People want to try local cuisines during vacation: Survey

People not only want to explore destinations during a vacation but also taste the flavours of local cuisines, according to a survey.

Community-driven hospitality company Airbnb on Tuesday released the results of its Asia Pacific (APAC) travel survey, which revealed travellers are getting more adventurous. 71 per cent of people surveyed emphasised the importance of trying local cuisines on vacation, and 6 out of 10 travellers said they feel keen to try new experiences or activities, read a statement.

After the survey, Airbnb Asia Pacific has come out with 'Kitchens of Asia' initiative and partnered with renowned chefs in four Asia Pacific markets.

Indian chef Manish Mehrotra of Indian Accent; chef Tony Yoo from South Korea; chef Ian Kittichai from Thailand and chef Koh Kentetsu from Japan have got on board to encourage travellers to try and prepare authentic Asian dishes and delicacies that capture the flavours of India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

The chefs along with Airbnb hosts in each of the market will share easy recipes which anyone can recreate using ten ingredients or less or in under thirty minutes. The recipe will be available on the website.

"Kitchens of Asia initiative will give people a true taste of the local life, with a hint of their own accent, when travelling. This will give them the chance to experience the joy of buying fresh ingredients from a local store or shop for organic vegetables from a nearby farmer's market in the neighbourhood.

"It is also a great way for people to try simple and fun recipes in kitchens across beautiful homes, and to be able to live like a local, anywhere in the world," Mehrotra said.

The travel survey, which was conducted in seven countries - Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand -- found that Indian women are more adventurous in trying local food and drink (74 per cent) versus 68 (per cent) of men.

Women are more likely to try new activities (71 per cent versus 66 per cent men).

All figures are from YouGov Singapore Pte. In total, YouGov surveyed 6,979 travellers across APAC taken from representative samples of 7,269 people in each of Australia, Singapore, Thailand, China, South Korea, Japan and India. The fieldwork was undertaken between September 11-14. The survey was carried out online.

--IANS

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