Netflix Spurs Asia Food Tourism
Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars has driven a 303% surge in restaurant bookings for food tourism across Asia — a big tailwind for experiential dining and tour operators (x.com). That spike favors restaurants in food-tourist hubs — think premium street-food experiences and chef-led tasting menus. (x.com)
CatchTable’s internal analysis compared user activity for Nov. 4–Dec. 15, 2025 (pre-broadcast) with Dec. 16, 2025–Jan. 13, 2026 (post-broadcast) to measure how the show moved real bookings on its platform. (seouleconomicdaily.com) Search and booking rankings on CatchTable after the season placed Ok Dong-sik, Choi Kang-rok and Son Jong-won among the most-searched chefs, while Son’s Itanic Garden and L’Amant Secret occupied the top two restaurant search spots. (seouleconomicdaily.com) Itanic Garden’s tasting menu is listed at about 370,000 won per person (roughly $270), and CatchTable shows those venues moved to “vacancy notification” only as social posts from influencers amplified demand. (seouleconomicdaily.com) Earlier episodes produced flash sellouts too: more than 20,000 users logged into CatchTable to book Chef Choi Kang-rok’s Neo in one surge, with all available slots claimed within a minute. (chosun.com) CatchTable’s platform counts more than 10 million members and over 180 million cumulative visitors since launch, and the company was named the Michelin Guide’s official booking partner for Seoul & Busan 2026, giving featured restaurants new promotional channels. (venturesquare.net) (en.sedaily.com) Netflix released Season 2 on Dec. 16, 2025, the run concluded Jan. 13, 2026, the title has repeatedly led Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English rankings, and Netflix has confirmed a new season in the franchise. (deadline.com) (about.netflix.com) South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has folded food tourism into its 2026 strategy, Euromonitor data cited by reporting shows stronger interest among millennials and Gen Z, and CatchTable says it is developing tech to serve up to 20 million foreign tourists as part of its expansion plans. (cnbc.com) (kedglobal.com)
