[The label of a pink and white boxed face cream sold in a Bangkok hypermarket proudly states that it is based on the “snail secretion system.” The “Snail White” brand and a few positive reviews are enough to convince Chinese tourists to buy this unusual product.Alice Chen, a 21-year-old Chinese college student, saw this face cream online and wanted to try it because she could not take it home with her. Another 22-year-old Chinese tourist bought a sample at the Big C Ratchadamri store. The price was about $40 per package, and the blogger in question claims that the product was of good quality and cheap. Meanwhile, at a dessert café in Bangkok\’s Siam Paragon shopping mall, another group of Chinese tourists took pictures with their phones of a rare snack made from durian, a yellow fruit known for its sulfur-like odor and grown primarily in Southeast Asia

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About 11 million Chinese tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year, 10 million more than in 2010, making the Chinese the most frequent visitors to the region. According to Thai government data, Chinese tourists will also spend more in Thailand than before. It is not only hotels, tour operators, and airlines that are benefiting from the increase in Chinese tourists. Much of their spending is being spent in retail stores, restaurants, and on food and beauty products targeted at the Chinese.

Do Day Dream is the company that developed the Snail White whitening cream. Boxes of this cream, which the company claims is made from snail slime extracted in Korea, are sold in bulk at airports and shopping malls in Thailand. According to Piyawat Ratchapolsit, CFO of Do Day Dream, sales of Snail White products have surged since 2014, as bloggers in Hong Kong and Singapore have stamped their products with attractive reviews In 2017, the company\’s sales grew 35% to 1.7 billion baht (1.1 billion kroner)
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