Italy remains Swedes’ top food destination, according to a new survey from travel agency Ticket. Almost four in ten respondents selected Italy, while England was ranked as the country with the worst food.
Food also plays an important role in holiday planning. The Ticket survey found that 33 per cent of people planning to travel in 2026 see food and restaurant experiences as one of the main reasons for their trip.
In brief:
- Main finding: Italy was named the best country to visit for food.
- Period: The results were published on 27 July 2026.
- Data source: A Kantar Sifo survey commissioned by Ticket.
- Change: France moved from fifth place in 2025 to second place in 2026.
- Who it concerns: Swedish residents aged 18 to 79.
Italy remains Swedes’ top food destination
Italy received 39 per cent of the responses in the nationally representative survey. France came second, followed by Japan in third place.
“Italy has long been an obvious food destination and continues to attract travellers with everything from pasta and pizza to local specialities and wine regions,” said Louise Jellvi, product manager at Ticket.
She added that food experiences are becoming a more important part of how Swedish travellers choose their destinations.
“For many people, food is an important part of the holiday experience and a way to discover the destination’s culture,” Jellvi said.
The three countries ranked highest for food in 2026 were:
- Italy
- France
- Japan
The results show that European food destinations remain popular among Swedish travellers. Japan was the only country outside Europe to appear in the top three.
England receives the lowest food ranking
At the other end of the survey, respondents ranked England as the country with the worst food. England also finished last in Ticket’s 2025 survey.
The three countries receiving the lowest rankings in 2026 were:
- England
- United States
- Germany
The result reflects respondents’ opinions and should not be treated as an objective assessment of each country’s restaurants or national cuisine.
England’s position remained unchanged from the previous year. The United States, however, appeared in a very different part of the results.
In 2025, the US was ninth on Ticket’s list of the ten best food countries. In the 2026 survey, it was named the country with the second-worst food.
The two positions do not necessarily mean that all Swedish travellers changed their views during the year. Respondents were asked separate questions about the best and worst food countries, and the surveys used different research companies.
France moves up in the 2026 ranking
France recorded one of the clearest changes in the list of favourite food destinations. It rose from fifth place in 2025 to second place in 2026.
Japan remained in third place for a second year. Italy also kept first place, continuing a pattern seen in several earlier Ticket surveys.
The 2025 top ten included Italy, Greece, Japan, Sweden, France, Thailand, Türkiye, Spain, the United States and Mexico. The 2026 release only listed the three highest and three lowest results.
Comparisons between the two years should therefore be made carefully. The 2026 study was conducted by Kantar Sifo among a nationally representative selection of Swedish residents aged 18 to 79.
The 2025 study was carried out by YouGov among Swedish adults aged 18 and over. Ticket did not provide the number of participants in either of the published press releases.
Food influences Swedish holiday choices
Respondents were asked which factors were among their main reasons for travelling abroad in 2026. They could select more than one answer.
One in three – 33 per cent – included food and restaurant experiences among their main reasons. This indicates that meals can form part of the attraction of a destination rather than being only a practical part of a holiday.
The survey also asked respondents which country they believed was the best to visit for food and which country they believed had the worst food.
Ticket commissioned the survey as a travel agency, meaning the results describe public preferences and perceptions. They do not measure restaurant quality, food safety, prices or the number of visitors travelling mainly for culinary experiences.
