Top Foodie Holiday Destinations Revealed

If you love food - and not just eating it, but trying new foods, experimenting and pushing yourself to new foodie limits - then foodie holidays are for you. Forget going to the hottest destination to relax beside the pool and get the best tan possible, these holidays are all about trying new foods, eating more than you would normally think possible, and gaining weight (obviously).

Italy Tops Foodie Destinations

We wanted to find out more about these types of holidays, so we went and polled 2,176 Britons who had not only been on holiday in the past 12 months, but who stated that they had been on at least one foodie holiday previously (not specifically just within the past 12 months).

Firstly, we asked all those taking part in our survey who their last foodie holiday had been too, and the top five destinations came out as;

1. Italy - 19%

2. France - 14%

3. Thailand - 11%

4. India - 9%

5. America - 7%

Brits Consumer More Than Double The Daily Recommend Amount of Calories

We then gave all respondents a calories guide and asked them to tell us roughly how many calories they had consumed a day on their holiday versus how many they consume a day at home, giving as accurate an answer as possible. At home, Britons admit they consume on average 2,100 calories, whereas on their foodie holidays they confessed to consuming on average 4,300 calories!

Half A Stone In Weight Gain

Furthermore, we asked all respondents whether or not they gained weight on their foodie holidays, to which 86% stated yes - when we asked them to estimate how much they gained, the average Briton gained 7lbs (or half a stone).

Relaxation Is Key On Non-Foodie Holidays

Turning away from foodie holidays, we asked all those taking part in the survey what they most looked forward to about general holidays, with the most popular aspects being revealed as;

1. Relaxation - 27%

2. Sunny weather - 22%

3. Eating/the food - 15%

4. Spending quality time with co-traveller(s) - 12%

5. Seeing more of the world - 8%

Not All Foodie Holidays Are Planned

With all of this research uncovered, it's an interesting thought that many of us will have been on what is considered to be a foodie holiday, even without planning it. Rome, for example, is a great destination to do this; you go away for a nice City break, and whilst you're there you're keen to try as much of the local cuisine as possible.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having food quite high up on the list as a must for destinations that you're looking to visit. Some are happy with going to resorts where they know they can get a nice, simple burger and chips, whilst others want to be a little fancier and try something that many others may not think to try, and get right into the culture of the destination they're visiting.