Klook Philippines shared a 4x growth between 2022 and 2023, based on gross sales figures resulting from efforts in promoting local and outbound tourism. The leading travel and experiences platform in Asia also bared its findings from the Klook Travel Pulse, a study conducted by the company based on survey results and data gathered from its platform.
Bookings have tripled in the past year, with the average basket size having increased by 21%. Popular experiences among Filipinos include theme parks such as Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Singapore. Other drivers include in-destination transport passes such as Japan Rail Passes and local attractions like the Manila Ocean Park.
“2023 was definitely a great year for tourism recovery, and this growth mirrors a collective yearning to explore and gain new experiences. We’re happy to see that Filipinos have fully embraced the joy of traveling again, and we’re honored to be a partner in making their dream vacations a reality,” shared Michelle Ho, General Manager of Klook Philippines and Thailand.
76% of Filipinos are making plans to travel in 2024
Klook has seen a rise in those planning international travels in 2024, with 76% of respondents already making plans to do so. When Filipinos planned overseas trips in 2023 and early 2024, they visited nearby destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand prioritizing sightseeing, shopping, and outdoor adventures.
For international travel, the majority of Filipino travelers typically budget around PHP 15,000.00 to PHP 50,000.00 for their overall spending. Klook has also seen a booking lead time of 4-6 months in advance, most especially for flight tickets. In terms of experiences, they are done similarly to when booking for flights, with 4-6 months of lead time to their trip.
Tagaytay, Baguio, Batangas, Boracay, and Palawan are the preferred domestic destinations
Domestic tourism is more popular among Filipinos with 92% of the survey respondents already having plans to travel domestically in 2024. Those who traveled in 2023 and early 2024 visited Tagaytay, Baguio, Batangas, Boracay, and Palawan, most near Metro Manila and accessible by land transportation. This is supported by Klook’s findings, indicating Filipino preferences for having road trips with friend groups of 3-6 people.
Klook also found that domestic flights and accommodations are booked simultaneously, with almost half of the respondents accomplishing these 2-6 months before their trip, and experiences on the other hand, 1 month ahead. When booking and planning transportation, accommodations, and activities, the majority of Filipino travelers generally set budgets of PHP 15,000.00 to PHP 30,000.00 for their local trips which usually last up to 4-6 days, likely to maximize the exploration and relaxation in their chosen destination.
Filipinos want to maximize their holidays, be it domestic or overseas
The study found that 73% of the respondents like to take advantage of long weekends, planning staycations, and other bookings during special occasions. This seems to be in connection to data finding that 63% of those who have plans of traveling in 2024 have already booked tickets, accommodations, or activities for their trip, most likely in anticipation of these long weekends, and other special occasions and personal milestones.
Social Media and Booking triggers among Filipinos
Klook has noticed social media’s dominance in the travel landscape, with Millennials (90%) and Gen Zs (100%) gathering travel-related information online. Facebook (which is preferred by Millennials), still the country’s main social media platform, was considered the go-to platform for travel-related information, followed by YouTube, TikTok (preferred by Gen Zs), and Instagram, closely tied together in ranking.
In line with data finding social media as a major driver behind travel and travel-related content, Klook introduced its Klook Kreator Program which enables travel content among a diverse community of content creators. Inspiring netizens that consume travel content, Klook found the program’s sales growth in the country to increase by 105% in Q4 of 2023, versus Q3 of the same year.
With all the information Filipinos gather from social platforms for their potential travel itineraries, what actually triggers them to book trips are special occasions (be it birthdays, anniversaries, public holidays, e.t.c.), where 86% of respondents declared these as their top reason for booking followed by airline promotions such as seat sales.
Klook’s Journey in 2023
In 2023, Klook Philippines undertook several noteworthy initiatives that have contributed to the accessibility of destinations and activities through partnerships.
One of the major partnerships the company announced in 2023 was done with the Intramuros Administration, where both parties shared the mutual goal of furthering the appreciation of local culture, heritage, and history. The Klook Intramuros Pass was launched in June 2023 and introduced as a pass that bundles and digitizes the different activities and attractions across Intramuros, making them easily discoverable and bookable to locals and foreigners online.
In line with the growing interest in diving in the Philippines, Klook revealed a worldwide partnership with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) in Q4 of 2023. In this partnership, PADI products have been integrated into Klook’s platform, making legitimate and certified diving courses and activities available online. This is in line with the Department of Tourism’s goals of highlighting Philippine dive destinations and activities as a major pride of the country.
Also delving into events tourism, Filipinos are familiar with the recently concluded Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour in Singapore where Klook was the official experience booking partner, bundling hotels with concert tickets. Having had massive participation from different Asian countries, Klook discovered success in being able to seamlessly manage the digital queue of over 600,000 Swifties, further cementing its reputation as a technological powerhouse and leader in tourism products.
Finally, Klook formed a partnership with Hong Kong Disneyland as its official booking partner, which also promoted the opening of the highly anticipated World of Frozen. Exclusive to this partnership was early access to the World of Frozen prior to its public opening, making the highly sought-after attraction much more accessible to Filipinos.
Klook’s plans this 2024
This 2024, Klook is looking forward to playing a bigger and more active role in promoting domestic tourism.
Making efforts towards its goals, Klook plans to drive most of its growth through its Stay offerings which feature big and small accommodations in the Philippines, aligned with the traveling public’s preference for staycations and more accessible and affordable accommodations. Klook also notes the power of domestic businesses, and how it hopes to further expand its merchant base and offerings in time for summer 2024.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been ramping up on our efforts to help boost domestic tourism and in 2024, we plan to do this more aggressively. The Philippines is home to some of the most desirable destinations in the region, and we’d like to play a bigger role in encouraging more Filipinos to discover joy within our home country. We also hope to empower more local businesses and tour operators by giving them the opportunity to increase the exposure of and expand the markets for their tourism products and services through our platform. This is done with the goal of ultimately contributing to a stronger tourism outlook for the Philippines this 2024,” said Ho.
In addition to boosting its domestic tourism efforts, Klook is also excited to further explore music and sports tourism and take advantage of some major global events like the Olympic Games 2024 to be held in Paris and the World Expo Osaka in 2025.
