If there’s one thing most people agree on when travelling, it’s that food is a major consideration when picking a destination. According to Booking.com data from over 50,000 global travellers, more than six in ten travellers say they pick a destination for its great food or drink. There’s no denying the significance of culinary travel, with more than a third of global travellers – rising to 40% of millennials – planning to take a dedicated food adventure in 2018.
It’s also clear that our appetite is only increasing with almost half of global travellers are still looking to be more adventurous with the type of cuisine they eat while travelling, rising to 60% of millennials. One way to achieve this is to sample the local delicacy whilst travelling, with research showing 64% of global travellers will try to eat more local food in 2018.
Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, reveals the top destinations around the world to sample local gastronomy, as discovered by the millions of Booking.com traveller reviews.
Local delights: the places to try
Some of the best places to try the local cuisine are in Southeast Asia, with regional delicacies like dim sum, noodles and pho. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that exploratory eaters also come from this area, as 57% of Asians confirm they are looking for new cuisine to try this year.
Top destinations for tasting local food:
- Ipoh, Malaysia
- Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Nagoya, Japan
- Johor Bahru, Malaysia
- João Pessoa, Brazil
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Colmar, France
- Lima, Peru
- Catania, Italy
- Belgrade, Serbia
Street food markets
Over half of Aussie travellers are likely to seek out local street food markets this year, which is a great way to experience the destination in an authentic way. More than half of travellers want to experience more unique dining experiences when travelling and food trucks are the perfect way to do this. Millions of Booking.com reviews by real travellers reveal the top destinations to enjoy these unique foodie experiences:
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Top destinations for street food
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Top destinations for food trucks
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Jeonju, South Korea
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Portland, USA
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Hsinchu City, Taiwan
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Sao Paulo, Brazil
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Marrakech, Morocco
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Seoul, South Korea
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New York City, USA
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Bangkok, Thailand
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Mexico City, Mexico
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Istanbul, Turkey
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A photo good enough to eat
Social media is filled with photographs that show off travelling and foodie adventures. Beautiful, bright and unusual foods are the perfect way to fill your feed and offer an opportunity to show off local foodie finds. Nearly a third of travellers plan to take more food pictures this year. This is most popular amongst Asian travellers from China (65%), India (57%), Thailand (53%), Indonesia (50%) and Hong Kong (48%).
Pepijn Rijvers, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Booking.com comments: “Food plays a huge role in our travel choices and ultimately in our overall travel experiences. Trying the local and street food is a great way for travellers to really embrace the local culture, get immersed in local communities and explore the new and different. Using our endorsements from real traveller reviews can help you identify the best places to try and new places to discover so you can taste your way around the world!”
