The China culinary tourism market is set to experience substantial growth in the upcoming decade door to Demand for unique gastronomic experiences is on the rise. Travelers, both domestic and international, are looking to expand their palates and palates to go beyond the dinner table with a food-centric holiday. They include cooking classes, tours of local markets, farm-to-table visits and cultural food festivals.
With the forecast period of 2025, compound annual growth will lead the market size value to reach USD 31.3 Billion by the year 2035 and registered a value of USD 8.2 Billion in the year 2025. The trend indicates a wider movement in tourism, as international visitors have become more interested in visiting specific attractions and local destinations that enhance their ties to local culture and - to a lesser degree - heritage.
The rising middleclass population, increasing willingness to pay for experiential travel and diverse dining options across China are primary growth drivers. With rising income, more domestic travellers are able to tour provinces, each with its own distinct culinary traditions.
Foreign visitors are also attracted by China’s status as a food destination, with dishes from Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan and other regional cuisines. An even more important factor attracting foreign food lovers is the growing international understanding of Chinese food culture, an understanding that has been greatly magnified through social media and food-related television programs.
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The gastronomy of northern China has been finely calibrated by climate and terrain over centuries, cultivating a refined though hearty repertory, cuisine in any region is a living tradition, shaped equally by innovation and continuity of custom. In Beijing and Tianjin particularly, wheat serves as the very foundation, transformed through mastery into noodles and dumplings of diverse description, as well as into subtly flavoured, thin pancakes symbolic of the northern palate, robust yet refined.
Yet memorable gastronomic encounters there extend beyond staples to complete dining experiences such as the multi-act theatrical production of Peking duck or historic quarter strolls unveiling imperial kitchen secrets. As the nation's political and cultural nucleus for centuries, the area likewise consolidated its identity as a prime foodie destination, drawing domestic tourists in search of rejuvenation along esteemed snack streets and globe-trotting adventurers hungry to savor bold tastes representative of northern identity.
Even in our experience-focused modern moment, North China's distinguished culinary inheritance, with deep roots wedded to change, maintains immense appeal for those wishing to unlock genteel traditions through their taste buds.
Northeast China, particularly the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, is a food tourist destination that many can agree resonates, as it serves up its own culinary culture based on Chinese, Russian, and Korean history. The region beckons travellers looking to try classics - from blistering hotpot feasts and kimchi-infused permutations of fermented vegetables to regional delicacies like the sweet-and-sour and guo bao rou.
The bitterly frigid climate of Northeast China has cultivated a food ways founded upon preservation methods-with pickling, smoking and drying techniques imparting distinctive savors to vegetables and meats that increasingly intrigue global gourmands. Experiential culinary trips affording glimpses into bustling local markets and family-run eateries upholding multi-generational recipes offer intimate access to taste traditions steeped in regional history and the resilient spirit of its people against the backdrop of a breath taking yet unforgiving land.
East China falls under the culinary auspices of the four major culinary traditions: the eastern shores, including Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu province, where light ambience, sweetness, savoury and umami is the prevalent flavour profile. Shanghai’s street food, renowned xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and Michelin-starred establishments combine to make it a top-tier destination for lofty food tourism.
Zhejiang’s Hangzhou fare, with its signature dishes such as West Lake fish in vinegar sauce and shrimp infused with Longjing tea, will attract travellers wanting fine dining in scenic settings. Once again, Jiangsu, with its focus on elaborate presentation and balance of taste, is a major magnet for food tourists. The positive economic situation, well-established infrastructural improvements, and diverse food festivals and culinary events help promote East China’s culinary tourism market.
With the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, the southeast of China is the home of Cantonese cuisine, which is famous around the world for its insistence on fresh ingredients, subtle seasonings and extensive preparation techniques. Guangzhou’s dim sum culture, Hainan’s seafood-focused plates and the tropical fruit and herbal flavours of Guangxi make for a varied culinary palette that serves all tastes.
Culinary tourists flock to South China for authentic Cantonese dining, vibrant food markets, and the chance to gain hands-on experience in traditional cooking methods from local chefs. The region’s traditional trade routes have also brought a variety of multicultural influences throughout its many layers of convoluted history, making its culinary treasure chest deeper.
Central China, whose provinces are Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi, is famous for spicy and hot flavours. Hunan cuisine is appropriate for adventurous food tourists who crave spicy, bold and savory dishes, generously laced with hot pepper and pungent spices. Tourists can visit busy food markets in Changsha, take cooking classes to learn how to prepare signature dishes like Chairman Mao’s Red-Braised Pork, and dine along the river on dishes that showcase local ingredients.
