Why Travellers Keep Queueing for Viral Food

Experts explain how FOMO, social proof and performance culture have turned ordinary snacks into global must-queue experiences.

Thomas A P van Leeuwen has a riveting view from his Amsterdam flat. His street, Keizersgracht, is lined with imposing 17th-Century canal houses – but what the academic and author sees each day is distinctly modern. Day after day, tourists form long queues on the bridge, holding up €5.50 (£4.80) cones of fries against the gabled backdrop for TikTok or Instagram posts.

FabelFriet is the place to get fries in Amsterdam. The brand opened its first shop in 2020 and blew up on TikTok in 2023; ever since, its original location in De Negen Straatjes (Nine Streets) neighbourhood has drawn constant lines. Signs and staff manage the crowds, sending chip-seekers down the bridge and along the pavement. A few metres away, Korean sandwich shop Chun has similar queues, while the prettily packaged cookies at Van Stapele Koekmakerij have become another viral Amsterdam pilgrimage.

Amsterdam is far from the only city where people are salivating over food. In New York's West Village, L'Industrie draws hour-long queues for a slice of pizza. Getting a salt beef bagel at London institution Beigel Bake is a test in loyalty and patience, while Japan's I'm Donut? craze has gone global, with a New York outpost generating constant lines. Meanwhile Italy's All'antico Vinaio has tested its fame in the UK and the US, with patrons lining up for its freshly baked schiacciata (Tuscan flatbread) sandwiches.

Across the world, travellers are now willing to wait an hour or more for trendy takes on everyday staples. Saturday Night Live even did a parody on the phenomenon. But psychologists say that these lines aren't really about the food at all; they reveal how social media, status and performance are reshaping modern travel.

Why queues seduce us

A queue doesn't just signal popularity, it triggers powerful psychological cues. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is the strongest explanation for why people wait for food they've only heard about, says Rachel S Herz, adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at Brown University Alpert Medical School and author of Why You Eat What You Eat. "For positive experiences, when people see other people in line for something, it makes the 'thing' people are queuing up for seem more desirable and elicits FOMO."

Travel as performance

Whether we realise it or not, waiting in line for trending food is all part of a broader performance. People aren't just eating the viral food – they're filming themselves doing it, with their subsequent posts indicating to others that they're onto something special. From cronuts to croffles, viral dishes spread across TikTok and Instagram before the travellers arrive, and millions watch others try them on camera.

The illusion of discovery

Travel TikTok has created a sense that everyone is "finding" the same hotspot simultaneously – even though the algorithms are doing the work. Dolnicar notes that online searches reduce travellers' cognitive load. "Maybe waiting in queues, then, is easier for people [than putting] in the effort and discover gems off-the-beaten track."

But it comes at a cost. Algorithms prioritise what is already popular, not what is diverse or under-the-radar, which means the same places are pushed to millions of people at the same time. Moreover, these platforms reward content that elicits emotions and drives clicks and shares, thus further distributing the popular content. But virality is difficult to predict and control, and the meteoric rise is as much a strain on existing infrastructure as an economic opportunity. 

What starts as a viral trend can quickly reshape entire neighbourhoods.

For example, when hordes of travellers end up at the same gelato shop in Rome or the same chip shop in Amsterdam, locals face the negative consequences of litter, noise and mismanagement. "Making a tourist hotspot even 'hotter' tends not to bring many benefits," says Dolnicar. "Rather, there is a substantial risk of community backlash as the quality of life of locals can suffer."

- Author: Apeksha Bhateja, BBC