For some travelers, the first stop after landing is no longer a famous monument. It is the nearest supermarket.
The habit has a new name: snackpacking. Instead of treating food as a break between sightseeing stops, travelers build part of the trip around local snacks. They browse grocery-store shelves, visit neighborhood bakeries, try street food and save room in their suitcases for edible souvenirs.
The trend is especially popular among younger travelers. According to American Express Travel's 2026 Global Travel Trends Report, 89% of surveyed millennials and Gen Z travelers said that trying local snacks was important when visiting another country. When looking for those foods, 69% headed to street-food stalls, 53% visited bakeries and 50% explored grocery stores.
Why does a snack aisle feel like a travel experience? A supermarket offers a quick look at everyday life. The flavors, package sizes and unfamiliar ingredients reveal what local people actually buy, rather than what visitors are expected to see. A bag of chips with an unusual seasoning or a regional biscuit can become both a taste memory and an inexpensive souvenir.
Snackpacking also suits travelers who prefer flexible plans. It does not require a reservation or a carefully timed itinerary. A person can walk into a corner shop, choose something surprising and continue exploring. Even a hotel minibar can offer clues about local tastes, though supermarkets and street stalls usually provide more variety.
The word itself is still emerging. In August 2026, Cambridge Dictionary's Word Watcher blog featured snackpacking as a term it was monitoring. That does not mean the word has been formally added to the dictionary. The blog described it as a style of holiday centered on visiting supermarkets, sampling street food, stopping at bakeries and buying local specialties.
Of course, landmarks are not disappearing. Snackpacking simply changes what counts as a memorable stop. For many travelers, discovering a city's favorite cookies or comparing a wall of brightly colored drinks can feel as revealing as visiting a museum.
So on your next trip, you may want to leave a little empty space in your suitcase. The most vivid reminder of a place might not be a postcard. It might be the snack you found in aisle five.