Michelle Ho, general manager of Klook Philippines and Thailand (PNA photo)
MANILA – More Filipinos are eager to travel as the tourism industry goes digital and destinations ease restrictions, online booking platform Klook said Tuesday.
The Travel Pulse study said 75 percent of Filipinos are also willing to spend for travel “to make the most out of post-pandemic experiences,” according to Michelle Ho, general manager for Klook Philippines and Thailand, at a media briefing in Makati.
The study analyzes consumer travel trends based on data gathered from Klook, an app and website offering accommodations, entertainment, dining, transportation and tour packages.
“Travel has become even more accessible to consumers now that more people are becoming digital-savvy, and we believe this digital transformation is contributing greatly to the acceleration of tourism growth in the region,” Ho said.
As of posting, Klook has over 3.8 million active users and more than 300 partner merchants with 600 offerings across 21 cities in the Philippines.
The study showed that Klook users in the Philippines are inclined towards travel to neighboring countries like Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong due to proximity and no-visa requirement.
Ho said there is an increased interest to visit Hong Kong after it lifted restrictions, with Klook recording a month-on-month growth of 230 percent in bookings among Filipinos from December 2022 to January 2023.
“I would say that ever since they lifted restrictions back in January, or prior to Chinese New Year all the way to two weeks ago when they lifted the mandate for face masks, we're seeing the increase in the interest for Hong Kong,” she said.
There’s also continued growth in domestic travel with Boracay, Manila, Tagaytay, Cebu, Clark, and Subic as some of the most popular destinations.
The study added that Filipinos prefer longer travel durations, with six to nine days (44 percent) being the most popular.
At Klook alone, Ho projects a 27-percent increase in monthly bookings compared to pre-pandemic as the platform engages more local merchants.
“The Filipinos’ eagerness to travel motivates us to push for experiences that can be achieved at home or abroad,” she said.
“Digital technology is a powerful tool that can benefit the majority if done right, and we will continue to introduce platform enhancements to improve our customers' travel experiences and make it easier to discover and book anything via Klook,” she added. (PNA)