The more rustic Hubei and Jiangxi provide a countryside culinary experience in which hearty soups, river fish and preserved vegetables reign supreme. Central China’s culinary tourism thrives off the region’s proficiency in creating the same unpretentious, homey soul food that provides an allure to both domestic and international visitors looking for an authentic immersion into China’s culinary landscape.
Challenge
Culinary Standardization, Franchising and Urban Amenities
The China culinary tourism market is hindered by fragmented food tourism infrastructure, hygiene inconsistency, and lack of organized culinary experiences. China may have such diverse and rich food culture, but ensuring that international visitors are provided with standardized food safety measures, quality control, and access to food is still an ongoing matter. Moreover, language barriers, regional differences in cuisine regulations, and the common fragmentation of culinary tourism from mainstream travel services contribute to operational challenges.
Opportunity
Rise of the Experiential Food Travel & Digital Culinary Platform
Food is becoming an important component of travel, and as travellers seek out more immersive experiences, it creates a lot of opportunities for the China Culinary Tourism Market. Travelers are looking for authentic meals, from street-food samplings to high-end regional tastings.
The industry is being reshaped by the introduction of AI-guided food tour suggestions, virtual reservation systems, and farm-to-table eateries. Moreover, partnering with famous chefs, organizing cultural food workshops, and introducing digital tracking of food products are building consumer trust and engagement. Players in digital culinary tourism solutions, sustainable gastronomy, and AI-powered custom food tours stand to drive future growth in this space.
Trend assessment of china culinary tourism market during 2020 to 2024 The China Culinary Tourism Market witnessed growth between 2020 to 2024 with Growing Appetite for regional food experiences over all space, social media roles in gourmet tourism . Travel packages cantered around food, cooking classes and curated dining trails were on the rise. Yet, international tourists faced challenges with infrastructure, language and fluctuating service delivery. Businesses responded by creating AI-powered translation services, food safety tracking and online reservation systems for culinary tours.
However, in 2025 to 2035 timeframe, we will witness disruptive innovations in AI-enabled food tourism, immersive digital dining experiences, and eco-centric gastronomy. Travellers will experience Chinese food through real-time food authenticity verification, digital food sourcing transparency and AI-curated gourmet trails, all the while helping the environment and local communities.
Food tourism, hyper-personalization, sustainability-based experiences, and AI-enhanced dietary suggestions will continue changing the industry for the better. The future of China’s Culinary Tourism Market will be led by companies that combine digital innovation, structured culinary travel planning and sustainable food tourism practices.
Market Shifts: A Comparative Analysis 2020 to 2024 vs. 2025 to 2035
| Market Shift | 2020 to 2024 Trends |
|---|---|
| Regulatory Landscape | Adhering to food safety regulations and tourism laws |
| Technological Advancements | Growth in AI-powered travel recommendations and digital food tour platforms |
| Industry Adoption | Increased demand for regional food trails, street food experiences, and luxury dining tourism |
| Supply Chain and Sourcing | Dependence on traditional restaurant and farm partnerships |
| Market Competition | Presence of regional food tourism operators and hospitality-driven culinary packages |
| Market Growth Drivers | Demand for immersive food experiences and cultural culinary heritage |
| Sustainability and Energy Efficiency | First steps into organic food tours and eco-gastronomy concepts |
| Integration of Smart Monitoring | Limited real-time food safety tracking and digital dining insights |
| Advancements in Culinary Tourism | Use of traditional food tours and localized cooking classes |
| Market Shift | 2025 to 2035 Projections |
|---|---|
| Regulatory Landscape | AI-enhanced compliance management, real-time awareness of authentic food, and international culinary tourism endorsement. |
| Technological Advancements | Adoption of real-time food safety tracking, AI-assisted gastronomy curation, and interactive digital culinary experiences. |
| Industry Adoption | Expansion into AI-personalized culinary journeys, smart food tourism mapping, and sustainability-driven gastronomy. |
| Supply Chain and Sourcing | Shift toward AI-enhanced ingredient sourcing, transparent farm-to-table networks, and sustainable culinary experiences. |
| Market Competition | Rise of AI-powered culinary travel platforms, chef-led experience providers, and digital-first gastronomy tour companies. |
| Market Growth Drivers | AI driven fine dining, curated culinary travel experiences, and a higher frequency of sustainable eateries. |
| Sustainability and Energy Efficiency | Carbon-free dining experiences, AI-based sustainable food sourcing and zero-waste culinary travel will be widely adopted. |
| Integration of Smart Monitoring | AI-enhanced food authenticity verification, real-time traveller preferences analysis, and intelligent ingredient sourcing. |
| Advancements in Culinary Tourism | Evolution of AI-curated gourmet travel, virtual reality food tastings, and data-driven personalized dining experiences. |
North China ranks first in China's culinary tourism market due to its imperial cuisine, cultural heritage and international tourism strength. Beijing and Tianjin, for example, draw millions of domestic and international tourists looking for the real deal, whether that’s Peking duck, imperial banquets or regional varieties of hotpot.
