Netflix present causes meals tourism improve

South Korean Netflix present “Culinary Class Wars,” which concluded its second season on Jan. 13, has been making waves within the meals trade.

Reservations and waitlists for contestants’ eating places elevated by a median of 303%, 5 weeks after the present’s second premiere in comparison with the 5 weeks earlier than, in response to a report from restaurant reserving platform CatchTable launched by South Korean media.

“Culinary Class Wars” categorizes cooks into “Black Spoons” (hidden masters) and “White Spoons” (elite) cooks, mirroring the dichotomy between avenue meals and Michelin-starred experiences, and viewers have been wanting to style from each ends of the spectrum.

That is significantly true for millennials — these born between 1981 and 1996 — and Technology Z, born in 1996 or later, who need to expertise cultures aside from their very own, in response to Euromonitor Worldwide’s Asia-Pacific 2025 life-style survey.

Daybreak Teo, chief working officer of Singapore-based lodge and restaurant developer Amara Holdings, mentioned that reservations for eating places featured on the Netflix present had been “unattainable” throughout a visit she made to Seoul final October.

The present’s influence “makes individuals sit up and take discover,” Teo mentioned.

South Korea’s Ministry of Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism introduced a shift to incorporate meals tourism in its 2026 technique, it mentioned in December — and the nation is not alone on this elevated curiosity in meals from vacationers.

In Singapore, meals was one of many predominant drivers of document tourism spending between January and September 2025, in response to the Singapore Tourism Board. Vacationer receipts for meals and beverage elevated by 15% when in comparison with the identical interval in 2024, regardless of solely a 2.3% improve in total guests.

And in Japan, round 82% of vacationers reported that consuming Japanese meals was one among their journey expectations in 2024, up from about 70% in 2015.

Meals is a approach for vacationers to expertise genuine tradition, in response to Erik Wolf, govt director and founding father of the World Meals Journey Affiliation.

“It is much less concerning the journey and extra concerning the tradition in every single place on the planet. Particularly after the pandemic, individuals are desirous to go to extra rural areas, secondary and tertiary areas. They need to get to know individuals, and in a real approach,” Wolf instructed CNBC throughout a name.

Motels are equally responding to this rising culinary curiosity.

Almost 1 in 5 vacationers particularly sought out new eating places or culinary experiences, with 60% of luxurious vacationers prioritizing motels with good meals choices, in response to Hilton’s 2025 Developments Report.

“Eating places right now in motels can not [just] be lodge eating places. They must be eating places as eating places [in their own right], or venues as venues,” in response to Candice D’Cruz, vice-president of Hilton luxurious manufacturers Asia Pacific.

For customers, the main target must be on the whole expertise, from seasonal produce to the place glassware is sourced, D’Cruz added. “If I am going into Japan, I need to have the white peaches throughout peach season. I need to have the strawberries and the white strawberries throughout [the] season,” she instructed CNBC in an interview.

In Singapore, Amara Holdings goals to satisfy this want for cultural experiences by offering guided excursions of hawker facilities and native markets, near its flagship lodge in downtown Singapore.

It should not be thought-about a loss if “a visitor is not consuming with us for breakfast, lunch or dinner, if they’ll one other close by Zi Char place or hawker middle for meals,” Amara’s Teo mentioned — Zi Char refers to cheap avenue meals.

Quite, it must be thought-about a win when motels are in a position to present proximity to genuine cultural experiences, Teo mentioned.

Wolf identified that most individuals do not continuously eat at high-end or connoisseur eating places after they journey, suggesting that Michelin-starred eating places would possibly put individuals off a vacation spot since they could affiliate it with excessive prices.

Whereas Michelin options luxurious experiences in its information, it additionally highlights native hawkers or cheaper stalls. Hawker Chan, a former Michelin-starred restaurant, had a $3 rooster rice dish on its menu when it was awarded the accolade in 2016.

But for Eric Neo, culinary director at lodge Capella Singapore, “positive eating is extra about intention, storytelling, whereby we’re given the chance to work together, curate an expertise for the friends,” whereas informal eating is extra about “pace,” he mentioned throughout an interview.

Capella’s tour by native markets has cooks perform as guides, main friends by the method of choosing substances and bringing them again into the kitchen to create a dish.

Neo additionally extends invites to cooks exterior Singapore, a part of a want to “deliver up a studying tradition between two totally different nations,” Neo mentioned. Such experiences aren’t solely for lodge friends, but additionally for the cooks to broaden their horizons, he mentioned. Capella introduced Korean-American chef and “Culinary Class Wars” contestant Edward Lee to Singapore to create a celebration dinner in August.

It is also necessary to not lose sight of the historic cultural influences behind the meals we devour, Wolf mentioned, “particularly the affect of ladies in defending culinary tradition” and “the seeds of delicacies in agriculture.”