98% of Filipinos plan local travel 

A great majority of Filipinos plan to travel locally this year, indicating a “promising” performance for the Philippines’ domestic tourism, a study by travel booking service firm Klook revealed in a report by Philippine News Agency.

The firm’s 2025 Travel Pulse showed that 98.5 percent of Filipinos are looking to travel domestically in 2025 while 56.3 percent said they plan to travel abroad.

Klook's General Manager for Philippines and Thailand Michelle Ho said this signals that Filipinos are becoming “smarter and more intentional with their money” and that travel remains resilient even amid fears of global economic slowdown.

“What we can get out of it is that they have a strong drive to travel, and they had found different ways to be able to make that happen through the kinds of destinations that they pick, the experiences that they do, and how frequent they do it with their friends and family,” Ho said in a press conference in Makati City on Tuesday.

The study surveyed about 500 Filipino respondents across the Philippines, mainly from Metro Manila and Cebu.

Manila, Tagaytay, Boracay, and Siargao are among the popular destinations for Filipinos, according to the study.

“You got your core destinations still rising in terms of popularity, but at the same time, lesser known destinations are being talked about online,” Ho said.

Internationally, more Filipinos traveled to Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand in 2024 on top of the usual international hotspots like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

“Overall, we’ve seen Filipinos take more chances on travelling in 2024 and definitely aren’t slowing down in 2025. It’s even reached the extent that Millennials and Gen Zs perceive it to be a therapeutic tool,” Ho said.

According to the study, planning ahead is a key part of Filipino travels as over 35 percent of them booked one to three months ahead for flights and accommodations.

Once at their destination, 63 percent of Filipinos shared that they try out adventurous tours, digital detox, wellness, and meditation retreats, and aligned with the spirit of trying out new things.

Some 57 percent, on the other hand, take on hidden gem adventures, and 54 percent try out workshops and classes that pique their interest.

In 2024, Ho said Klook recorded a 94-percent spike in sales of its local tourism products and services, as well as a 93-percent growth in hotel and activity bookings compared to 2023.

The top consideration for 37.3 percent of the respondents when booking is perfect weather.

Scheduling around work and school vacations were ranked of equal importance at 29.9 percent, followed by the affordability of the travel options available to them at 15.3 percent.

Meanwhile, all Filipino respondents agreed that travel is an effective way to manage stress and their well-being and consider it a form of therapy.

The study also found that 78.4 percent use travel as a getaway for a mental health break with 31.6 percent of them choosing a nature retreat for a creative reset, higher than market average of 15.8 percent.