The region’s increasing investment in food-themed tourism like cooking workshops, Michelin-starred restaurants, food history museums is fueling demand for experiential culinary tourism. Moreover, Beijing’s heightened trend of holding food-related festivals and revitalization projects of street food is able to further add on the market.
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| North China | 14.7% |
Cold-weather delicacies, hearty, regional cuisine and burgeoning tourism infrastructure are driving robust growth across Northeast China’s culinary tourism market. Places like Harbin, Shenyang and Dalian have Russian influenced foods, game meats and winter specialty foods like Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork) and Dongbei hotpot.
Market expansion is being fuelled by seasonal food festivals, tourism packages in winter and the ever-growing exchange of culinary products with the likes of Russia and Korea. Also, the popularity of the ice festival in Harbin has made people pay attention to special food in this area.
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| Northeast China | 14.1% |
Due to their profound, diverse food culture, prosperous international tourism and high-end dining, East China ranks among the fast-developed culinary tourism counter in the world. Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, cities known for their exquisite Jiangnan cuisine, international fusion restaurants, and high-end food scenes;
As a world capital of finance, Shanghai draws high-end gourmands in search of chic Michelin-starred restaurants, immersive food tours and exclusive chef’s table experiences. Sustainable culinary tourism is also drawing visitors to Hangzhou, whose long tea culture and farm-to-table experiences are especially appealing.
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| East China | 14.9% |
Culinary tourism market in south China booming, thanks to its world-renowned Cantonese cuisine, multicultural food trade and gumbo of street food. Food tourism has made these destinations top draws, from dim sum culture to seafood markets to fusion experiences, in cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
At the same time, the region is seeing increasing demand for food heritage tours, night market experiences and cross-border culinary travel between Hong Kong and Macau. Moreover, high-end travellers are drawn to gourmet luxury tourism (think fine dining experiences and tea tastings).
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| South China | 15.2% |
Hunan cuisine is bringing inbound tourism, and food-related travel possibilities, to central China Cities such as Wuhan, Changsha and Zhengzhou are drawing tourists for famed hot and spicy fare, local snacks and historic food streets.
The region’s investment in distinctive cultural food experiences like food museums, hotpot festivals and traditional cooking lessons is driving demand for experiential travel. Moreover, Wuhan’s iconic breakfast culture ("Re Gan Mian" - hot dry noodles) is going more worldwide, attracting more foodies.
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| Central China | 14.5% |
Southwest China is a veritable culinary tourism Mecca with Sichuan’s bold, spicy flavours, Yunnan’s varied ethnic food and Chengdu’s world-famous hotpot scene. Cities including Chengdu, Chongqing and Kunming are luring millions of food tourists longing to familiarize themselves with authentic Sichuanese dishes, street food markets and traditional cooking workshops.
Market growth is attributed to the region’s emphasis on holding onto food heritage, advocating for Sichuan cuisine globally, and improving food tourism infrastructure. The emergence of spice-themed tourism and experiential dining is also opening up spaces as well.
| Region | CAGR (2025 to 2035) |
|---|---|
| Southwest China | 15.0% |
The food festivals and food experiments form a significant share of the China food tourism industry due to the growing demand from international and domestic tourists for authentic, experiential, and richly cultural food experiences. Food tourism activities play a vital role in hosting economies, local foods, and attracting China as a global food tourism destination, and hence remain important to hospitality firms, tour agencies, and food tour operators.
Food trials have emerged as the latest trend in China's food tourism industry, providing tourists with a chance to taste, learn, and live actual local food in its natural habitat. Unlike traditional restaurant dining, food trials focus on experiential, multi-course food tasting, street food tasting, and guided market walks that introduce tourists to China's diverse food culture.
Growing food tourism demand for tasting street foods, for example, unique menu items like Sichuan hotpot, Beijing Peking duck, and Shanghai soup dumplings (xiaolongbao), has boosted culinary trial consumption among experience-seeker and authenticity-based food consumption for the same. Data confirms that over 70% of international travelers to China document at least one culinary trial experience while still in China, and thus assured strong demand in this space.
