Thailand manipulated us all.
And it might just be the most brilliant marketing strategy of all time.
Introducing: Gastrodiplomacy.
While countries spent millions on ads and billboards during this time, Thailand made you try (and eventually crave) pad thai.
In 2002, they launched a wild plan:
“Let’s make Thai food so popular around the world… that people book flights just to eat the real thing.”
(Oh, and bonus: the more people love you, the less likely they are to invade you.)
So what did they do?
Trained thousands of chefs
Gave soft loans to open Thai restaurants abroad
Created “Thai Select” certification for authenticity
Standardized menus, recipes, and decor
Turned every restaurant into a mini Thai embassy
The results?
5,500 → 17,500+ Thai restaurants abroad
10M → 40M+ tourists to Thailand
Pad Thai became more recognizable than their flag
Food exports exploded
Thailand’s brand evolved from “cheap beach” to “food paradise”
No Super Bowl ads. No billboards. No banner ads.
Just the world’s first scalable taste funnel.
Thailand didn’t advertise the country. They exported the craving.
Most of us travel for food. It's one of the most powerful, defensible brand channels in travel - and yet, it's wildly underutilized.