Thailand plans to hold the world's first "Kaphrao Grand Prix" in Bangkok to showcase the authentic Thai dish to foreign travellers and increase local ingredient exports. (Photo: hot-thai-kitchen.com) Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand plans to hold the world's first "Kaphrao Grand Prix" in Bangkok to showcase the authentic Thai dish to foreign travellers and increase local ingredient exports, aiming to increase food expenditure among tourists from 20% to 25% by 2027.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that for the first time, the agency will hold an official promotion dedicated to pad kaphrao, a dish beloved by locals and tourists.
Pad kaphrao consists of meat such as pork, chicken, beef, and seafood stir fried with Thai holy basil and garlic. It is served with rice and topped up (optional) with fried eggs or khai dao. The main seasonings are soy sauce.
In the past, a similar event was held to promote pad thai - a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as street food in Thailand as part of the country's cuisine.
Yuthasak said that food is a major factor when tourists make travel decisions.
He added that the Pad Kaphrao Thailand Championship expected to take place from August 25-27 near Phadung Krung Kasem Canal seeks the most authentic recipe and promotes culinary tourism.
Yuthasak said food is considered one aspect of soft power to stimulate tourism spending and help increase local ingredient exports, as Thailand is among the top 15 primary ingredient exporters in the world.
If the Thai recipe becomes more known, it could help grow food innovation research, he said.
Recently, Bangkok and Thailand were named Asia's best culinary city and Asia's best culinary destination in 2023, respectively, by the World Culinary Awards.
Yuthasak said the TAT's strategy is to lure tourists to explore regional and local destinations through a variety of dishes.
The TAT aims for tourism revenue of 2.3 trillion baht (65.4 billion USD) this year, with food contributing around 20% of total receipts./.
