Fewer Filipinos are making travel plans this year, a survey showed as rotating lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions persist throughout the Philippines.
Only 2 out of 10 Filipino adults or 22% have plans to travel in the remaining months of 2021, the September survey of comparison website Finder showed. The Philippines was among 12 countries surveyed for travel plans, which included Singapore, Canada, U.S., and Malaysia among others.
“Our September survey coincided with the extension of enhanced quarantine guidelines earlier this month, so it’s not at all surprising that fewer Filipinos are making travel plans," Finder.com’s global editor-at-large Angus Kidman said.
Interest in both domestic and international travel dropped among Filipinos from August to September, the survey showed.
Filipinos planning to have a vacation locally dropped to 15% from the 25% in August with only 9% of Filipinos saying they have plans to travel abroad in the last quarter of the year, down from the 14% last month.
Among Filipino adults, more men have plans to travel than women at 27% and 19% respectively.
September's numbers, according to Finder, are the lowest in terms of Filipinos' interest in travel since the index started in February. For the past months, Filipino adults making short-term travel plans have been at around 35% to 43%.
"That means September marks the first month less than a third of the population has made travel plans," Finder said.
Tourist spots in the Philippines have started to accept travelers again even as the country continues to fight a surge in infections driven mainly by the hyper-contagious coronavirus Delta variant.
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Earlier this month, the Department of Tourism also launched a new campaign-- #MoreFunAwaits that highlights safe travel in the era of COVID-19.
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