THERESA P. and her family were supposed to travel to Osaka this last Holy Week. Covid-19 changed all that, of course.
Like many Filipino travelers, Theresa and her family members found themselves canceling their airline and hotel bookings, as soon as the Luzon-wide lockdown was announced. While the Undas weekend is also a possible period to travel, she felt it was still too soon to herd everyone off for a vacation, even just to a local destination.
“Then I saw [airline’s name] offer its piso fares,” she says. “A trip to Boracay Island next Holy Week seems to be a good idea.” After keying in the travel period, she saw the roundtrip airfare come to less than P4,000. Theresa says her family now is definitely considering the trip.
Theresa’s sentiments echoes the results of recent survey, which indicated the imminent recovery of the leisure travel sector, with respondents showing a strong desire for travel in 12 months, even without a Covid-19 vaccine.
The survey showed 29 percent of the respondents want to travel within one to three months, after travel restrictions are lifted, while 61 percent said they were looking at a time frame of six to 12 months.
“[Of] 7,515 respondents, 74 percent indicated that their first trip would be leisure oriented. Overall, domestic travelers’s preferences for their travel have not changed post Covid-19. Travelers still prefer to book directly with hotels and airlines, and prefer full -service 3- and 4-star hotels. Their average budget per day per person is P1,000 to P3,000 including accommodations, transportation and tours.”
The survey also indicated that Millennials (26 to 40 years old) and Generation X’ers (41 to 55 years old) will be the first groups to travel domestically, and will start traveling in six months to a year. Air travel is still the preferred mode of transportation at 69 percent, largely owing to the country being an archipelago.
Among the top travel destinations were Boracay (14 percent), Palawan (12 percent), Other Luzon (9 percent), Cebu (8 percent), Baguio (8 percent), Manila (6 percent), Bohol (5 percent), Tagaytay (5 percent), Other Visayas (5 percent), and Batangas (4 percent).
The Domestic Travel Sentiment Survey conducted from May 8 to 26, 2020, was participated in by respondents across the Philippines, although majority, at 51 percent, were from Manila. Also, 31 percent of the respondents were in the tourism sector, while the rest were from banking, real estate and finance, health care and undetermined industries. The largest group of respondents, at 62 percent, were those earning under P70,000 a month.
The survey, conducted by Chroma Hospitality and the Filinvest Hospitality Corp., in partnership with the Department of Tourism and its marketing arm, along with hotel, restaurant, and tourism stakeholders groups, indicated that many of the respondents’ state of income have affected their desire to travel as “66 percent experienced pay cuts resulting in 10 percent to 80 percent income reduction.”
Health, safety
Health and safety were ranked as the most important factor in the respondents’s travel plans, followed by location and price. Only 22 percent said they were concerned about the availability of a vaccine, before deciding to travel again.
“The most important health and safety protocols for travelers were enhanced room sanitation, public area sanitation, and hand sanitizers being available in all public areas. While considering health and safety protocols, most respondents expected the following services: in-room dining, daily room housekeeping, hotel staff in PPE, mini-bar and gift shop.” Respondents were less concerned about availability of meeting rooms, swimming pool, buffet food service, spa and gym.
Meanwhile, demand for business travel is likely within the first three months with 26 percent of respondents indicating so. Essential and technical industries are expected to lead the business travel demand. These include: Business Process Outsourcing, Electrical, Gas and Water, Mining and Quarrying, Professional, Technical Activities, Water, Sewerage, Waste Water Management, and Remediation Activities.
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