Travel and cuisine news from around the world.
Top tourist spots for 2025
Lonely Planet has just revealed its list of must-visit destinations for 2025 as well as a rundown of top travel trends. Number one on the list of cities is Toulouse, France, which was described as “a perfect weekend break destination, a real labyrinth of a
city with art galleries, upcycled industrial venues (and) cafes”. Also on the list is the Indian city of Puducherry, which is an
easy train journey from the better-known tourist destination of Chennai. Puducherry is reimagining itself as “a top destination for sand and surf”. And when it comes to getting around, train-hopping has been cited as the top travel trend for the coming year.
Ode to the BBQ
Billed as the “world’s first museum of barbecue”, the Museum of BBQ, in Kansas City, Missouri, features interactive exhibits as well as information about the barbecue’s essential elements: meat, rub/spice, wood, fire, smoke and sauce. Perhaps they should visit South Africa
for the real deal, as no one can fire up a lekker braai as well as a South African!
World’s best bar
Handshake Speakeasy, a two level bar in Mexico City’s hip Colonia Juarez neighbourhood, has been proclaimed the world’s best bar for 2024. It clinched the title in Madrid, where a splashy awards ceremony was held by the World’s 50 Best association. It’s a major achievement for a bar that only opened its (downstairs) doors in 2023. Handshake Speakeasy was third on the list last year.
Birds of a feather
Extreme birdwatching, where travellers plan their entire holiday around spotting and viewing our flighty friends, has
become a massive trend in the past couple of years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people picked up hobbies like bird watching and hiking, and travel itineraries have taken on a whole new adventurous path.
Bubble, bubble
Invented in the 1980s, bubble tea is a Taiwanese classic that’s causing a splash in 2024. Although there are dozens of variations, at its core, bubble tea is a mixture of tea, milk and ‘bubbles’ – little balls that are made of anything from tapioca to fruit jelly.
Hands only
Kamayan feasts are making a comeback. The communal, ‘hands-only’ Filipino meals are placed on leafy greens and, instead of using plates or utensils, everything is eaten with your hands (kamayan in Tagalog). The dishes served during a kamayan feast vary depending on the vision of the chef who cooks it. In the Philippines today, kamayan meals are typically prepared on significant family occasions, like birthdays, holidays and reunions, and are also offered on some restaurant menus.
Going nut-free
Voyage Foods, a US food-tech company, will unveil a new facility in Ohio to produce its cocoa-free chocolates, nutfree
spreads and bean-free coffee. The facility will bolster Voyage’s ability to meet the growing demand from other manufacturers and the foodservice channel, the company said. It is also hoping to take advantage of a cocoa shortage, exacerbated by adverse weather conditions in major cocoa producing countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. The company’s products include peanut-free and hazelnut-free roasted seed spreads, both free from the top nine allergens. Voyage said its products are made from affordable, commonly available plant-based ingredients, many of these upcycled from waste and by-products.