Filipinos spending more on travel in 2024

Approximately 70% of Filipinos plan to spend more on travel in 2024 compared to last year, according to data collected by travel agency Klook.

During an industry update held in Hong Kong, Klook General Manager for Philippines and Thailand Michelle Ho provided an industry update on key travel trends in the Asia Pacific region.

Using data from Macquarie Research and Cirium, Ho pointed out that Asia travel recovery continues to be strong. In 2023 alone, Asia flight capacity recovered by 75% and by the end of this year is expected to reach 3.4 billion passengers, which is 99.5% of the passenger count in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Ho showed airport international passenger recovery rates of five major Asian cities in 2023 compared to 2019.

Singapore is nearing full recovery at 90% while Tokyo and Bangkok (composed of the Suvarnabhumi and the Don Mueang international airports) are at 75% and 70% respectively.

Hong Kong’s recovery rate is at 60% while the Chinese capital of Beijing is still at 40%.

Ho referenced results of a Klook Travel Pulse Survey conducted last January that showed 64% of travelers would spend at least 30-50% more on 2024 travel than the year before while over 60% will spend up to half of their budget on activities and experiences.

More than 75% of travelers in Malaysia and India are planning to spend more on travel in 2024 compared to the previous year, with Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam joining the Philippines around the 70% mark.

Given the survey results, Klook narrowed down three key trends shaping Asia-Pacific travel:

  • 6 out of 10 travelers book experiences before flights, and are willing to allocate more than half their budget for experiences;
  • social media is the leading inspiration for travel as 62% of travelers favor non-celebrity creators for travel recommendations;
  • 65% of travelers strategize their plans around the climate or season they want to experience.

Possible major global events that could influence international travel this year are Entertainment and Music tourism, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the World Expo Osaka.

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