53.3 percent of Filipinos travel for pleasure, says NSO

More than half of Filipinos travel for pleasure or vacation last year, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

In its 2010 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors (HSDV), the NSO said about 23.1 million Filipinos, who are 15 years old and above, have traveled in any place within the country from April to September last year.

These domestic travelers represent 36.6 percent of the about 63.2 million Filipinos who are more than 15 years old.

The NSO said pleasure or vacation was the main purpose of a trip for 53.3 percent, followed by visit to friends or relatives and attendance to family gatherings, 36.9 percent.

The majority of domestic travelers were in the ages 15 to 34 years, of which, 29.3 percent were in the age group 15 to 24 and 23.7 percent were in the age group 25 to 34.

Most of the domestic travelers, or 98.6 percent, had arranged for their own trips.

Those who availed themselves of package tours accounted for only 2.4 percent.

On the average, a domestic traveler had two trips during the reference period.

Each trip has an average of two places being visited.

Of the total domestic travelers, the NSO said about 21.6 million, or 93 percent, incurred expenses during their most recent trip.

The average expenditure of travelers during their most recent trip was P1,680.

On the other hand, travelers whose main purpose of trip was for pleasure or vacation reported an average expenditure of P1,807.

Travelers spent largely on accommodation and shopping.

Among the independent travelers, those with expenses during their most recent trip comprised 94.3 percent while among package tour travelers, 77.6 percent. PNA

Independent travelers spent P1,601, on the average, during their most recent trip.

Package tour travelers, on the other hand, spent three times amounting to P4,091 than the independent travelers.

Forty-three percent of the travelers whose main purpose of travel was for pleasure or vacation stayed overnight during their most recent trip.

A large proportion of these overnight travelers stayed for 2 to 3 nights. The average number of nights spent was five.

The National Capital Region (NCR) was the most frequently visited place with 7.1 million domestic visitors from April to September last year, of which 3 million traveled mainly for pleasure or vacation.

PNA

The other top destinations in Luzon were Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, and Laguna, each with more than 1.4 million travelers.

Likewise, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Rizal, Quezon and Tarlac were also listed as popularly visited places.

In Visayas, Negros Occidental topped the list followed by Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte and Capiz.

In Mindanao, the most frequently visited places were Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Davao Sur, and Misamis Oriental.

For the long weekends, Filipinos traveled the most during the Holy Week mainly for vacation and secondly, during Labor Day.

During these long holidays, majority stayed overnight in the place visited, that is, 70.2 percent for the Holy Week travelers and 61.5 percent for Labor Day travelers. PNA