More hop spots for tippling beer

SINGAPORE, 8 October 2018: Munich’s annual Oktoberfest closed Sunday after two weeks of beer swilling in pubs and beer gardens across the Bavarian state capital.

This year’s event fired the imaginations of data crunchers who delivered research on just where the best and cheapest beers were sold worldwide and TripAdvisor jumped in with its own take on Asia’s growing beer culture.

Its latest study suggests South Korea, New Zealand and China are the new global ‘hop’-spots for tippling ale.

While during the Oktoberfest travellers preoccupied by the quaffing beer by the keg  there is plenty of data to show the quest for the world’s best beers is a year-round occupation.

Today’s latest ale trending has travellers thinking more about craft beers according to the latest TripAdvisor Experiences research.

Travellers are also moving beyond traditional beer destinations such as Germany and Belgium,  to seek out South Korea (+564%), New Zealand (+258%) and China (+98%), for their beer and pub tours.

The new global ‘hop’-spots: the countries with the biggest increase for beer and pub tours are:

South Korea                                       + 564%

Scotland                                             + 486%

Ireland                                                + 388%

New Zealand                                       + 258%

Austria                                                + 218%

France                                                + 213%

Spain                                                  + 142%

Bahamas                                            + 132%

Columbia                                            + 100%

China                                                 + 89%

What’s more, TripAdvisor data shows that more travellers than ever from Asia Pacific are beer enthusiasts.

Travellers from New Zealand shows biggest jump in bookings for beer experiences and pub tours, as bookings are up by 98% since last year, followed by Hong Kong (up 64%), India (up 60%) and Singapore (up 58%).

“Beer experiences and pub tours are getting really popular with travellers especially in Asia Pacific,” said TripAdvisor director of communications Asia Pacific. Janice Lee Fang “There are many beer and pub experiences that are bookable on TripAdvisor, whether it is a pub crawl at The Rocks in Sydney, a brewery and beer tasting tour in Singapore or a sake brewery tour in Kyoto.”

TripAdvisor’s most-booked beer experiences in Asia Pacific:

1. Osaka Pub Crawl and Nightlife Tour – Osaka, Japan (USD18);
2. XXXX Brewery Tour – Brisbane, Australia. (USD240);
3. Tiger Brewery Tour with Beer Sampling in Singapore – Singapore (USD29);
4. The Rocks Pub Walking Tour – Sydney, Australia ( USD66);
5. Cascade Brewery Tour – Hobart, Australia (USD22);
6. Singapore Pub Crawl – Singapore (USD22);
7. 3-Hour Small Group Korean Pub Crawl in Hongdae – Seoul, South Korea (USD79);
8. Fushimi Inari and Sake Brewery Tour – Kyoto, Japan (USD117);
9. Saturday Night Life Pub Crawl Shanghai – Shanghai, China (USD30);
10. Speight’s Brewery Small-Group Guided Tour from Dunedin – Dunedin, New Zealand (USD20).