The 2009 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors (HSDV) conducted by the National Statistics Office and Department of Tourism 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 (Table 1).

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 (Table 2).

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 (Table 3).

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 (Table 5).

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 (Table 6).

The long holiday weekends during Holy Week (April 9 to 12, 2009) was the most traveled period of domestic travelers whose main purpose of trip is for pleasure or vacation with around 782 thousand. Of this number, more than half (53.8%) of Holy Week travelers stayed overnight. Next to Holy Week as the most traveled holiday weekend of domestic travelers was Labor Day (May 1 to 3, 2009) with 459 thousand travelers. More than half (54.8%) of travelers during Labor Day were day visitors. Following Labor Day as the most traveled period was End of Ramadan (September 19 to 21, 2009) with 293 thousand travelers. Majority (69.9%) of travelers during End of Ramadan were day visitors (Table 7).

Technical Notes

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. In 2005, an HSDV was also conducted with more comprehensive indicators. The surveys were jointly undertaken by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The 2009 HSDV as a rider to the regular Labor Force Survey (LFS), utilized 25,500 sample households deemed sufficient to produce a national estimate.
 

  Source:  Income and Employment Statistics Division                                                                                                   Household Statistics Department
                  National Statistics Office
                  Manila, Philippines