Klook: PH interest in Asian travel up

Users of travel platform Klook Philippines favor going to neighboring countries like Singapore, Japan, and most especially Hong Kong, due to proximity and no visa requirement, according to its most recent study released Tuesday, March 14.
In fact, month-on-month growth for Klook, in relation to Hong Kong bookings showed strong recovery since the country reopened for tourism at 230 percent, from December 2022 to January 2023, and continues with a double-digit growth for February and March.
The study, which is based on data gathered from app and website usage, also showed that outbound Filipinos prefer longer travel durations with six to nine days (44 percent) being the most popular. This was followed by three to five days (40 percent), then 10 or more days (38 percent), and, lastly one to two days (15 percent). In addition, the most experiences booked are Theme Parks, Watersports, and Hotels.
Locally, Klook is also seeing continued growth in uptake for domestic destinations and experiences with the most popular destinations being Boracay, Manila, Tagaytay, Cebu, Clark, and Subic.
In a large part, the digitalization of the tourism industry is boosting travel, noted Michelle Ho, General Manager for Klook Philippines and Thailand.
“Travel has become even more accessible to consumers now that more people are becoming digital-savvy, and we believe this digital transformation is contributing greatly to the acceleration of tourism growth in the region,” she explained. Klook helps connect local tour operators to travelers making discoverability of activities and booking easier and hassle-free.
Klook has digitized operations for partners in various island destinations, offering better booking experience and payment solutions for customers.
In Boracay, overall bookings for water activities increased by 75 percent in Q4 2022 with 70 percent of total revenue coming from domestic bookings.
Manila Ocean Park and Cebu Ocean Park’s website booking systems are also powered by Klook through Flickket, enabling direct entry for customers through a seamless Mode of Payment and QR code redemption system.
This skips the need for travelers to exchange tickets upon arrival at the parks, improving their overall end-to-end booking experience which led to the sales in Q4 2022 doubling compared to the previous year.
Sky Ranch Tagaytay also sold over 50,000 tickets due to Klook’s instant confirmation, and open-dated calendars leading to a tripling of its monthly sales.

Klook enables Filipino travelers to find over 1,500 destinations and 515,000 curated experiences and activities. The company has been present in the Philippines for five years and over this time, it has amassed close to 600 experiences and activities across 21 cities in the country, ranging from accommodations, entertainment, dining, and transportation.
Klook saw a 22 percent increase in application downloads in February 2023 compared to the same period Pre-Covid.
When it comes to bookings, the company ended 2022 with a 62 percent growth in bookings coming from the previous quarter, showing that more and more Filipinos are flocking to the app to plan their next trip. By the end of 2023, Klook is expecting a 27 percent growth increase in monthly bookings compared to its pre-pandemic numbers. “Digital technology is a powerful tool that can benefit the majority if done right, and we will continue to introduce platform enhancements to improve our customers' travel experiences and make it easier to discover and book anything via Klook,” Ho concluded.