Trafalgar Tours has revealed the results of its global research project which sought to uncover the top food trends that inspired global residents to dream about travel destinations during the lockdown.
The researchers analyzed 50,000 online search queries related to food and travel and revealed how the world satisfied its hunger for travel experiences throughout a year of stay-at-home orders and closed borders.
In Canada, searches for recipes were up by 48 per cent in 2020, while queries for local restaurants dropped by 18 per cent. Searches for Canadian food tours also rose by 9 per cent, as Canadians looked for food travel escapes close to home.
It turns out that Japanese food was a big hit in Canada in 2020. Sushi was reported as one of the nation’s favourite dishes as a go-to takeout option. Trafalgar reported that demand for Japanese takeout was up by 37 per cent in 2020.
Canada’s searches for new exciting flavours from Moldova’s cuisine were up by 188 per cent, similarly with Guyana’s cuisine, which had searches increase by 60 per cent, and Jordan’s booming food scene which saw search increases by 50 per cent in 2020.
Foreign-food searches varied from Canadian city to city. Toronto looked to the Far East for food inspiration - with Mongolian food the hottest takeaway trend of 2020 in Hogtown, with searches up by 357 per cent.
In Montreal, Nicaraguan food became a new trend. This cuisine was a favourite amongst Montreal residents searching for local restaurants, and search results increased by 106 per cent.
In Calgary, searches for Jamaican recipes were up by 100 per cent, as were queries about Jamaican food tours, which were up by 350 per cent.
Canadians across the country agreed on one thing: Italian home-cooked food is tops. Searches for Italian recipes skyrocketed throughout the pandemic year, making it the most searched for cuisine for home-cooking.
The tour company predicts these food trends and experiences will likely shape how Canadians explore the world once travel fully resumes and they can experience these cuisines at the source.
