Explore culinary culture and hands-on experiences in Dubai

Travel trends have changed continuously in recent years. Social networks contribute to shaping experiences, but are not really true to reality. Bloomberg’s travel correspondent offers some tips and new experience trends for travelers’ 2026 vacations.

Choose a place to experience

Traditional tours gradually lose their appeal when queuing at museums, parks or temples makes tourists tired. Instead, meeting local people and experiencing culture and cuisine helps visitors discover new destinations, gain a deeper understanding of local life and easily check in “naturally”.

In Lisbon (Portugal), visitors do not need to worry about going to fixed viewing spots when they can catch the sunset on the way to the restaurant. In Milan (Italy), instead of focusing on the Duomo, walking around the surrounding neighborhoods brings many new experiences while still being able to admire this work. With Kyoto (Japan), visitors can easily miss the value of temples if they just squeeze in the crowd, instead of visiting the surrounding worship shops or noodle shops.

Welcoming the “third culinary culture”

Instead of being confined to stereotypes such as eating spaghetti in Italy or ramen in Japan, visitors can expand their experience with the “third culinary culture”. In fact, many pasta restaurants in Las Vegas (USA) or pizza restaurants in Tokyo are highly appreciated for their quality. In Milan (Italy), enjoying steamed dumplings from the large Chinese community is a choice worth considering.

Similarly, Indian cuisine in Dubai is part of the local identity as people of Indian origin make up more than half of the emirate’s population. Visitors can visit curry shops in Karama area or enjoy pani puri and scallops at specialized restaurants to experience the diversity of Indian food.

Skip the Michelin restaurants

Michelin Guide gradually becomes a standard that shapes the global culinary world. Chasing recipes to win stars causes many chefs to create restaurants that lack identity and are easily forgotten. Many diners now consider this list just a general tool and turn to the Opinionated About Dining (OAD) rankings.

This platform gathers thousands of reviews from food enthusiasts, covering many different regions and price segments. OAD provides a balance between user reviews on apps like Yelp or Google Review and in-depth reviews. This helps diners access diverse information, avoiding “pay to appear” models, which are common on many platforms.

Choose a restaurant based on ‘vibe’

The trend of choosing restaurants based on atmosphere and view, or “vibe”, is playing an equally important role as food quality. These venues operate as free community clubs, helping diners connect with local residents.

Therefore, reference to suggestions should be based on the specific needs and purposes of each information source. When asking about a restaurant to visit, make sure you know why they recommend it. If asked about the best pizza in Milan, chefs will mention Confine’s soft, spongy crust and premium ingredients, while the upper class choose La Specialità.

Currently, many hotels are also promoting the exploitation of the “vibe economy”, taking advantage of services to create spaces that attract both tourists and local people.

Find the padel club to explore the ‘cool’ neighborhood

Compared to pickleball, padel has international appeal, considered a sign of interesting neighborhoods in big cities. Places to play padel are often concentrated in busy areas with many cafes, bars and cultural gathering spots.

In Dubai (UAE), Matcha Club combines sports and healthy cuisine, located in Al Quoz – the most “stylish” area of ​​the city with the Alserkal Avenue art center.

In Lisbon (Portugal), the Nave club is located in Marvila, famous for its craft breweries and art galleries. Finding these spaces helps visitors access the depth of local life instead of just focusing on common attractions.

Be careful with travel agents

Originally expected to help tourists save time on research, the current explosion of travel agencies makes choosing the right agency difficult. Tourists should directly participate in the preparation process instead of depending entirely on brokers. Agencies often prioritize care commensurate with budget, reflecting the nature of the volume-based business model.

Tourists also need to be cautious with experiential content on social networking platforms TikTok, RedNotes or Instagram Reels. A Bloomberg reporter said that after a month of researching thousands of posts in Tokyo, many of them were like “I just spent two weeks in Japan, here’s an expert tip”, often providing false information about this country.