22.8 M adomestic tourists in 2009 - poll

MANILA, Philippines - At least 22 million Filipinos traveled around the country within six months in 2009, either to visit their relatives or go on vacation, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported.

The DOT said results of a survey done in 2009 showed that 22.8 million Filipinos visited various destinations in the country, most of them traveling twice in a span of six months.

Most of the travelers — 52.4 percent — were women, according to the findings of the 2009 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors jointly undertaken by the DOT and the National Statistics Office (NSO) from April to September 2009.

According to the DOT, the survey showed that the travel pattern seems to decrease with age. About 26.4 percent of the local tourists belonged to the 15 to 24 age group, while those aged 65 and above comprised only 4.7 percent.

The main purpose for travel of more than half (53.3 percent) of the domestic tourists was to visit friends or relatives or to attend family gatherings. Those who traveled for pleasure or vacation numbered 7.8 million, comprising 34.3 percent, more than half of whom spent an average P514 for transport, besides food and shopping.

The domestic travelers either availed themselves of package tours or traveled independently during their most recent trip.

The average expenditure of independent travelers was P1,818, while those on package tours was P17,981.

Less than half of the domestic travelers stayed overnight in their destination, with majority of the rest staying for two to three nights in the places they visited.

Metro Manila was the most frequently visited place by domestic travelers with a total of 3.1 million visits. Also frequently visited were provinces near the metropolis, aside from Cebu and Lanao del Sur.

Most domestic tourists took advantage of the long holiday weekends. Next to Holy Week, the top holiday weekend was Labor Day with nearly half-a-million recorded travelers.