More than half of leisure travellers today say food is one of the main reasons they chose their destination.⁵ Not the scenery. Not the hotel. The food.
That shift is reshaping how hospitality businesses compete. Guests are researching dishes before they land. They are asking where ingredients come from. They are choosing one restaurant over another because of how the story was told online.
This is food tourism. And across Southeast Asia, it is one of the most significant business opportunities in hospitality right now.
Food Is the Destination
Food tourism is not simply about eating well while travelling. It is about the full experience that surrounds the meal: the origin of the ingredients, the person who cooked it, what the dish means, and what it feels like to be in that room.
For food tourists, a meal is a way to understand a place. A cooking class in Chiang Mai, a market visit at dawn in Bangkok, a tasting menu built around a single region’s produce. These are not extras on a trip. They are the reason for it.
This changes what hospitality operators need to offer. And the businesses that understand this early will be the ones that pull ahead.
A Market That’s Hard to Ignore
The scale of food tourism is significant and growing fast.
The global culinary tourism market reached USD 1.25 trillion in 2025 and is projected to hit USD 4.26 trillion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate of 14.17%.¹ Asia-Pacific alone contributes an estimated USD 400 billion to that total.² Food now accounts for 28% of all tourism expenditure worldwide.²
The appetite is clear in the data. Sixty-two percent of travellers say they actively prioritise food when choosing a destination.² Nearly half of all travellers surveyed across Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan name cuisine as a primary driver of their travel decisions.³
These are not niche figures. This is how the majority of modern travellers move through the world.
Thailand: Already in the Top Two
Thailand is exceptionally well-positioned for this trend.
In Agoda’s 2025 ranking of Asia’s top destinations for food and drink activities, Thailand placed second. Behind Japan, ahead of Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.³ It is one of the most searched destinations in the world for culinary experiences.
The numbers at the national level reflect that standing. Thailand’s culinary tourism market was valued at USD 32.49 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 80.73 billion by 2032, growing at 12.05% per year.⁴ The country has more than 150,000 food service establishments and more street food vendors per capita than any other nation.⁴
For operators based in Thailand, or those serving the Thai market, the audience is already arriving. The question is whether the experience meets what they came for.
What’s Driving the Shift
Several forces have combined to make food tourism this powerful, and they are reinforcing each other.
- Social media changed how people discover food. Eighty-two percent of food tourism decisions are now influenced by social media.² Forty percent of Gen Z travellers book trips specifically because of food content they saw online.² A single viral dish can drive bookings to a restaurant for months, sometimes years.
- Authenticity has become the benchmark. Seventy-five percent of millennial travellers say they seek authentic local cuisine when they travel abroad.² International chain menus with predictable, safe options no longer satisfy this audience. They want to eat what locals eat, prepared the way locals prepare it.
- Experience spending is growing. Guests increasingly spend on things to do and taste rather than things to buy. Seventy percent of culinary travellers say they will extend a trip to attend a food festival.² Cooking classes, market tours, chef’s tables, and ingredient-led tasting menus are all growing categories across the region.
- Sustainability is becoming a baseline expectation. Younger food travellers pay attention to how food is sourced. They prefer locally grown, ethically produced, and low-waste operations. At the moment, only 20% of food venues worldwide hold a sustainability certification.² That gap is a real opportunity for operators willing to move first.
What Food Tourists Actually Want
Understanding the food tourist means going beyond the plate.
They want to know where the ingredients come from. They want staff who can explain a dish, not just describe it. They want an experience that feels specific to this place. Not something they could find in any other city in the world.
For operators, that translates into a few clear priorities.
- Local ingredients on the menu. Not just Thai food, but dishes that are specific to a region, a season, or a producer. Food tourists research before they arrive. They have already read about the cuisine and they notice when a menu delivers on that expectation.
- Experiences around food. A cooking class. A market visit. A chef’s table where the chef actually comes out and talks. These experiences command premium pricing and build the kind of loyalty that comes from word-of-mouth and genuine reviews.
- A story behind the dish. Where did this recipe come from? Why is this ingredient used here? Staff who can answer those questions turn a meal into something worth remembering.
- Visible commitment to local sourcing. Food tourists notice when a kitchen uses imported produce when local alternatives exist. Building direct relationships with local farmers and suppliers is both a quality decision and a marketing one.
