Even when they are at the start of the Italians, they are unable to give up pasta, pizza and coffee, and yet more and more our compatriots believe that trying local dishes and flavors is at the bottom one of the main attractions of a trip abroad. This is confirmed by a search for Hotels.com, a leader in online hotel booking, carried out among more than 3000 travelers worldwide to unveil gastronomic preferences on holiday and the importance of discovering local tastes.
Despite the widespread belief, identifying the average Italian as a traditionalist who does not love too bold gastronomic experiments, 93% of the respondents when abroad test the local cuisine "by principle"; idea shared on average also by 87% of travellers around the world.
Precisely for this reason, more than half of our countrymen (52%) choose accommodation formulas that do not constrain the meal at the hotel so that they have the freedom to cook between supermarkets and typical restaurants in search of the authentic flavors of the place. This formula is also preferred by 78% of Finns, 68% of Danes and 60% of Japanese.
A considerable percentage of Italians (21%) admits even having chosen the destination of the holiday to taste or taste again the local delicacies. The most popular destinations are Barcelona for paella, Cetara for the renowned anchovies, Japan for a sushi prepared as a rule of art, Greece to try pastissio and moussaka or even Belgium for beer prepared according to the tradition of abbeys. Among the peoples who love "dietary food" stand out the eastern ones: 48% of the Japanese and 47% of the Koreans interviewed declare to choose a destination rather than another according to food.
It is the Japanese who consider more than all our cuisine as the best in the world (34% of the respondents), reaching completely ignore the sushi in favor of lasagna, cotoletta and tagliatelle!
But the surprises do not end here: despite the well-known French nationalism, according to the search for Hotels.com, the cousins of ooltralpe have admitted to love the Italian cuisine almost like their national dishes: in fact 18% of the French respondents place the most appreciated dishes, a percentage slightly lower than those who prefer quiche and ratatouille (23%).
Although 40% of the compatriots declare that they do not feel for nothing the lack of food when it is located beyond the border, for nostalgics the most regrettable dishes are: pasta, pizza and espresso.
These are the excellences that contribute to placing our kitchen at the top of the preferences of travellers from all over the world: 21% of respondents indicate the gastronomy of Belpaese as best in the world. A discrete distance follows the French (12%), Thai (11%), Chinese and Spanish (9%) and finally Indian (8%).
Of course you agree with our compatriots: 84% put on the highest step of the podium the dishes of our tradition. Among the most popular foreign gastronomy are the Spanish, Mexican, French, Greek and Indian gastronomy.
If Italian cuisine is considered the best in the world, at least "strange" are the culinary experiments tried by Italians on holiday: among the most curious are cited the meat of the most diverse animals such as kangaroo, renna, alce, whale, bear and snake... which in some cases are served with unusual condiments such as chocolate or rasp sauce. And to conclude the meal why not indulge in a banana soup or a scenic sweet rice and blue flowers wrapped in a banana leaf?
In addition to the classic souvenirs, the tendency is increasing to bring home the local gastronomic products, perhaps to taste the holiday even in the home walls. There is no surprise if friends, showing you the photos of their last trip, propose a tasty salami of bull, perhaps accompanied by jam of chili.
Among the most strange foods chosen by Italian travelers, stand out all kinds of spices, imaginative jams like that of roses, but also products suitable for strong stomaces such as meat of reindeer and shark, or, perhaps not inviting, ants under oil.
