Will Travel for Food: How our appetites are shaping where we go—and what we make time for when we get there

TravMedia Summit Asia 2026 Panel: Fontaine Cheng, Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia; Nicola Lee, Academy Chair for Southeast Asia (South) for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants; and Petr Raba, Vice President of Food & Beverage, APEC, at Marriott International | Photo courtesy of TravMedia Summit Asia 2026The group chat has barely agreed on a destination, but someone already knows where everyone should have lunch. There is a restaurant that needs booking weeks ahead, a café that cannot be missed, and a noodle shop worth finding even if it means getting lost. The sightseeing will have to fit around them. Could everyone please avoid eating too much at breakfast? There are plans.

A reservation determines which neighborhood to explore. A promising lunch justifies a drive. Sometimes, the possibility of eating something wonderful gets us planning a trip. That appetite found its place at The TravMedia Summit Asia 2026, held on October 19 at Suntec Singapore, where more than 300 travel writers, hospitality and destination marketing leaders gathered to exchange ideas.

TravMedia CEO and founder Nick Wayland described a conversation shifting from where people travel to why they travel. For anyone who has rearranged a holiday around dinner, “Food Is the New Destination” was a session worth attending.

Moderated by Tony Chisholm, Global Senior Vice President of Food, Beverage & Entertainment for Sofitel, MGallery & Emblems, it featured Fontaine Cheng, Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia; Nicola Lee, Academy Chair for Southeast Asia (South) for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants; and Petr Raba, Vice President of Food & Beverage, APEC, at Marriott International.

Asked where they would fly to eat, Cheng chose Chengdu to explore Sichuan cuisine. Lee wanted to travel from Beijing to Xiamen, where her ancestors came from. Raba picked the Philippines, citing its regional dishes, emerging chefs, and exciting bar scene. Three people whose work revolves around food, and still, three trips they were hungry to take.

Lee described an exciting moment for heritage cooking in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. “A lot of the young chefs have trained abroad and they’re all coming home,” she said.

They are bringing childhood memories and family dishes to the table, drawing on experience gained in international restaurants. For travelers, that makes dinner more interesting. There is someone behind the plate with something to share about home.

Raba described an initiative involving chefs from around 14 Marriott hotels in the Philippines presenting local signature dishes. Adobo illustrated how much there is to discover within something familiar. Filipinos could explain that. We could also explain why our family’s version deserves particular consideration, preferably while serving you another helping. For visitors, those differences invite exploration. An ingredient prompts a question. The answer opens a conversation about a hometown or a way of cooking.

The discussion also considered what we mean when we call food “authentic.” Cheng offered a thoughtful distinction: the word can suggest a fixed historical version of a dish, while cooking continues to evolve through people and their experiences. Her interest was in what a dish reveals about its culture and origins. That leaves room for the chef following a family recipe and the chef whose cooking reflects years abroad. For travelers, it encourages curiosity. Ask why something is prepared that way. The answer may tell you more than the menu does.

Hotels are rethinking what makes people want to eat with them. Raba described an independent restaurant mindset: develop a restaurant with its own identity and following, which happens to be inside a hotel. He outlined a focus of roughly 80 percent on local customers and 20 percent on international travelers. Nearby diners matter because they can keep returning.

Lee noted that hotels are also working with outside restaurant partners, bringing independent concepts into their dining spaces. These give guests another reason to stay for dinner while attracting customers specifically for the restaurant. All-day dining still serves a purpose, she added. There are coffee meetings and children who, after days of unfamiliar food, simply want pizza.

Raba also connected more intimate spaces with opportunities for personal service, and raised a consideration for solo travelers: how can someone eating alone try several dishes? Smaller portions could help. Curiosity does not shrink because the table is for one.

Chisholm asked how travelers decide where to eat. Michelin? 50 Best? Editorial coverage, social media, friends, family or the concierge? Lee’s answer was reassuringly sensible: everything has a role. We read, scroll and ask people whose opinions we trust. Someone going overseas asks for suggestions; someone else sends a list. But receiving recommendations is only the beginning. Travelers still need to work out what suits them and do their own due diligence, Lee emphasized. There are only so many meals in a short trip.

That might mean checking whether a celebrated tasting menu fits the evening you want, or whether a friend’s favorite serves food you enjoy. Several sources give you more to work with; personal preferences guide the final choice.

Cheng described social media as an initial encounter, with guides, rankings, and editorial coverage providing context and validation. She also emphasized looking beyond the photograph. An appealing image can inspire a visit, but the experience needs to encourage a return. Raba reinforced the importance of delivering what was promised online. The welcome, food, pacing, and comfort all matter once someone sits down.

Some of these ideas had taken shape at Marriott’s Future of Food Asia Pacific 2027 launch in Manila about two weeks earlier.

Across participating properties in Asia Pacific excluding China, 95 percent identified demand for local signature dishes as the biggest trend in their markets. Emerging concepts are also embracing smaller, 40- to 60-seat dining spaces. Raba introduced a “micro-concept within the concept,” where an existing venue becomes a more specialized restaurant, with lighting and sound helping create an intimate atmosphere.

Marriott’s Future of Food Asia Pacific 2027 recent launch in Manila At Manila Marriott Hotel at Newport World Resorts, the GreatRoom’s al fresco area has become Selva Shrimp House. Developed with seafood company BlueYou, the concept brings responsible seafood sourcing into the dining experience.

The Sinagtala Philippine Culinary Arts Program gives regional cooking another platform. Its recipe book includes Clark Marriott’s pork adobo, The Westin Manila’s vegetable kare-kare, and sisig, and Manila Marriott’s sinigang na hipon and chicken inasal. Selected recipes also feature in a Sinagtala buffet at the hotel. These offer examples of how the broader conversation is finding its way onto menus and into dining rooms.

Lee observed that a hawker stall can offer an atmosphere as compelling as a fine dining room. There is room for both in a trip. The discussion kept returning to people: those who cook, serve, explain, and make guests feel welcome. Cheng highlighted the emotional connection that encourages a return. Despite our research, travel can still surprise us. We book the restaurant everyone recommends, then become attached to the café we wandered into the next morning. By the third visit, we have a usual order and are sorry to leave. 

Food gives us something to anticipate, a way to know a place, and something specific to miss afterward. Ask someone about a trip they loved, and sooner or later, they will mention a meal. You asked about the destination; now you are getting restaurant directions. And you are probably writing them down.