What This Means for Your Business
The food tourist is a high-value guest. They spend more per trip than average visitors, they share their experiences widely, and they are more likely to return.²
For hotels, this means rethinking the F&B programme. Not just what is on the menu, but who tells its story and whether the dining experience gives guests something they genuinely cannot find anywhere else.
For restaurants and cafés, it means building an identity around authenticity and local ingredients. Not competing on price, but competing on experience.
For catering and foodservice operations, it means recognising that guests increasingly know the difference between food that has been thought about and food that has simply been prepared.
The businesses that make this shift will stand out. The ones that do not will find it harder to compete as this segment continues to grow.
Discover What’s Next at THAIFEX – HOREC Asia
Building a food experience that attracts and keeps food tourists requires the right products, suppliers, and thinking. That is what THAIFEX – HOREC Asia is designed for.
The exhibition brings together producers, equipment manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers from across the region and beyond. For operators looking to build or refine their food tourism offering, the Dining segment is a practical starting point, connecting buyers with tableware, beverage concepts, and front-of-house solutions. The Kitchen segment covers the equipment and technology that make consistent, high-quality cooking possible at scale. And the Services segment connects operators with training programmes, consultancy, and operational support.
Whether you are building a new F&B concept from scratch or strengthening what you already have, THAIFEX – HOREC Asia puts you in the same room as the suppliers and ideas that can help you move forward.
Website: www.thaifex-horec.asia
Book your booth: https://thaifex-horec.asia/for-exhibitors/register-as-an-exhibitor/
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thaifex-horec.asia/for-visitors/become-a-visitor/
REFERENCES
- IMARC Group. Global Culinary Tourism Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast. 2025. https://www.imarcgroup.com/culinary-tourism-market-statistics
- Gitnux. Food Tourism Statistics: Market Data Report. 2024. https://gitnux.org/food-tourism-statistics/
- FTN News / Agoda. Culinary Tourism Rises in Asia as Agoda Identifies Top Foodie Destinations. 2025. https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/tours/culinary-tourism-rises-in-asia-as-agoda-identifies-top-foodie-destinations/
- Credence Research. Thailand Culinary Tourism Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast. 2024. https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/thailand-culinary-tourism-market
- Original Travel. The Food Tourism Guide. 2024. https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/food-tourism-guide
by Chanya Colevas
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More than half of leisure travellers today say food is one of the main reasons they chose their destination.⁵ Not the scenery. Not the hotel. The food.
That shift is reshaping how hospitality businesses compete. Guests are researching dishes before they land. They are asking where ingredients come from. They are choosing one restaurant over another because of how the story was told online.
This is food tourism. And across Southeast Asia, it is one of the most significant business opportunities in hospitality right now.
Food Is the Destination
Food tourism is not simply about eating well while travelling. It is about the full experience that surrounds the meal: the origin of the ingredients, the person who cooked it, what the dish means, and what it feels like to be in that room.
For food tourists, a meal is a way to understand a place. A cooking class in Chiang Mai, a market visit at dawn in Bangkok, a tasting menu built around a single region’s produce. These are not extras on a trip. They are the reason for it.
This changes what hospitality operators need to offer. And the businesses that understand this early will be the ones that pull ahead.
A Market That’s Hard to Ignore
The scale of food tourism is significant and growing fast.
The global culinary tourism market reached USD 1.25 trillion in 2025 and is projected to hit USD 4.26 trillion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate of 14.17%.¹ Asia-Pacific alone contributes an estimated USD 400 billion to that total.² Food now accounts for 28% of all tourism expenditure worldwide.²
The appetite is clear in the data. Sixty-two percent of travellers say they actively prioritise food when choosing a destination.² Nearly half of all travellers surveyed across Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan name cuisine as a primary driver of their travel decisions.³
These are not niche figures. This is how the majority of modern travellers move through the world.
Thailand: Already in the Top Two
Thailand is exceptionally well-positioned for this trend.
In Agoda’s 2025 ranking of Asia’s top destinations for food and drink activities, Thailand placed second. Behind Japan, ahead of Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.³ It is one of the most searched destinations in the world for culinary experiences.
The numbers at the national level reflect that standing. Thailand’s culinary tourism market was valued at USD 32.49 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach USD 80.73 billion by 2032, growing at 12.05% per year.⁴ The country has more than 150,000 food service establishments and more street food vendors per capita than any other nation.⁴
For operators based in Thailand, or those serving the Thai market, the audience is already arriving. The question is whether the experience meets what they came for.
