Phl luxury travelers market growing

share of Filipino luxury travelers in the country’s outbound tourist market is seen to be growing, contrary to the perception that the market is being dominated by the backpacker tourists.

Rajah Travel Corp. chairman and president Aileen Clemente said the image of the Filipino travelers market being all about the affordable backpackers segment is a misconception.

“Everyone is like, I guess, (listening to) whatever is trending on the news and of course you have the younger generation trending,” Clemente said.

She said while the backpackers market is composed of mostly millennials, the luxury travel market is accounted by the more mature travelers who don’t talk about their travels too much.

Clemente said having a mix of both the luxury and backpacker travelers shows the market’s evolution, with those who have traveled on their own through DIY (Do-It-Yourself) or unbundled servicing packages, wanting to experience more quality tours.

“It starts from doing it yourself, then later on you appreciate the finer things in life,” Clemente said.

Asked how long Filipino travelers would usually stay in the backpackers market before opting to move towards the luxury market, Clemente said it really depends on a mix of things.

“If you’ve experienced a lot in a short period of time, of course you would want something better. And then if your income level grows and you think you can afford a little more, then you do it faster,” Clemente said.

Moreover, the Rajah Travel chairman said it may be difficult to quantify just how much of the outbound travel market is accounted by the luxury travelers.

She said the backpackers market may be larger in terms of number of travelers, but the number of repeat travelers might be more in the luxury market.

“Plus you know they (luxury travelers) will pay more cause they want the value of that,” Clemente said.

Rajah Travel recently partnered with The Travel Corp. (TTC) as it launched its 2018 Luxury Escorted Journeys packages offered by its Luxury Gold Brand.

“Travelers can enjoy a diverse selection of 42 small group journeys across the globe including Europe, Britain, Africa, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and North America,” TTC said.

The 2018 luxury travel packages offer nine new destinations such as Japan, Montenegro and Scandinavia, among others.

It also features the Luxury Gold chairman’s collection, which is curated by TTC chairman Stanley Tollman.