies. Meanwhile, the approach to gastrodiplomacy has successfully created positive images and global awareness of Thainess and increased inbound food tourism to the country. While the sustainability of the food supply chain has not yet been incorporated into food tourism, the potential for gastrodiplomacy to be implemented in the tourism sector is discussed in terms of tourists’ engagement with the different stages of the food supply chain, and how sustainability will in time be achieved through food tourism.