Visa, a global leader in digital payments, has released its latest Green Shoots Radar study. This quarterly report delves into consumer sentiments across various sectors, including financial services, commerce, and travel. The study highlights a notable increase in travel frequency among Filipino travelers, with 24% of surveyed respondents embarking on overseas trips for leisure or business purposes in the past year. This trend mirrors a broader travel resurgence across the Asia Pacific region, with 37% of respondents reporting overseas travels within the same timeframe.
Among the top leisure destinations for Filipino travelers, Japan takes the lead with 32% having visited in the past year. Following closely are Singapore (22%), Hong Kong (21%), and Thailand (18%). For business trips, Singapore ranks first at 25%, trailed by Japan (23%), and the United States and Hong Kong tied at 18%.
When it comes to booking flight tickets, Filipino travelers prefer direct bookings from the provider’s website (44%). For accommodations booked through Online Travel Agencies with full payment upon booking, credit cards are the preferred payment mode (41%), followed by mobile/e-wallets (28%).
Jeff Navarro, Visa Philippines’ Country Manager, notes the growing momentum of cross-border travel in the Philippines and the region. He emphasizes the importance of Visa’s presence throughout travelers’ journeys, from destination searches to bookings, promoting the use of Visa cards on travel apps for seamless transactions, and engaging consumers with relevant travel and shopping content to enhance the digital payments experience.
Looking ahead, the future of travel appears promising for Filipino travelers, with 65% planning overseas leisure trips in the next 12 months. Japan (38%) emerges as the top intended leisure destination, followed by South Korea (29%) and Singapore (16%). For business travel, Japan (19%), Canada (13%), and South Korea (12%) are the most likely destinations.
According to Visa’s Global Travel Intentions 2023 study, the majority of Filipino travelers (89%) rely on credit (44%) and debit (39%) cards when traveling, citing the benefits of wide acceptance (56%), availability at ATMs (49%), and usability online and within apps (43%).
Visa’s recent Consumer Payment Attitudes 2023 study also underscores cards as the preferred payment method for travelers. About 25% of surveyed Filipinos use credit or debit cards online, while 21% opt for swipe or insert payments when traveling overseas.
