The Rise of the Foodie Traveller: How Culinary Experiences Are Shaping India’s Holiday Plans
Team L&M
What if your next winter holiday was planned not around a monument, a mountain view or a popular tourist attraction, but around a meal worth travelling for? For a growing number of Indian travellers, food is no longer just part of the holiday experience. It is increasingly becoming a reason to choose a destination. Culinary travel in India is rising!
From guided food walks and visits to local markets to home-cooked meals and conversations with regional food producers, foodie travellers are looking for ways to experience a place through its culinary traditions. While technology can now generate itineraries covering restaurants and tourist attractions in minutes, the appeal of discovering a destination through personal interactions and local flavours remains strong. The focus is shifting towards experiences that offer a deeper understanding of a place and its people.
The Godrej Food Trends Report (GFTR) 2026 highlights food tourism in India – the growing interest in culinary travel, pointing to a shift from simply visiting popular restaurants to exploring the food culture of destinations more closely.
Food Experiences Are Becoming a Travel Priority
The report reveals that famous local restaurants and eateries influence foodie travel itineraries, with 90% of experts identifying them as an important attraction. Guided food tours follow closely at 87%. Culinary events, including food festivals and pop-ups, and sustainable culinary experiences such as farm-to-table concepts and eco-friendly retreats, each received 81% recognition.
These findings suggest that travellers increasingly want more than a memorable meal. They want to understand the culinary identity of a destination, discover its traditional ingredients and interact with the people who keep its food traditions alive.
This shift also changes how people remember the places they visit. A regional curry, a decades-old breakfast establishment or a meal prepared in a family kitchen can leave as lasting an impression as a famous monument.
“Today, travellers aren’t just looking for a meal; they are looking for a connection,” says Samreen Tungekar, Managing Editor, Travel + Leisure India & South Asia.
Food, in this sense, becomes a cultural experience. It offers travellers an opportunity to understand local customs, family traditions and the everyday lives of communities beyond the usual tourist trail.
India: A Culinary Journey Across Regions
India is particularly well placed to benefit from the growing interest in food-led travel. Indian culinary experiences and landscape changes dramatically from one region to another, with every destination offering distinctive ingredients, cooking techniques, food rituals and local specialities.
“Every single tour to India, regardless of its theme, is a food tour!” says Sarah Meikle, Director of All India Permit Tours.
She points to the growing interest in behind-the-scenes culinary experiences that introduce travellers to growers, food makers, home cooks and food advocates. Such interactions allow visitors to discover the stories behind ingredients and traditional recipes while understanding the communities and skills that shape regional cuisines.
This approach also creates opportunities for smaller communities, local food entrepreneurs and traditional cooks to become an integral part of the tourism experience.
Lucknow: Where Food Meets Cultural Heritage
Among India’s many culinary destinations, Lucknow is one of the Culinary destinations in India – it stands out for its rich gastronomic history. With 93% of experts identifying it as a must-visit destination on the street-food explorer’s bucket list, the city continues to attract travellers interested in traditional Indian cuisine.
Its recognition as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy has further strengthened its position on India’s culinary map.
Lucknow’s food culture extends beyond its famous kebabs, biryanis and traditional delicacies. Its culinary heritage also reflects generations of cooking traditions, family recipes and the influence of its royal kitchens.
At the Sanatkada Lucknow Festival, the Lucknow ke Bawarchikhane exhibit offered visitors an opportunity to explore this heritage through traditional kitchen settings, ancestral utensils, histories of khansamas and local food traditions.
Writer and curator Anubhuti Krishna highlights the cultural significance of such initiatives, noting how they can transform food from an experience of “consumption” into “meaningful cultural engagement”.
By bringing forgotten kitchen traditions and culinary histories into the spotlight, such exhibitions allow visitors to connect with the cultural context behind the food they enjoy.
Beyond the Popular Food Destinations
India’s culinary appeal extends far beyond established food destinations. Regional Indian cuisine is rapidly gaining ground. From Kerala’s spice-rich coastline and Goa’s Indo-Portuguese flavours to Nagaland’s smoked food traditions and Rajasthan’s royal kitchens, regional cuisines offer travellers countless ways to explore the country.
Each region tells a different story through its ingredients, cooking methods, seasonal produce and food customs. These experiences can also take travellers beyond familiar tourist circuits and introduce them to smaller towns and communities.
For local cooks, producers and food entrepreneurs, the growing interest in regional cuisine presents an opportunity to showcase their skills and create new livelihood opportunities through tourism.
Food-led travel can therefore serve a larger purpose: supporting local economies while helping preserve culinary traditions that might otherwise receive limited attention.
Japan, Singapore and Australia: Food as a Window to Culture
The growing popularity of culinary travel is not limited to India. Destinations such as Japan, Singapore and Australia offer distinct food experiences shaped by their histories, cultural influences and local ingredients.
Japan’s culinary identity revolves around seasonality, ritual and meticulous craftsmanship. Its food traditions place considerable importance on presentation, preparation techniques and the relationship between ingredients and the changing seasons.
Singapore, meanwhile, offers a vibrant culinary landscape shaped by its multicultural population. Singapore hawker culture brings together different food traditions and communities, making everyday eating an important expression of the country’s identity.
Australia’s food story increasingly draws on native ingredients and Indigenous traditions, offering visitors a different perspective on the country’s culinary heritage and relationship with its land.
These destinations demonstrate how food can become a meaningful way to understand a country’s history, cultural influences and evolving identity.
The Future of Travel May Begin at the Dining Table
As culinary travel experiences become more central to holiday planning, food is taking on a larger role in how travellers discover destinations. It can lead them to lesser-known neighbourhoods, introduce them to local communities,. encourage a deeper appreciation of regional cultures and hence result in sustainable culinary tourism.
For destinations, this growing interest offers an opportunity to promote local culinary heritage, support small businesses and create more immersive tourism experiences. For travellers, it makes holidays more personal, memorable and connected to the places they visit.
The next winter getaway, therefore, may not begin with a search for the most photographed landmark or the best mountain view. It could begin with a traditional recipe, a local food walk or a meal prepared by someone who has spent generations perfecting it.
After all, sometimes the best way to discover a destination is to begin at its dining table.
