The “Global Thai” program, launched in 2002, was a government-led Culinary Diplomacy initiative. It aimed to boost the number of Thai restaurants worldwide to 8,000 by 2003 from about 5,500 previously. By 2011, that number had increased to more than 10,000 Thai restaurants worldwide.
The program was explained in Thailand: Kitchen of the World, an eBook published to promote the program. The point of the e-book. “In the view of the Export Promotion Department, Thai restaurants have a good business potential that can be developed to maintain a high level of international recognition. To achieve that goal, the department is carrying out a public relations campaign to build up a good image of the country through Thai restaurants worldwide.
The Department of Export Promotion of the Thai Ministry of Commerce offers potential restaurateurs plans for three different “master restaurant” types—from fast food to elegant—which investors can choose as a prefabricated restaurant plan. Concomitantly, the Export-Import Bank of Thailand offered loans to Thai nationals aiming to open restaurants abroad, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand set up an infrastructure for loans of up to US$3 million for overseas food industry initiatives, including Thai restaurants.