The culinary innovation of food tours, such as live cooking demonstrations, night market food tasting in the evening, and AI-driven customized food tour recommendations, has created market demand, and therefore culinary experiments are more widely accepted as China's culinary tourism infrastructure.
The innovation of food discovery websites, such as cell phone app-powered self-directed food walks, restaurant suggestions through the use of AI-powered solutions, and experiential food combinations, has further heightened adoption, making it easier to access and engage in food travelers.
The innovation of host-chef-exclusive tastings, such as celebrity-chef-hosted meals, Michelin-starred tasting menus, and host chef-dining pop-ups, has spurred optimal market expansion, making it easier to entice high-spending culinary tourists.
Embracing organic tea tastings, farm-to-table sustainable food trials, and seafood sustainability tours, and factory tours for artisanal food at the local scale has propelled market growth more in sync with global trends in sustainable tourism.
Despite its advantage with authenticity, immersion, and experience-led learning, the culinary trials section is plagued by language, food safety, and seasonality issues of some vegetables. Yet, innovations with AI-driven translation technologies for foods, blockchain-based traceability technology for foods, and customized digital curation for food tours are improving efficiency, transparency, and consumer trust, opening up long-term market growth opportunity for culinary trials in China's food tourism industry.
Food festivals have experienced extensive market penetration, particularly by experiential travelers, gourmets, and seasonal tourists, as China continues to invest increasingly in mass gastronomy festivals, world food fairs, and heritage food festivals. Food festivals are mass, organized food festivals with several vendors, cultural events, and interactive food workshops, hence forming an active and highly participatory culinary tourism niche.
Growing popularity of food festivals at the local level, such as the Harbin International Ice and Snow Food Festival, Chengdu Hotpot Festival, and Macau Food Festival, has fueled adoption of food festival tourism, with international tourists and domestic locals seeking celebratory and experiential food experiences. Studies indicate that over 60% of China's international culinary travelers organize their travel around significant food festivals, which will translate into high demand for this niche.
Launch of multi-city food festival holiday packages, with travel plans focused around top-line culinary festivals and seasonal food festivals, has rooted market demand, ensuring greater take-up of food festival-themed holiday experiences.
Facilitating digital food festival guides, like mobile ticketing, AI-led festival navigation, and real-time vendor recommendations, has also driven adoption, ensuring better user experience and greater levels of engagement among food festival participants.
Development of specialty VIP food festival events with special access to chef-hosted dinners, behind-the-scenes cooking classes, and private tastings has driven peak market growth and generated additional demand for high-end culinary tourists.
Introduction of international guest chef collaborations through cross-cultural culinary exchange programs, international pop-up restaurant dinners, and food and beverage pairing masterclasses has driven market expansion, with additional placement of China's food festivals on the global marketplace.
Even as it enjoys cultural value gains, high turnstile rates, and seasonality-driven tourism interest during seasons, food festival tourism is marred with adverse effects in the form of large crowds management, environment sustainability, and climatic hazard while organizing outdoor food festivals. Nevertheless, with the recent advances in AI-based event crowd analytics, digital waste management technology, and real-time festival experience improvement, efficiency, sustainability, and customer satisfaction are being enhanced, thus food festival tourism in China's culinary tourism industry continues to grow.
The in-person booking and online booking segments are two significant market drivers, with food travelers increasingly adopting seamless digital booking and on-the-ground experiential decision-making into their activities surrounding trip planning.
Online Booking Segment Represents Market Demand as Digital Travel Platforms and AI-Driven Personalization Streamline Culinary Trip Planning
The web-based booking segment has become the most popular mode of culinary travel bookings, where one can pre-reserve food tours, restaurant tours, and food workshops in advance on digital media, OTAs, and mobile apps. When compared to telephone booking, web booking provides instant availability checks, instant confirmation, and AI-recommended food experiences.
Growing demand for mobile-first travel bookings, with reservation platforms based in apps, AI-powered culinary tour customization, and payment integration convenience, has spurred online booking growth, as travelers value convenience, flexibility, and experience customization. Research shows that more than 75% of foreign visitors coming to China reserve their culinary travel experiences online, providing robust demand for this segment.
Although its strength in convenience of access, instant booking, and artificial intelligence-led personalization, the online booking industry also faces issues like cybersecurity threats, platform stability, and ultimate minute limitation of bookings. But newer technologies like blockchain-based booking verification, AI-led fraud management, and food travel book price dynamics are enhancing security, transparency, and book price flexibility, all helping to fuel market expansion for online food travel booking websites.
