The Indian traveller seems to be willing to indulge his taste buds while on holiday.

According to a Food and Travel survey conducted by travel planning site TripAdvisor, 97 per cent respondents said they were comfortable trying diverse Indian food while travelling domestically. Interestingly, a whopping 91 per cent of the respondents said they were willing to experiment with local cuisine when holidaying internationally. The survey was taken by 1,000 respondents across India.

“Thirty-three per cent of the total respondents from the survey said they had attended a wine-whiskey tour while on a holiday. Among those who hadn’t, almost half expressed their interest in attending one if given a chance, indicating a latent opportunity for wine and dine tourism within India, and the scope for promoting such international fests and tours for the outbound traveller,” said Mr Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India.

The trend was similar, in fact more pronounced, for food and beverage festivals. Another encouraging trend observed was that 25 per cent respondents said they had chosen a holiday destination specifically to experiment with the local food.

Other survey findings supporting this are: 64 per cent respondents said they like to explore quaint local eateries as against the popular restaurants frequented by tourists. Fourteen per cent hunted for Indian dining options for most meals and only 15 per cent preferred to stick to familiar international food while abroad.

While 41 per cent said they start craving for home food on holiday after more than five days, 40 per cent said they don’t particularly miss home food even when holidaying internationally.

Interestingly, 38 per cent admitted to carrying Indian food when travelling internationally on holiday (like snacks or pickles), which they missed eating or which may not be available at their destination.

>nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in

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