Shanghai-based Ctrip is penetrating the local market with the launch of a gourmet list for Thailand, offering gastronomy tourism to Chinese tourists.
Chief executive Kimi Liu said the company has offered the gourmet list in China since 2016, giving travellers easy access to food and restaurant recommendations and convenient online table booking in major cities worldwide.
Ctrip is one provider of travel services in China offering accommodation reservation, transport ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management. The extension of Ctrip Gourmet List is set to provide a Chinese cuisine rating system for Chinese travellers.
By the end of 2017, the Gourmet List covered 15,000 restaurants in 120 popular destinations in China and around the world. The firm has seen triple-digit growth since being launched, with the number of restaurants and destinations on its platform growing rapidly.
"Taste the City Food List of Bangkok" for Thailand was introduced last year, with 303 restaurants having been added to the Ctrip Gourmet List as of this month. Among them are nine Ctrip Star restaurants (two two-star and seven one-star), 206 "Ctrip Selected" restaurants and 88 "Ctrip Flavor" restaurants.
These restaurants were selected by 16 gastronomic committee members, 500 personal judges and 1,500 gourmet hunters.
He said nearly 100 guests and local restaurants attended the Ctrip Bangkok Gourmet List ceremony last week.
According to Ctrip's 2017 Outbound Travel Report, one-fifth of all Chinese outbound travellers visited Thailand in 2017.
"As more Chinese travel to Southeast Asia, the awareness of local specialities and well-known local restaurants will offer travellers a perfect entry point into not just a wonderful gastronomical experience but a greater understanding and respect for local cuisine," said Mr Liu.
He said Bangkok is an important city in Southeast Asia, with Thai cuisine reflecting diversity and inclusiveness. Mr Liu said Bangkok is the gastronomical capital for local delicacies and boutique cuisine, showcasing the rich gourmet culture of Southeast Asia.
Gastronomy is one segment of sustainable development for travel, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, he said, with Ctrip looking to both expose Chinese tourists to delicacies worldwide and give the outside world a taste of China's food culture.