Offline booking has seen good market acceptability, especially among spontaneous food travelers, walk-in holidaymakers, and backpackers, as food travelers increasingly turn to street vendor advice, tips from locals, and spontaneous restaurant choices to structure their tours. In contrast to pre-booking through the Internet, offline booking enables tourists to browse real-time gastronomic options by leveraging local knowledge and word-of-mouth promotion.
Increased demand for dynamic, on-the-spot culinary experiences, including street food sampling, pop-up dining, and local chef partnerships, has fueled use of in-restaurant reservation, with food travelers seeking authentic, fleeting gastronomic experiences.
Although it has the strengths of spontaneity, flexibility, and cultural immersion, the offline booking segment also suffers from language problems, availability issues, and varied pricing transparency. But new trends of AI-translating mobile apps, live food discovery maps, and blockchain-based dynamic pricing mechanisms are making the process easier, more convenient, and user-friendly, leading to sustained growth for offline booking in China's food tourism sector.
The demand for authentic food experiences, culinary gastronomy, and immersive dining tours continues to drive growth in China's culinary tourism market. In an alternative trade, companies and tourism operators increasingly turn to AI-driven food tour recommendations, digital food guide platforms, and interactive culinary experiences to divert traveler engagement and culinary education toward the development of regional food tourism and, ultimately, to promote a sustainable food transition model.
Food tour agencies, hospitality brands, local restaurants, and online travel aggregators are all involved in technological advances in smart culinary travel, digital food experiences, and personalized and AI-powered food journeys, triple analysis data solutions.
Market Share Analysis by Key Players & Culinary Travel Platforms
| Company/Organization Name | Estimated Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| China Highlights (Food & Culinary Tours) | 18-22% |
| Lost Plate Food Tours | 12-16% |
| UnTour Food Tours China | 10-14% |
| Intrepid Travel (Culinary Experiences in China) | 8-12% |
| Secret Food Tours (China Segment) | 5-9% |
| Other Travel Operators & Local Agencies (combined) | 30-40% |
| Company/Organization Name | Key Offerings/Activities |
|---|---|
| China Highlights | Develops AI-powered food tours, immersive street food experiences, and customized private dining journeys. |
| Lost Plate Food Tours | Specializes in historical food tours, family-style dining experiences, and regional cuisine exploration. |
| UnTour Food Tours China | Provides interactive food discovery tours, chef-led cooking classes, and culinary-themed travel experiences. |
| Intrepid Travel (China Culinary Experiences) | Offers culture-driven culinary tourism, rural gastronomy experiences, and sustainable food travel. |
| Secret Food Tours | Focuses on high-end gourmet dining, Michelin-star culinary tours, and luxury food tastings across major Chinese cities. |
Key Market Insights
China Highlights (18-22%)
China Highlights is a leader in the China culinary tourism market, providing bespoke food tours, AI powered restaurant recommendations and immersive street food experiences.
Lost Plate Food Tours (12-16%)
Lost Plate, which offers traditional and regional foodie experiences, is mindful of the limits of small group culinary tours and detailed storytelling about local food.
UnTour Food Tours China (10-14%)
UnTour specializes in chef-led cooking classes as well as other city-based culinary experiences and interactive food tours for travelers.
Intrepid Travel (8-12%)
With a focus on sustainable culinary tourism, Intrepid promotes farm-to-table dining, rural food experiences, and immersive street market explorations.
Secret Food Tours (5-9%)
All Secret Food Tours can be expect as clean as sky and peel off the entire of genres include high-end gourmet tastings, Michelin dining and cultural food immersion.
Other Key Players (30-40% Combined)
Next-gen culinary tourism innovations, AI-driven dining personalization, & smart travel integration by multiple, food tour agencies, shop on travel platforms, & hospitality services. These include:
The overall market size for China Culinary Tourism Market was USD 8.2 Billion in 2025.
The China Culinary Tourism Market expected to reach USD 31.3 Billion in 2035.
The demand for China’s culinary tourism market will be driven by rising global interest in authentic Chinese cuisine, government initiatives promoting food tourism, increasing social media influence, expansion of food festivals, and growing inbound tourism seeking regional delicacies and immersive gastronomic experiences across diverse culinary hubs.
The top 5 countries which drives the development of Brazil Culinary Tourism Market are USA, UK, Europe Union, Japan and South Korea.
Culinary Trials and Food Festivals Drive Market Growth to command significant share over the assessment period.
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