In 2009, 23 million Filipinos traveled the country

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, 21 February (PIA) -- The National Statistics Office (NSO) recently released the findings of its 2009 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors which was jointly undertaken by the NSO and the Department of Tourism.
The 2009 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors (Core Indicators) is a nationwide undertaking designed to collect data on the travel characteristics and volume of domestic tourism in the country.
The survey showed a total of 22.8 million Filipinos 15 years old and over who traveled for any purpose within the country during the period April 1 to September 30, 2009. This is about 36.9 percent of 61.7 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over. On the average, each traveler made two trips and visited two places in the country during the reference period.
Of the 22.8 million domestic travelers during the past six months, 52.4 percent were females while 47.6 percent were males. Travel pattern among household members 15 years old and over tends to decrease with age. From a proportion of 26.4 percent among 15 to 24 years old, the percent of travelers declined to 4.7 percent for older age group 65 years old and over.
The main purpose of trip for more than half (53.3%) of the total domestic travelers was to visit friends or relatives or to attend family gatherings. Those who traveled for pleasure or vacation totaled 7.8 million, comprising about 34.3 percent of the total domestic travelers.
Among travelers whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation, more than half spent for transport with an average expenditure of Php 514. Around 3.8 million and 2.8 million domestic travelers whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation spent for food and beverages, and shopping with an average expenditure of Php 521 and Php 1,372, respectively.
Domestic travelers either availed of package tour or traveled independently during their most recent trip. Of the total 7.8 million domestic travelers whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation, majority (7.7 million) were independent travelers while the rest (80 thousand) availed of a package tour. The average expenditure of independent travelers was Php 1,818 while the average expenditure of those who availed of a package tour was Php 17,981 (Table 4).
Less than half (45.8%) of the domestic travelers who traveled for pleasure or vacation stayed overnight in their places of destination in which most of them (40.8%) stayed for 2 to 3 nights in the places visited. On the average, 8 nights were spent by a domestic traveler whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation in the place visited.
The National Capital Region (NCR) was the most frequently visited place by domestic travelers whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation during the period April 1 to September 30, 2009 with a total of 3.1 million visits. The other frequently visited provinces were those near NCR. Except for Cebu and Lanao del Sur, the other top provinces were all in Luzon.

PIA Press Release