Top Foodie Destinations Tempting the Tastebuds of Travelers
Hotels.com in its Tasty Travels research picked several cities as “Top of the Chops” for foodie travelers. Paris, Tokyo and Rome are the top three foodie destinations according to Hotels.com which commissioned edible renderings of the top three foodie destinations by renowned food artist Carl Warner.
Each city scene, captured in HD photography, is constructed with famous foods from each location. “When Hotels.com approached me with the idea, I instantly knew this project was right up my bean-cobbled, blue cheese street! It was a great opportunity for me to bring images and scenes of these hugely popular foodie destinations to life in an exciting and contemporary way. I hope that these images will not only blow people away, but inspire them to get online, get booking and not just ‘sight-see’ but ‘sight-taste’,” says Carl, a food artist and photographer.
Hotels.com research also offers insight into millennial travelers, where nearly two thirds (60%) in the U.S. choose their holiday destination based on what they’ll eat – not what they’ll see or do. “American millennial travelers (64%) say foodie vacation experiences are the most memorable. The younger generation in the U.S. is now even more focused on munching delicious local delicacies on vacation (65%) than visiting landmarks (49%) and exploring the outdoors (34%),” says Hotels.com
Millennial travelers also prefer “food over friends” with 78% of millennial U.S. travelers admitting that they prefer to snap their food instead of their friends’ faces (36%) for Instagram. The research also pinpoints a rise in food photography on social media, revealing that during a week-long vacation, U.S. millennial travelers snap on average 128 photos, of which 15% are of food.
The Tasty Travels research also revealed that millennials are opting for street food (20%) over Michelin star restaurants (19%) and say foodie experiences stand out the most in their vacation memories. This topped spending time with their travel buddy (22%), and even an exciting adrenaline activity (11%).
Johan Svanstrom, president of Hotels.com comments: “The love amongst millennial travelers for what we at Hotels.com have dubbed #TastyTravels, stems from food being one of the most connective and rewarding currencies there is. Experiences are the new wealth and food provides one of life’s most pleasurable experiences, where there’s always something new to try when you travel. So, it’s understandable that younger generations of travelers are defining their holiday by what they can eat, how they eat it, and how good the ‘Grams’ will be while they’re away.”
Other foodie cities making the list include London, Barcelona, New York and Madrid.
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