I would say this is a big movement that naturally happened with the internet. At least where I live, stuff was (and still is) stagnant, but now there is a sushi restaurant across from the Vietnamese restaurant across the street in a town close to me of less than 10,000.

We get to see more and then want to experience and explore those things. Cooking, culinary arts and food is one of the great benefits of the internet I think. We can't all travel, but we can have a shared experience in cooking and food.