The Art of Slowing Down

205: 88% of People Want Authenticity - And Yet We Keep Rewarding Fake Hype

“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.” – Anthony Bourdain

I recently came across a post via Travel + Leisure which highlighted TripAdvisor’s “Travelers Choice Awards” for 2025 listing the world’s top food cities. Here is what they came up with as the “Top 10 Best Destinations Globally for Food”:

1. London, United Kingdom 🤢

2. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

3. Rome, Italy

4. Hong Kong, China

5. Paris, France

6. Majorca, Spain 🤷🏻‍♂️

7. Doha, Qatar 🤦🏻‍♂️

8. Crete, Greece 😂

9. Bangkok, Thailand

10. Marrakech, Morocco

Source: Travel + Leisure | Instagram

When I read this list, I thought “this post has to be rage or engagement bait…” It’s not. More on this shortly.

While these awards are not paid, they are based on the quality and quantity of user reviews and ratings collected over a 12-month period. That does not mean, that the user “reviews” are not paid, bots, etc. to juice the rankings, which in my opinion is clearly happening here.

It is fairly well known that at this point the Michelin Guide operates a “pay-to-play” model for cities and tourism boards to fund the creation of new guides which is why you’re seeing Michelin starred restaurants pop up in places like North Florida (lol). They do not however “sell stars”, however you can’t receive a star if your city does not have a Michelin Guide so it’s sort of a which came first a chicken or the egg situation given how the Michelin Guide has expanded outside of major cities globally.

“The World’s 50 Best” is another ranking guide for restaurants, hotels etc. that emphasizes that they have a “strict no pay-to-play” policy, however the process is highly influenced by marketing and PR which various establishments can spend whatever they want on. So again, while the actual award isn’t pay-to-play you can’t receive it unless you have a lot of hype which many restaurants and hotels can simply throw marketing budget at or pay influencers to promote. This is why you’re seeing so many restaurants and hotels get involved in what I call “the influencer circus” and which I’ve written about in the following pieces:

• “157: Daniel Humm Brings the Influencer Circus to Eleven Madison Park”

• “152: The Cringe Economy: How Food Influencers Are Killing the Restaurant Experience”

I think many tourism boards, restaurants and hotel groups are in a tough situation because of social media and the fact that one bad (even if it’s not deserved) review can tank their business. On the other side, positive social media sentiment can materially increase business, even if the dining, hospitality or service is awful.

This all being said, authenticity is extremely important with a Harvard Business Review write up from December 8^th, 2025 titled “How to Do Influencer Marketing That Customers Actually Trust” highlights that 88% of customers say that authenticity matters. While I understand that accounts like “The Gstaad Guy” and “The European Kid” are satire, the clearly paid for content is getting out of control. Do you really think that “The Gstaad Guy” with 1.7 million followers, and is sponsored by Audemars Piguet, Loro Piana etc. woke up one day and said, “let’s shoot content in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan!” Fuck no he didn’t!

Photos: "The Gstaad Guy" Instagram

This is also a reason why you’re seeing Bangkok (and other Thai cities) pop up on lists and influencer pages. The government of Thailand actually has a scale on how much “influencers” are paid per post (these numbers do not include “reels” which can command materially more money):

• Nano-influencers (1k – 10k followers): €135 per post

• Micro-influencers (10k-50k followers): €270 per post

• Mid-Tier influencers (50k-500k followers): €820 per post

• Macro-influencers (500k-1m+ followers): €2.700 per post

Influencers push positive content, get paid and then boom Thailand ends up on the lists.

I’m certainly not saying this is all bad, marketing is marketing and it’s necessary to run a business, however ranking and lists run by companies like “The World’s 50 Best” or pushed by “influencers” should be taken with some skepticism.

One of the things I have taken in pride in with my writing is that I have not taken payment, gifts, product etc. from restaurants I’ve dined in, hotels that I’ve stayed at or services that I’ve used. In fact, I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I’ve always paid for these things myself. When I’ve had an experience worth giving an opinion on, I’ll post something or write it up. I have always been clear that I like having the ability to answer to nobody and you can see some examples of this in:

• “102: I Took my Wife to the Most Famous Hotel on the Riviera. It Did Not Go Well”

• “189: Ferrari Owners Are Quietly Panicking – Here’s What I Found at Collector’s Week”

• “204: From DROPHAUS to Dogshit – Tiffany’s €50k Timer, LVMH’s Rot, Ferrari’s V6 Letdown & Ukraine’s Luxury Circus

• “146: Loud Luxury Isn’t Baack – Why CNBC’s Narrative Misses the Mark

• “142: 5,000 Audits? LVMH’s Fashion Crash & Cognac Trouble Deepen”

• “095: ‘Glad to See the Back of Quiet Luxury’ – Melwani’s Tone-Deaf Take at LVMH”

As you can see, I don’t really give a shit about what you think of my opinions. If you like it great, if not let’s have a conversation or constructive debate (I’ve had a number of these with several followers which I really enjoy and find useful since I certainly am not always right), or if you are unable to have a constructive debate or discussion simply don’t read what I write nobody is forcing you to spend time doing this.

With all that being said, I want to give you “Intern Pierre’s Top 10 Food Destinations List” for 2025. If I have written a guide to the city in the past, I have also included the link so you can see some of the places that I like to go: