The project is hoped to support restaurants and travel agencies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietnam Restaurant Association, in coordination with the Vietnam Cuisine Culture Association and the World Food Travel Association, has launched the Vietnam Food Travel Map to promote local cuisine and tourist destinations.

The Vietnam Food Travel Map project, the first of its kind and developed by culinary artisans and experts, was unveiled during a recent ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to VNA, it will be jointly launched by the Restaurant Association of Vietnam (RAV) together with the World Food Travel Association (WFTA), the Tourism and Food Technology Village - Techfest Vietnam, and other agencies, under the endorsement of the Vietnam Cuisine Culture Association (VCCA).

It is the first project on the development of culinary tourism initiated by the RAV and the WFTA.

VCCA Vice President Le Tan said the food map is a community-based project aiming to form a network of destinations and promote the values of Vietnamese dishes at home and abroad, via images and videos uploaded on social media.

The project is hoped to support restaurants and travel agencies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project encourages individuals and organisations to share photos and videos on their experience of Vietnamese cuisine on social platforms.

To mark World Food Travel Day on April 18, a host of activities will be arranged until April 20, including the launch of the Tourism and Food Technology Village at Techfest Vietnam.

The development of the food map will be held until the end of this year in combination with activities in the Gastro Travel programme organised the RAV and domestic and foreign partners.

Vietnam is a foodie mecca, packed full of unique dishes and flavors.

Vietnam is a long stretch of a country, covering a total of 331,210 square kilometers. In the North it borders China and Laos and further down south, Cambodia. The geography and differences in climate throughout the country influence the types of dishes available regionally.

Its street food cuisine has become one of the most popular food items on Instagram, the world’s largest photo sharing network, reaffirming its rising popularity among food lovers.

Vietnamese street food received 2.84 million tags on Instagram, which was the world's ninth most popular food. It analysed Instagram tags to reveal what cuisines and foods were trending around the world as shared by millions of foodies via the online platform./.

Hannah Nguyen