The
Filipino
upmarket
traveller…
asks ‘will I have a good time?’,
not ‘what is the price?’
is becoming more fearless,
preferring exotic destinations
tends to travel in extended
groups
Above A Filipino girl in full summer mode at a yacht club
is a “very lucrative market” and is the
most attractive source market after
Singapore for TTC’s Insight Vacations
and its luxury spinoff, Luxury Gold.
So what are the facets of Philippine
luxury outbound?
“Typhoons and volcanic eruptions
don’t stop the Filipinos from travelling.
They are very resilient,” he said.
Comparing it with the Lion City’s
affluent travel market, Yap said
Singaporeans have the advantage of
not having to apply for visas anywhere,
unlike Filipinos. Singaporeans travel
four times a year due to the small size
of the citystate; in contrast, Filipinos
travel twice a year but as a family with
five to six members minimum.
Singaporeans also ask for the price
first while Filipinos ask whether they
will have a good time. “The Philippine
market understands what luxury is
about. (The) lifestyle here (Yap was
interviewed when he was in Manila)
is about enjoyment, celebration,
travelling in style,”
he pointed out.
A big stimulus to luxury travel
is technology, including social
media, which brings travel within
easy reach of both millennials and
senior citizens, said Yap.
Social media has been
awash with the sharings of
desirable wedding destinations,
honeymoons and reunions of the
rich and famous in Italy, France,
Morocco and New Zealand, and
this helps to expand the size of
this market further, according to
Adventure International’s Evasco.
And as Filipinos are ‘clannish’
and are scattered around the
world, family and extended family
trips, reunions of clans, barkadas
or friends, school classmates and
office colleagues are becoming
more popular. “They splurge on
anniversary celebrations and other
special treats to make the trip
more memorable,” she said.
Likewise, Filipino luxe
travellers are also becoming
fearless and more adventurous,
going beyond the conventional
tours in favour of exotic
destinations. “They don’t mind
paying for the experience and
for the adventure,” Corporate
International’s Hain said.
Luxury Filipino travellers also
like something new and different,
according to Dolly Santos, owner
of Golden Sky Travel and Tours.
Thus they are seen not only in
the Baltics but in some of its inner
regions, untamed destinations in
northern Europe like the seasonal
Lapland and Iceland. A South
African safari nowadays would
also include a side trip to Zambia
or Kenya. Morocco is ‘in’, as is
Turkey.
Influenced by a glut of travel
websites and blogs on even the
remotest corners of the world,
their clamour for something
different is also apparent in their
choice of cruise destinations.
From Asia, Alaska and the
Mediterranean in the past, their
cruise preferences now include
the Antarctica, the Northern
Passage, Galapagos and the latest
top draw, Havana, Cuba. There is
also a growing demand for river
cruises in Europe, which are more
expensive than ocean cruising.
Longhaul destinations are
more sought after than shorthaul.
Except for Japan which remains
a best seller, Asia is out. Filipino
jetsetters are already familiar
with Hong Kong, Bangkok and
Singapore, and with airlines
and hotels reducing rates, they
are able to go longhaul for the
price of travelling to Asia. The
embassies of South Korea Japan
and a few other Asian countries
are also said to be more lax in
granting a longer duration of stay
to Filipinos.
Shopping is still the main lure
for Filipino travellers, said Evon
Ler, president Asia of Insight
Vacations, who concurred that
Filipinos are the most resilient
travellers who will not spoil their
holiday plans when something
unexpected happens in Europe.
Last year, Ler said that Insight
Vacations had “lots of bookings”
and “no cancellations”.
TTG Asia luxury | May 2018 17