JAKARTA. A recent survey found that food and beverages expenses was a crucial factor for over a third of travelers across the Asia Pacific region in determining the destination of their vacation.

The survey also reveals nearly 30 percent of Indonesian travelers allocate up to half of their total holiday budget for food and beverages.

The survey, carried out by global hospitality firm Hilton Worldwide, comprised 2,700 holidaymakers from nine countries in the Asia Pacific region. Only five per cent of respondents said that they did not factor in food and beverage expenses when deciding where to holiday.

“A country or city’s culinary choices are clearly a big driver as to where leisure travelers in Asia Pacific choose to travel,” Markus Schueller, Hilton Worldwide vice president for Food & Beverage Operations, Asia Pacific , said in a statement available to The Jakarta Post.

“Appreciation for food and beverages continues to grow, and this has significant implications for the hospitality industry, he added.

Taking in responses from tourists in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, results showed that food was also a priority when it came to holiday expenses, with 43 per cent of respondents allocating up to half of their total holiday budget for food and beverages.

Editor: Asnil Amri