Canadians let their stomachs pick their travel destinations

Food is the new tourist attraction according to the Hotels.com’s Tasty Travels report.

With more than half of Canadian millennials admitting a destination’s cuisine is the biggest deciding factor when picking where to holiday, with arts and culture and beautiful beaches being less appetizing in comparison.

The younger generation is now even more focused on munching delicious local delicacies on holiday (68 per cent) than visiting landmarks (61 per cent) and exploring the outdoors (34 per cent).

Globally, Paris, Tokyo and Rome were voted the best foodie cities while Canadians were keen on tasting the foods of cities like New York and even Venice. Top seven foodie cities globally 1. Paris (27 per cent) 2. Tokyo (23per cent) 3. Rome (22 per cent) 4. London (21 per cent) 5. New York (16 per cent) 6. Barcelona (16 per cent) 7. Madrid (14 per cent) Top seven foodie cities for Canadians’ 1. Paris (35 per cent) 2. Rome (32 per cent) 3. New York (24 per cent) 4. London (21 per cent) 5. Tokyo (19 per cent) 6. Barcelona (19 per cent) 7. Venice (17 per cent) It’s food over friends these days, as 68 per cent admit they prefer to snap a picture of their food than of themselves (36 per cent) or their friends’ faces (31 per cent) for Instagram.

Canadian millennials love to post most about indulgent desserts like doughnuts and freak shakes (32 per cent), followed by pizza (28 per cent) and burgers and beers (20 per cent).

Millennial travellers don’t play it safe with their food choices either, as one in five claimed they’d love to try chicken feet, crickets and garlic ice cream.

The Tasty Travels research also revealed that it’s no longer about the five-star dining experience as millennials now prefer street food (21 per cent), or finding a hotspot that locals rave about (21 per cent) to Michelin star restaurants (16 per cent).

These experiences are so high on their travel lists that six in 10 Canadian travellers said foodie experiences stand out the most in their holiday memories, beating out sight-seeing (55 per cent) and spending time with their travel buddy (33 per cent).