Indian cuisine among top 10 preferred food by international travellers

PTI Updated - July 31, 2012 at 07:28 PM.

Indian cuisine and food is among the top 10 list of the world’s best food preferred by global travellers while on holidays, according to a new worldwide food survey by Hotels.com.

About five percent of international travellers preferred Indian cuisine and food when on holiday, the survey which questioned more than 27,000 travellers said today.

The survey shows there is tough competition for more traditional favourites such as Italian and French cuisine.

International travellers favour mostly Italian (32 percent) and French (24 percent) cuisine while travelling or on holidays, while the dishes from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ Japan are gaining popularity with more cosmopolitan palates with 18 percent, the survey reveals.

Several other Asian countries and regions appear in the top 10 list, including mainland China (13 percent), Thailand (8 percent) and Taiwan (5 percent).

The popularity of ‘Paella and Tapas’ could have contributed to Spain clinching fifth place (11 percent) on the list, while those who love burger and fries have helped the US to secure sixth place (10 percent) in the table.

Meanwhile, Indian travellers feel the world’s best local food is found in India (38 percent) followed by the US (31 percent) and China (17 percent).

Within India, travellers voted for the capital city of New Delhi (33 percent) as having the best local food, followed by Mumbai (20 percent) at second place and Kolkata at a close 18 percent, it further said.

Since Indians are known to be family oriented, they voted London, New York and Paris as the best cities in the world for family dining, it said.

Hotels.com is an online accommodation booking website with over 150,000 properties around the world, ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favourites and bed & breakfasts, together with all information needed to book the perfect stay.

Published on July 31, 2012 13:58