What’s Driving the Shift
Several forces have combined to make food tourism this powerful, and they are reinforcing each other.
- Social media changed how people discover food. Eighty-two percent of food tourism decisions are now influenced by social media.² Forty percent of Gen Z travellers book trips specifically because of food content they saw online.² A single viral dish can drive bookings to a restaurant for months, sometimes years.
- Authenticity has become the benchmark. Seventy-five percent of millennial travellers say they seek authentic local cuisine when they travel abroad.² International chain menus with predictable, safe options no longer satisfy this audience. They want to eat what locals eat, prepared the way locals prepare it.
- Experience spending is growing. Guests increasingly spend on things to do and taste rather than things to buy. Seventy percent of culinary travellers say they will extend a trip to attend a food festival.² Cooking classes, market tours, chef’s tables, and ingredient-led tasting menus are all growing categories across the region.
- Sustainability is becoming a baseline expectation. Younger food travellers pay attention to how food is sourced. They prefer locally grown, ethically produced, and low-waste operations. At the moment, only 20% of food venues worldwide hold a sustainability certification.² That gap is a real opportunity for operators willing to move first.
What Food Tourists Actually Want
Understanding the food tourist means going beyond the plate.
They want to know where the ingredients come from. They want staff who can explain a dish, not just describe it. They want an experience that feels specific to this place. Not something they could find in any other city in the world.
For operators, that translates into a few clear priorities.
- Local ingredients on the menu. Not just Thai food, but dishes that are specific to a region, a season, or a producer. Food tourists research before they arrive. They have already read about the cuisine and they notice when a menu delivers on that expectation.
- Experiences around food. A cooking class. A market visit. A chef’s table where the chef actually comes out and talks. These experiences command premium pricing and build the kind of loyalty that comes from word-of-mouth and genuine reviews.
- A story behind the dish. Where did this recipe come from? Why is this ingredient used here? Staff who can answer those questions turn a meal into something worth remembering.
- Visible commitment to local sourcing. Food tourists notice when a kitchen uses imported produce when local alternatives exist. Building direct relationships with local farmers and suppliers is both a quality decision and a marketing one.
What This Means for Your Business
The food tourist is a high-value guest. They spend more per trip than average visitors, they share their experiences widely, and they are more likely to return.²
For hotels, this means rethinking the F&B programme. Not just what is on the menu, but who tells its story and whether the dining experience gives guests something they genuinely cannot find anywhere else.
For restaurants and cafés, it means building an identity around authenticity and local ingredients. Not competing on price, but competing on experience.
For catering and foodservice operations, it means recognising that guests increasingly know the difference between food that has been thought about and food that has simply been prepared.
The businesses that make this shift will stand out. The ones that do not will find it harder to compete as this segment continues to grow.
Discover What’s Next at THAIFEX – HOREC Asia
Building a food experience that attracts and keeps food tourists requires the right products, suppliers, and thinking. That is what THAIFEX – HOREC Asia is designed for.
The exhibition brings together producers, equipment manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and service providers from across the region and beyond. For operators looking to build or refine their food tourism offering, the Dining segment is a practical starting point, connecting buyers with tableware, beverage concepts, and front-of-house solutions. The Kitchen segment covers the equipment and technology that make consistent, high-quality cooking possible at scale. And the Services segment connects operators with training programmes, consultancy, and operational support.
Whether you are building a new F&B concept from scratch or strengthening what you already have, THAIFEX – HOREC Asia puts you in the same room as the suppliers and ideas that can help you move forward.
Website: www.thaifex-horec.asia
Book your booth: https://thaifex-horec.asia/for-exhibitors/register-as-an-exhibitor/
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thaifex-horec.asia/for-visitors/become-a-visitor/
REFERENCES
- IMARC Group. Global Culinary Tourism Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast. 2025. https://www.imarcgroup.com/culinary-tourism-market-statistics
- Gitnux. Food Tourism Statistics: Market Data Report. 2024. https://gitnux.org/food-tourism-statistics/
- FTN News / Agoda. Culinary Tourism Rises in Asia as Agoda Identifies Top Foodie Destinations. 2025. https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/tours/culinary-tourism-rises-in-asia-as-agoda-identifies-top-foodie-destinations/
- Credence Research. Thailand Culinary Tourism Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast. 2024. https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/thailand-culinary-tourism-market
- Original Travel. The Food Tourism Guide. 2024. https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/food-tourism-guide
