Long weekends, experiences and staycations are the top considerations of Filipinos when they go on travels abroad or to any destination in the country, according to a study entitled, Travel Pulse 2024.

The study, conducted by travel booking platform Klook, revealed that 73 percent of Filipinos like to take advantage of long weekends, planning staycations, gaining more experiences to tell to their friends, and bookings during special occasions.

It also found that 63 percent of those who have plans of traveling in 2024 have already booked tickets, accommodations, or activities for their trip, most likely in anticipation of the long weekends and other special occasions.

Klook Philippines general manager Michelle Ho said bookings through their platform also tripled from 2022 figures, with the average cart size of its user increasing by 21 percent last year.

She said, “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.”

Ho noted that travelers are also becoming “more intentional” when booking for their trips, looking for staycations or destinations that offer more experiences.

“In the Philippines, staycation is here to stay. When it comes to long weekends and quick getaways, a lot of Filipinos still choose to go on staycations and really having more experiential stays when they travel with their family and friends,” she observed.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Singapore is an example that “with the right experience, with the right product,” a destination can capture the demand no matter the price,” she emphasized, as she mentioned that for Klook alone, at least 10 percent of its buyers for Taylor Swift-related packages in Singapore came from the Philippines.

“People these days are willing to travel for new experiences, for experiences that they want to share with their loved ones,” she added.

Tagaytay, Baguio, Batangas, Boracay, and Palawan remain as popular domestic destination for Filipinos, the survey also found.

It noticed that those who traveled in 2023 and early 2024 visited the five destinations and attractions most near Metro Manila and accessible by land transportation. Filipinos preferred having road trips with friend groups of three to six people, it said.

Also, the study showed that when booking and planning transportation, accommodations, and activities, the majority of Filipino travelers generally set budgets of PHP15,000 to PHP30,000 for their local trips, which usually last up to four to six days.

For 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.

The majority of Filipino travelers typically budget around PHP15,000 to PHP50,000 for their overall spending, Klook said.

Additionally, Klook obsereved that social media plays a huge role in the present travel landscape, with millennials (90 percent) and Gen Z’s (100 percent) gathering travel-related information online. Facebook, which is preferred by millennials, was considered the top go-to platform for travel-related information, followed by YouTube, TikTok (preferred by Gen Zs), and Instagram.