The latest olive branch came in the form of a Guinness World Record-breaking banquet on January 20, to which 10,000 Chinese tourists were invited to feast on dessert made from 5,000 mangoes and 1,500kg of sticky rice.
Titled - We Care About You, the event was presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, the man who had stoked ire after the tragedy by telling the media it had been a case of “Chinese doing it to Chinese”, the tour boat in question having been operated by a Chinese company.
The timing of the event, just ahead of the Lunar New Year, was no accident, as Thailand hoped to cash in on one of Asia’s busiest travel weeks of the year.
It’s possible that Gen Prawit believes sincerely that a big banquet with tonnes of the country’s favourite dessert being handed out for free will suffice in assuaging the Chinese tourists’ feelings.
It remains to be seen whether the sticky rice and mango diplomacy will succeed in sending a goodwill message from Gen Prawit to the Chinese tourists he insulted, and whether enough of them will arrive in Thailand soon to boost the national income and sagging economy.
Tourism Observer
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