Vietnam wins for best culinary festival at World Culinary Awards 2026

Specifically, the Saigontourist Group Culinary Culture & Delicacies Festival 2026 has been named the World's Best Culinary Festival 2026 and Asia's Best Culinary Festival 2026.

This marks its fourth consecutive global title since 2023 and fifth straight Asian title since 2022.

The awards were announced at the 7^th annual World Culinary Awards ceremony recently held on Green Island, Jamaica.

The festival’s continued success at the World Culinary Awards recognizes not only the quality and appeal of the culinary event but also the vitality of Vietnamese culture as expressed through its cuisine.

Held from March 26 to 29 at the Van Thanh Tourist Area in Ho Chi Minh City, this year’s festival attracted nearly 80,000 visitors, 10,000 more than the previous edition.

The event featured around 500 dishes organized into 10 culinary themes, allowing visitors to explore regional specialties from across Vietnam in one place.

These ranged from the northwestern highlands and central Vietnam to coastal seafood, royal cuisine, and southern specialties.

In addition, festival-goers could immerse themselves in a vibrant cultural setting featuring traditional artistic performances, folk games and activities showcasing Vietnam’s traditional craft villages.

It featured performances of Cham dance, Central Highlands gong music, and “bai choi”, a central region folk tradition that combines singing and a card game, and other regional art forms.

The Saigontourist Group Culinary Culture & Delicacies Festival demonstrates how cuisine has evolved beyond a standalone tourism product to become a bridge connecting culture, tourism, people and experiences.