The start of 2025 is right around the corner, and you know what they say: “New year, new travel trends.” Well, maybe the expression doesn’t quite go like that, but it still holds true. While up-and-coming destinations or types of travel are always the first to be eagerly predicted by industry professionals, Marriott International recently shared its gastronomical insights in the Future of Food Report. Read on to discover the tasty trends in store for 2025.
Asian Pacific Influence and Emerging Destinations
Regions all around the world are known for their distinct flavors and offerings, and travelers shouldn’t be surprised to find that Asia-Pacific is a growing culinary influence. Under numerous world-class chefs, Cantonese dishes are beginning to creep up in destinations such as Turkey, Denmark and Spain, while India’s use of bold spices like cumin, turmeric and cardamom is increasingly becoming more popular. Intrepid travelers interested in experiencing this region’s unique blend of flavors should check out these five emerging culinary destinations identified in Marriott International’s report.
Busan
South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan is a beloved summertime destination. Attracting locals, tourists and Michelin inspectors, the beaches and café-lined boardwalks are a popular place for visitors to gather and sample traditional delicacies. Busan is also the birthplace of makgeolli, a trending Korean rice beverage that enhances its culinary appeal. The city has its sights set on restoring a number of historic buildings to showcase the best of Busan’s art, culture and dining experiences.
Ho Chi Minh City
Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling destination that has seen recent economic growth. Vietnamese chefs are returning home to capitalize on the city’s prosperity and are quickly expanding the culinary scene as a result. Ho Chi Minh City also has a reputation for its innovative technology and youthful population, two factors contributing to Vietnam’s culinary experimentation.
Jeju
Another South Korean location, this one being the country’s largest island, is a growing spot for Seoulites. Recent openings of luxury resorts have snagged some significant interest, and numerous young chefs and sommeliers are setting up shop on the island to preserve the indigenous Jeju practices and recipes.
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur is making a name for itself with its growing street food scene. Local vendors are tapping into their creative side, reimagining traditional dishes while exploring what it means to be Malaysian.
Niseko
For some travelers, the town of Niseko in Hokkaido, Japan, is better known as a popular ski destination. However, due to a weakened yen, the current economy is drawing in vacationers and investors from around the region, helping Niseko to shed its reputation as a ski resort while amplifying the existing culinary offerings.
Intimate Dining
Nowadays, it seems that no matter where travelers go around the world, nearly every type of cuisine is accessible, and it is for this reason that Marriott International predicts a hyperlocal shift in restaurant offerings. Chefs and restauranteurs are emphasizing highly specific cuisine by incorporating more regional and local inspiration to keep the flavors on the traditional side. As a result, venues will push cultural dining practices in an effort to provide a more meaningful dining experience that better reflects the local environment.
For all the restaurant connoisseurs who delighted in extravagant, long-menu tastings, a new emphasis on quality over quantity has put the days of a 20-course meal in the past. Rather, guests are seeking a humbler approach to fine dining with shorter, smaller and faster tastings that place more consideration into the design of each dish.
Speaking of fine dining experiences, food aficionados should come to expect more exclusivity in this area. Obtaining bookings and reservations at world-class restaurants is predicted to be much more difficult as businesses begin to elevate their pricing and introduce membership-based entry to private dining spaces.
An Emphasis on Wellness
With the recent shift towards health-conscious traveling experiences, it should come as no surprise that wellness is making a name for itself in the food industry. A trend travelers may see arising in the near future is neuronutrition, where food and drink choices are influenced by brain and gut health. Menus aligned with this concept would include fermented, probiotic-rich food products. Similarly, food farmacies (which are nearly identical to the farm-to-table idea) value food as medicine and look to prioritize whole ingredients through chef-curated menus.
And, of course, a development bound to happen sooner or later, travelers can obtain a hyper-personalized diet crafted by AI. By analyzing the user’s physiological and psychological states, AI will then provide meal recommendations based on the customer’s identified deficiencies and surpluses.
Revamping the Bar Scene
Experience-driven bars, such as those with a karaoke or line-dancing theme, are typically less common than the traditional sit-down and sip setting. However, this may no longer be the case as bars are now looking to shift from menu offerings to space offerings. This transition, ideally, will help to preserve the longevity of the brand and organically evolve with consumer demands.
The bar scene isn’t solely for those drinking well-crafted spirits and brews but also for travelers who enjoy low- and no-alcohol beverages. Judgment-free clean drinking is predicted to be a growing trend, with drink menus becoming more inclusive and seamlessly integrated, even expanding into other areas such as sugar content, preservatives and pesticides.
For those who live by the expression “less is more,” the shift towards gimmick-free cocktails is especially enticing. Marriott International has identified that classic drinks are making a comeback while the theatrical presentations are on their way out. Travelers are thought to be more concerned with the flavoring of the alcohol as opposed to how it looks in the glass.
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