Going local is the essential ingredient for an unforgettable foodie adventure

If there’s one thing most people agree on when traveling, 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 four in ten travellers (41%) say they pick a destination for its great food or drink. There’s no denying the significance of culinary travel, with 19%) of Canadian travellers - rising to 40% of millennials - planning to take a dedicated food tourism trip sometime in 2018.

It’s also clear that our appetite is only increasing. Almost half (43%) of Canadian travellers are still looking to be more adventurous with the type of cuisine they eat while traveling, rising to 60% of millennials. One way to achieve this is to sample the local delicacy while traveling. In fact, more than half (56%) of Canadian 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.

Street food markets

Almost half (44%) of Canadian travellers are likely to seek out local street food markets this year. Millions of Booking.com reviews by real travellers reveal the top destinations to enjoy these unique foodie experiences:

A photo good enough to eat

Social media is filled with photographs that show off traveling and foodie adventures. Beautiful, bright and unusual foods are the perfect way to fill your feed and offer an opportunity to show off local food finds. More than 20% of Canadian travellers plan to take more food pictures this year.

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 discover the best food destinations so you can taste your way around the world!”

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CONTACT DETAILS:

For further information, contact the Booking.com Canadian Press Office;

annie@punchcanada.com / 647-837-1263

NOTES TO EDITORS

According to the “This is Travel” survey of 56,727 respondents across 30 different markets. The results in this article focus on Canadian travellers only, which consisted of 2014 respondents. In order to participate in this survey, respondents had to be 18 years of age or older, had to have travelled at least once in 2017, be planning at least one trip for 2018 and either the primary decision maker or involved in the decision making of their travel.

About Booking.com:

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com B.V. has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com now employs more than 17,000 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries worldwide.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travellers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in 43 languages, offer over 27 million total reported listings and cover more than 130,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Each day, more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved on our platform. So whether traveling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal place to stay quickly and easily with Booking.com, without booking fees and backed up by our promise to price match. Via our customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in 43 languages, any time of the day or night.

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