Two thirds of Aussie millennials (69%) admitted a destination’s cuisine is the biggest deciding factor when picking where to holiday, according to the Hotels.com Tasty Travels* report, over special offers (18%), beautiful beaches (41%) and the shopping scene (19%); and are more concerned with munching delicious local delicacies on holiday (80%) than visiting landmarks (64%) and exploring the outdoors (20%).
It’s food over friends these days, as 69% of Aussie millennials admit they prefer to snap their food than their friends’ faces (35%) for Instagram #sorrynotsorry. The research found a gut-busting rise in food photography on social media, as on a week’s holiday, young Aussies snap on average 133 photos, of which almost a quarter are food shots.
The Tasty Travels research also revealed that it’s no longer about the five-star dining experience that costs the same as a house deposit – millennials across the world now prefer street food (20%) to Michelin star restaurants (19%). Eating experiences are in fact now so high on the millennial travel tick-list, 76% of travellers said foodie experiences stand out the most in their holiday memories. This topped spending time with their travel buddy (22%), and even a cheeky adrenaline activity (11%).
Hotels.com Marketing Manager for Australia and New Zealand, David Spasovic comments: “Young Aussies love coming together over meals, and as the universal language of love and life, food is one of the most connective and rewarding currencies when travelling. Millennials also love immersing themselves in the local culture of a destination and sharing these new experiences on social, so it’s understandable that Aussie millennials are defining their holiday by what they can eat, where they eat it, and how good the ‘Grams’ will be while they’re away”.
Paris (27%), Tokyo (23%) and Rome (22%) topped the list as the hottest destinations for foodies, according to the research. Paying tribute to these delicious destinations, Hotels.com has collaborated with food artist Carl Warner to bring foodies’ favourite hangouts to life, using the city’s famous food ingredients so every city looks good enough to eat.
Each city scene, captured in HD photography, is deliciously constructed with famous foods from each location. Parisian markets and the Eiffel Tower are built with decadent chocolate and blue cheese; the Pantheon and a cobbled back street in Rome are brought to life with pasta, parma ham and Parmesan cheese; while a serene zen garden and tea ceremony are imagined with maki rolls, ginger and shiitake mushrooms overlooking Mount Fuji, in Warner’s tribute to Tokyo.
Food artist and photographer Carl Warner, said, “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’.”
The Hotels.com survey also revealed that pizza (27%) is the food Aussie millennials are most likely to post on social media, followed by indulgent desserts like donuts and freak shakes (25%) and Americana burgers and beers (22%). Young travellers don’t play it safe with their food choices either, as one in five claimed they’d love to try chicken feet (19%) and garlic ice cream (17%).
Flavour-chasing travellers in search of inspiration for their next #TastyTravels can head to the Hotels.com Facebook page to see the three delicious artworks by Carl Warner come to life. Download the Hotels.com mobile app to choose from hundreds of thousands of places to stay in these delicious destinations… get eating! Don’t forget with Hotels.com Rewards you can collect 10 hotel nights and get one free – you’ll most likely spend it scoffing the world’s greatest street food.
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