November 2011
Featured in this insight: Consumer goods & FMCG , Culture, heritage & leisure, Food & drink, International
Survey finds majority of Britons gastronomically unadventurous when abroad: A survey commissioned by the Dubai tourism authorities has discovered that Britons abroad tend to opt for junk food rather than trying local culinary flavours.
It seems British holidaymakers would rather head for Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald’s than try out unknown eateries.
The study revealed a two-third majority of British abroad will avoid what they see as foreign risk and choose something familiar. This tendency does not only apply to dining, since nearly the same proportion of those surveyed will make a bee line for Irish pubs or English staples such as the Red Lion.
In addition, a quarter of the respondents who took part in the study said that the cuisine available at places around the world affected their choice of holiday destination. A total of 16% said they are wary of Middle Eastern gastronomy, while 20% said that Japanese food intimidated them.
Overall, tourists from Wales were found to be least adventurous in sampling something unfamiliar and those from East Anglia were the most open minded.
Finally, half of the Britons questioned said they would experiment more with local food when on holiday if they had clearer information about its cleanliness.
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