Thailand is well positioned to capitalise on food‑focused tourism with its abundant natural resources and cultural assets—local cuisine, medicinal herbs and traditional medicine, as well as wellness tourism utilising natural landscapes, community sports, and religious traditions, reflecting experiential travel trends. As wellness and food tourists increasingly seek authentic experiences, local wisdom helps preserve cultural identity and provides location-specific wellbeing offerings. Local wisdom consists of place-based knowledge and practices passed down within communities through stories, rituals, and everyday experience. Integrating the slow food principles with local wisdom in food and wellness tourism promotes cultural sustainability, strengthens community resilience, and broadens the destination’s tourism portfolio. But how can they all be achieved together? Dr. Ann Ashton will discuss how these components are practiced in Thailand, including the realities, complexities and future directions based on her research.
