Ten thousand Chinese have been invited to feast on sticky rice with mangoes on Sunday at a fair near Bangkok aimed at luring back tourists from China.
The dessert will be one of the highlights of the event being staged near the lake at Impact Maung Thong Thani in Nonthaburi from 4pm to 10pm on Sunday. It is part of the “We Care About You” project originated by the tourism panel of the National Legislative Assembly, and coordinated by the Association of Thai Travel Agents.
The timing and publicity value are important for Thailand, as the busiest travel week of the year is coming up from Feb 4-10 when China celebrates the Lunar New Year. Chinese account for more than a quarter of all foreign visitors to the country.
The event will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, whose insensitive remarks following the Phoenix tour boat tragedy last July touched off the downward spiral in Chinese visits in the first place.
Sticky rice and mango will be among the attractions at Sunday’s fair. (Bangkok Post file photo)
On the menu will be what is claimed to be the world’s largest sticky rice and mangoes feast. In addition to 5,000 mangoes, 1.5 tonnes of sticky rice have been prepared. The organisers aim to submit it to Guinness World Records.
Some 10,000 Chinese have been invited to enjoy the dessert along with other Thai food and fruits, cooking demonstrations, Otop booths, as well as Thai-Chinese dances.
The tour boat Phoenix capsized off Phuket in a storm on July 5, killing 47 Chinese tourists coming back from a diving trip. It was one of the worst tourism-related accidents in local history.
After the accident, many Chinese began to question whether they would be safe in Thailand. Sentiment worsened after Gen Prawit blamed Chinese tour operators for the tragedy, but he later apologised.
Chinese arrivals fell 6.7% month-on-month in August. They plunged a further 25.3% in September and 0.23% in October before rebounding by 4.5% in November. Official December figures are not yet available.