According to experts, competition from culinary destinations, uninformed international visitors and changing global travel trends could impact Vietnam's position in the list of world culinary destinations in 2025.
Gary Johnson, 39, who has visited 89 countries and territories, said that the most attractive factor for tourists in Vietnam is the cuisine. "When my friends come back from traveling to Vietnam, they often praise the delicious food, then the sights, prices, and people," Gary said.
"Vietnamese food is delicious and easy for us British palates," said Susan Halliwell, 71, who arrived in Vietnam on February 14. Susan loves the Western pancakes and balut, although she was initially "a little scared" of the street food.
Because of their good impression of Vietnamese cuisine, both tourists were surprised when they saw famous culinary destinations in Vietnam. unnamed in the top 25 best culinary destinations in the world 2025 by readers on Tripadvisor vote. Last year, Hanoi ranked first in this list and third place in 2023.
The "Travelers' Choice Awards Best of the Best" is the most prestigious award in the travel industry on Tripadvisor, awarded to units and destinations that receive many outstanding reviews and opinions from millions of travelers in 12 months. Of the list of 8 million destinations, hotels, restaurants, experiences, less than 1% of them are honored in the categories. The awards are often announced with the purpose of serving as a guidebook, helping travelers have more options when traveling.
According to Hue-born culinary artist Ho Dac Thieu Anh, Hanoi's drop in ranking may be due to the development and improvement of cuisine in other destinations, making tourists feel more attracted.
"It could also be due to the changing global travel trends, the influence of emerging culinary destinations attracting more attention from tourists," said Martin Koener, commercial director of Anam Group and vice president of the German Business Association in Vietnam. The rankings are built from reviews and votes from tourists. Changing tourist numbers or “less enthusiastic” reviews than last year could affect this year’s rankings.
Mr. Martin Koener said that Vietnam needs to pay attention. Competition is increasing in the world's culinary industry. Many destinations are constantly innovating their culinary experiences to attract more recognition. Tourism experts also believe that if Vietnam in general and its provinces and cities in particular remain "stuck in place" or do not have many breakthrough changes, falling in the rankings is inevitable.
Remi Van Peteghem, Director of Culinary Arts at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and member of the French Master Chefs Association, said Hanoi's drop in ranking could be due to international visitors not having had full access to information about the richness and dynamism of Vietnamese cuisine in recent years.
However, experts say that Hanoi's drop in rank and Vietnam's absence from the list is not unusual. In this year's Top 25, 10 cities still hold the ranking: Rome, Buenos Aires, Paris, Naples, Barcelona, New Orleans, Athens, Jamaica, Charleston, Chiang Mai; the rest all fell off the list.
Tripadvisor's 25 Best Food Destinations in the World 2025
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Hanoi also not the only case The Greek island of Crete made the top three in 2024 and the top two in 2023 but did not make it to the list in 2025. Florence, Italy, also made the top two in 2023 and 2024; it was absent this year.
Nigel Halliwell, a 72-year-old British tourist and husband of Susan, said the rankings did not represent the 8 billion people in the world. "It's not always Michelin or Tripadvisor "That's right because everyone's taste is different," Nigel said, suggesting that tourists should come to Vietnam to experience the cuisine for themselves.
Ms. Thieu Anh also said that "in the eyes of international friends, Hanoi cuisine still has an ancient, traditional look and that makes Hanoi still highly appreciated."
Martin Koener also has a special affection for Vietnamese cuisine, affirming that "Hanoi cuisine is one of the most unique in the world". Using fresh ingredients, herbs and sophisticated cooking techniques, Martin believes that although it does not appear in this year's culinary rankings, Vietnam is still one of the most interesting culinary destinations in the world.
To regain international recognition, Vietnam should cooperate with international chefs, increase its presence at global food festivals that can create more awareness and appreciation. Enhancing the culinary tourism experience is also an important aspect. Developing more interactive culinary tours, street food and cooking classes will attract tourists who are looking for authentic culinary experiences. Besides, Vietnam also has a lot of room to appear more on the Michelin star list. This is also a strategy to let the world's diners know more about "Vietnamese kitchen".
Sustainability and quality control are also important factors. Ensuring hygiene, food safety and sustainable sourcing will help raise the general awareness of Vietnamese cuisine and make it more appealing to global diners.
"I wonder why Bangkok (ranked 14th) is known worldwide for its street food, while Vietnamese cuisine is not inferior but has not yet created a prominent brand," said Remi Van Peteghem. Therefore, he suggested that the tourism industry needs to have stronger, more synchronous, and more focused culinary promotion campaigns on a large scale.
Remi pointed out that Vietnam’s valuable local agricultural products such as coffee, fish sauce and craft drinks have not been widely promoted. Promoting the brand and export strategy for these ingredients will help affirm Vietnam’s position on the world culinary map. With a more strategic and synchronized approach, Hanoi and Vietnam can completely return to the top of the world’s leading culinary destinations.
Vietnam also needs to control prices and price gouging to create a good image in the eyes of tourists, helping to upgrade to a better level, according to experts. "If we still sell to Western tourists a "If you buy a small bag of apples for 200,000 VND, Vietnamese cuisine will taste bitter instead of delicious. Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City will never be on top," said Nguyen Ba Thien An, 24, who witnessed street vendors on Hanoi's walking street "ripping off" Western customers.
"Being honored at awards is not as important as the number of international visitors we welcome," said Nguyen Van My, Chairman of Lua Viet Tours. In 2024, Vietnam welcomed the number of international visitors almost back to pre-pandemic levels. In January 2025, Vietnam welcomed 2.1 million international visitors, highest in history. Therefore, the tourism industry needs to focus on maintaining the "huge" guest reception performance like January as well as focusing on guest quality and revenue.
"We are relying too much on awards. Instead, the tourism industry should focus on how to make more profit," Mr. My said.
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