Filipino Holiday Travel Resilience Seen Despite Budget Constraints

MANILA, Philippines — Despite mounting cost pressures and pricey airfares, Filipinos are still expected to travel during the peak holiday period, albeit with tighter budgets and a growing preference for destinations closer to home, according to online travel platform Klook. Michelle Ho, general manager of Klook Philippines, said holiday travel demand was expected to remain resilient in 2026 despite elevated fuel prices—which have pushed up airfares through higher fuel surcharges—as well as persistent inflation. Ho told reporters, “I don’t think it’s going to be muted. In fact, I’d like our partners in the Philippines to see this as an opportunity to capture demand because the motivation to travel is still there.” But Ho acknowledged that 2026 had been “a lot more turbulent than we had imagined,” as Filipinos grappled with the war-driven fuel crisis, putting pressure particularly on discretionary spending such as travel. As a result, she said travelers were becoming more selective about where they spend their money rather than abandoning their travel plans altogether. “Filipinos are really on a budget, so they’ll be a lot more international with where they travel,” she added. “It’s going to be a lot closer to home.” As such, Klook sees domestic destinations, Vietnam and China driving its Philippine business through the rest of the year. Vietnam, in particular, has emerged as a fast-growing destination, with bookings rising 193 percent year-on-year in 2025. Hong Kong, traditionally a popular overseas destination for Filipinos due to its proximity, has seen slowing demand, but Ho said this had been offset by the growth in the Vietnam and China markets. “It’s not that Filipinos are choosing not to travel; they’re just choosing to travel elsewhere, to newer destinations,” she added. Klook currently serves nearly 4 million active Filipino travelers, according to Ho. In its Travel Pulse 2026 study, Klook said most Filipino travelers are setting their sights on destinations within Asia, with Northeast Asia accounting for 67 percent of preferences and Southeast Asia at 30 percent. INQ