I spent last weekend eating gobs of food and ruminating about my sartorial sense in Miami. I was working on a travel story about "what's new and hot" in the Miami dining scene. In fact, it got me thinking about how much of travel, more generally, is about food. MSNBC recently named culinary tourism one of the hottest trends in the food & beverage industry for this upcoming year, and Quantified Marketing Group included culinary tourism in their 2008 Restaurant Trend Forecast.

Gotta agree. I belong to the International Culinary Tourism Association, so I get their regular newsletter. Here are the culinary destinations they were amped about for 2008:

• Singapore - A high quality visitor experience, ease of accessibility and wide variety of tasty experiences resulting from the intersection of four major cultures.  If you go, be sure to try the laksa!
• Ontario, Canada - High-quality agricultural products, world-class wines and an orientation to providing excellent and friendly service.   
• Hungary & Slovakia - Hungarian wines are relatively unknown and most would agree, underrated. Slovakian wines are completely unknown outside the region.  Both can be best enjoyed with the hearty and flavorful local cuisines. 
• Barbados - The hot sauce capital of the world! Keep your eye on the really interesting fusion cuisine coming out of this island nation.   
• Louisiana, United States - Experiencing a culinary renaissance in the aftermath of hurricane devastation.  Check out the new New Orleans! 
• Mexico - True Mexican cuisine is something few Americans (or others) have truly experienced.  Now is the time to discover its moles (sauces), braised meats and unusual spices and flavorings!
• Western Cape, South Africa - One of the most interesting wine scenes in the world now (and affordable compared to other wine destinations like California or France).
• Argentina - Wine and gelato - two of the basic food groups! Also known for its beef; visit a steak house for the experience.
• New Zealand - Long known for its great wines, New Zealand has amazing fruits, dairy and even olive oil (another important food group!). And let's not forget the lamb.
• Sweden - A leader in the new Scandinavian cooking with fresh, high quality and frequently organic ingredients. In recent years, Swedish chefs have even taken top culinary honors from long-standing award-winning French chefs.

Heck, I could have predicted that about Sweden. The Swedish chef was always my favorite Muppet by a mile.