According to Booking.com's 2025 Travel Trends Report, 92 percent of Vietnamese tourists tend to choose cuisine as the main experience for their trips, while 46 percent view dining as an indispensable need when planning travel. The report was conducted from 32,300 respondents across 32 markets, including Vietnam.
This preference indicates that travelers want to explore local life. Among those surveyed, 49 percent said they want to visit local markets, 47 percent prioritize street food, and 44 percent seek out lesser-known eateries. About 40 percent are ready to arrange their schedules around culinary festivals or seasonal events.
These figures show that cuisine is viewed as part of the cultural experience. A residential market, long-standing eatery, or local specialty helps travelers approach indigenous life in a more intimate way.
Visiting Hanoi on the occasion of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, tourists can participate in cake-making and folk toy activities in the Old Quarter. Meanwhile, in the Cho Lon area in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors will immerse themselves in a bustling festive atmosphere featuring lion dances, lanterns, and food stalls carrying the cultural imprint of the Chinese community.
Branavan Aruljothi, Country Director of Booking.com in Vietnam, remarked that as the demand for authentic cultural experiences increases, cuisine serves as a bridge for travelers to access local heritage and identity.
In Vietnam, baked mooncakes, sticky rice mooncakes, and autumn fruits typically appear on the full-moon night feast, associated with the tradition of family reunion. This cultural trait is also reflected in this year's Mid-Autumn tourism products.
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