MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos hitting the road have no plans of exploring the hospital anytime soon, based on trends in travel behavior.
“Filipinos are veering away from mass travel toward less crowded, more mindful and slower travel,” according to the 2021 Philippines Travel Trends Survey commissioned by vacation rental platform Airbnb.
The survey conducted early February in collaboration with market research and data analytics firm YouGov sought to find the types of travel and connections Filipino locals are seeking this year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It found that the majority (53%) of respondents prefer traveling to less crowded, off-the-beaten-path destinations.
Moreover, they prefer solo or small group trips (41%), destinations and activities promoting health and wellness (38%), leisure travel with a slower-paced travel schedule (29%), driving instead of flights and other modes of public transport (19%) and short-haul flights over long-haul flights (15%).
A third of respondents (34%) avoid staying in hotels and homestays that have been used as quarantine centers.
Beached and nature escapades, meanwhile, topped Filipinos' bucket lists with Boracay remaining the top domestic travel destination for Filipinos.
Other popular destinations include Palawan, Baguio, Siargao Island and Tagaytay.
“We believe that travel is resilient and will bounce back with time, and we anticipate that unique and family-friendly travel will serve as the impetus for domestic tourism recovery,” Airbnb General Manager for Southeast Asia Amanpreet Bajaj said in a Tuesday virtual briefing where the survey findings were reported.
"The Philippines is a significant emerging bureau for us in APAC (Asia-Pacific) and what we know is right now the single biggest focus for all stakeholders within the travel community is to make sure that we can start travel again.”