Page 25 - FoodFocusThailand No.165 December 2019

SPECIAL FOCUS

SELECT brand was given for the first time for system such as FoodPanda, Scootsy, Zomato, Box8, QikServe, Petoo, Holachef, etc.
579 Thai restaurants meeting standards while Cultural change in food consumption nowadays is different from the past. In the old days,
creating new selling point for other Thai SELECT Indian people prefer freshly cooked foods. However, frozen food has become a must-have
restaurants previously certified and raising item in each household. This is a good opportunity that Thai entrepreneurs should not
confidence about the Thai SELECT standard overlook. Finding frozen chicken curry, Massaman and Pad Thai in a fridge of an Indian
among tourists. family is no longer a surprising thing.
To strengthen tourism sector in the long run, Although the Indian society has become urbanized, Indian people usually bring lunch
the government should encourage both to schools and workplaces. Dabbawala is the Indian-style lunchbox delivery business that
authorities and private sector to prepare several is still growing well. Thai restauranteurs can tap into this market segment by partnering with
factors and create suitable environment for the India-based Dabbawala business for distributing Thai-style ready meals. It can be a
promoting tourism, the government-initiated fast-growing business which can be operated around the clock as IT business works 24
Pracharat Market and One Tambon One Product hours a day. Food catering business and wedding can also be promoted together. Remember
project, floating market, community and health this, Indian wedding is huge. Fusion food mixed with Indian ingredients such as milk, butter,
tourism. Infrastructure and transportation should spices and various kinds of nuts, like Massaman, indian noodles and masala can even top
be developed in potential areas for introducing up the flavor!
new tourist destinations, for example, the world-
renowned Khun Nam Nang Non in Chiang Rai.
Law enforcement and punishment against any
violation in order to maintain good environment
of the place, campaign agianst litter and plastics
should be exercised while promoting safety
enhancement for tourists and sustainable
tourism, income distribution to community over
marketing promotion.
The Dual Trends of Thai Food and
Tourism in India
With over 1.3 billion population and growing,
India’s income per head of USD 1,900 reflects
increasing income capacity. Food consumption
also expanded by 15%. The statistics report by
the National Council of Applied Economic
Research in 2016 showed up to 267 million
Indians were the middle class. The amount of
the middle class population in India is expected
to grow to 547 million by 2025-2026.
People usually look for overseas travelling
opportunities when the economy is better.
Thailand is one of the major destinations for
Indians particularly Pattaya, Samui, and Phuket.
Over one million Indians visited Thailand in 2017.
However, businesses providing services to
Indian tourists are still limited and can be
expanded to cover this tourism segment. There
are still not many authentic Indian restaurants
serving vegetarian foods. Indian dancing venues
for special occasions are still limited when
considering the fact that Indians of all ages really
like dancing and there are hundreds of festivals
in India.
Indian wedding is very interesting. For
Indians, wedding is not only just about ceremony,
but also the time for families and business
partners of the bride and the groom to get
together. Over 300 rich Indian couples travelled
to Thailand for spending THB 10-60 million
budget on their glamourous wedding
extravaganzas. Organizing a wedding in
Thailand is 2-3 times cheaper than in India.
Guests coming to wedding receptions may be
inspired to open a Thai restaurant in India. This
is interesting because Indians have such a high
purchasing power. Several restaurants can be
seen everywhere from Indians and international
cuisine, fast food outlets can be seen in big cities
in India. Some places opt for online food delivery
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