FINN Partners launches travel with tastemakers - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Bringing together an extraordinary constellation of global talent — including Academy Award–winning actress Octavia Spencer, supermodel and entrepreneur Liya Kebede, bestselling cookbook author Mimi Thorisson, and visionary architect‑designer Bill Bensley — the report blends perspectives from some of the world's most influential cultural voices. Their contributions sit alongside those of chefs, designers, hoteliers, artists, actors, editors, and innovators from across continents, making Travel with Tastemakers a uniquely diverse gathering of global storytellers.

Unlike traditional travel guides or trend forecasts, Travel with Tastemakers spotlights the soul of a place — its neighborhood rituals, hidden corners, markets at dawn, unassuming eateries, artisan workshops, and the everyday rhythms that define local life. Compiled by FINN Partners' Global Travel Practice, the report captures where creativity and place converge, offering a deeply personal, sensory-rich perspective on destinations from Bali to Berlin, Kyoto to New Orleans, Turin to Tulum.

A New Lens on Global Travel
At a time when social virality often dictates what is considered worth seeing, Travel with Tastemakers presents a counterpoint: a celebration of the nuanced, the personal, and the profoundly local. The report reveals where tastemakers eat, wander, breathe, linger, and find meaning, illuminating the cultural layers that don't always make the guidebooks.

"At a moment when algorithms increasingly dictate where we go, Travel with Tastemakers offers something far more human. These itineraries are shaped by lived experience — by memory, craft, ritual, and the nuances of local life that can't be coded into an algorithm — seen through the eyes of people whose creativity is inseparable from place. It's a celebration of travel as a source of inspiration, not just consumption," says Debbie Flynn, Managing Partner, Global Travel Practice Leader.

Inside Travel with Tastemakers, highlights from the report include:

• Bali: Sacred springs, morning markets scented with fruit and incense, quiet rice terraces, and craft villages rooted in centuries of artistry.
• Berlin: Hidden galleries, independent designer ateliers, atmospheric cafés, and creative pockets defining the city's contemporary edge.
• Kyoto: Zen gardens, traditional tearooms, artisanal studios, and small neighborhoods where Japanese craft thrives.
• Beijing: Lively hutongs, independent designers, reimagined industrial art zones, and the buzzing cultural life along Liangmahe.
• Turin: Belle Époque cafés, bustling markets, iconic trattorias, and the elegant everyday rituals that define local life.
• New Orleans: A layered blend of culture, heritage, and cuisine — from storied dining rooms to the heartbeat of local music corridors.

And dozens more cities — Mexico City, Singapore, Shanghai, Sicily, Melbourne, Toronto, Tulum, Paris, Rome — each seen through the eyes of the creatives who define their cultural pulse.

"It goes without saying that we travel vicariously through people whose fantastic tastes and cultural perspectives give us a compelling way to experience a place. This is our community of storytellers and dream weavers. This guide celebrates them and some of the most exciting destinations today," says Cathy Feliciano-Chon, Managing Partner, APAC.

A Creative Counterbalance to Algorithm-Driven Travel
As digital platforms increasingly shape where people go and what they experience, Travel with Tastemakers elevates the value of lived experience, local wisdom, and true creative perspective. The stories throughout the report reflect a growing desire among travelers to seek meaning, inspiration, and emotional connection in the places they explore.

"The most powerful recommendations are still personal. They are rooted in taste, instinct and lived experience. A chef and a designer can walk the same street in Turin and return with entirely different outlooks, and both will be right. This report offers a cross‑section of iconic destinations, explored through a lens shaped by passion rather than pixels," says Gregory Cole, Senior Partner, Luxury EMEA.

Download the full Travel with Tastemakers Report here.

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