Travellers Plan Trips Around Gastronomic Experiences this Valentine’s Day
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Food becomes a central purpose for travel, with food-related bookings up by 43% YoY and surge in fine-dining interest
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Gastronomic hubs such as Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo are top flight destinations this Valentine’s Day
SINGAPORE, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — How far are people willing to travel for food? This Valentine’s Day, travellers are building their itineraries across gastronomic adventures, with gourmet experiences, such as fine-dining, soaring across the world. People are crossing borders just to get a taste of one-of-a-kind culinary experiences like never before.
Travelling for food is a trend that has seen increased momentum. No longer an afterthought, people are gravitating towards curated culinary experiences that serve as a central purpose for travel, with food-related bookings on Trip.com up by 43% YoY.
Additionally, Trip.com Group’s Why Travel report found that in the first half of 2025, Google Trends worldwide searches for “food travel” have grown by 18% year-on-year (YoY), and searches for expert guide-led resources such as “Michelin Guide” have also increased.
Gourmet experiences, especially fine-dining, is seeing a surge in interest. Trip.com’s latest data found that fine-dining searches demonstrated steady double-digit growth month-on-month, outperforming that of general restaurants. This trend is observed in several markets including Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, as well as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and United Kingdom[1].
Dining searches increasingly reflect experience and scenario-driven intent, such as anniversary dining, atmosphere-focused venues and restaurants with views. This demonstrates the increasing appeal of unique culinary experiences combined with travel, to commemorate special occasions such as anniversaries, celebrations and get-togethers.
Top Valentine’s Day Destinations: Bangkok, Seoul and Tokyo
With long weekend travel on the rise, the upcoming Valentine’s Day presents a perfect opportunity to take a quick three to four days’ getaway with that special someone. Travellers can make a long weekend trip by taking one day annual leave. Combined with the Lunar New Year holiday break this year, this can easily be extended into a week-long trip.
The top destinations that travellers plan to head to this Valentine’s Day weekend include popular gourmet cities such as Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phuket are fast-becoming a destinations of choice especially among Chinese mainland travellers, while lesser-known Vietnamese cities such as Da Nang and Phu Quoc Island are increasingly in demand among travellers from South Korea, as well as Hong Kong respectively.
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