More Filipinos traveling for Holy Week amid oil, energy crisis

Travel service provider Trip.com said on Tuesday that more Filipinos are traveling to international and local destinations for the Holy Week, despite the country’s current oil and energy crisis.

“Holy Week is rapidly emerging as one of the Philippines’ biggest travel moments, with Filipinos increasingly using the extended holiday to take longer leisure trips both domestically and abroad,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the travel platform, outbound travel among Filipinos increased by 50% year-on-year (YoY) for Holy Week, underscoring the Christian holiday as one of the country’s emerging travel periods.

It added that Filipinos are taking advantage of the holidays to take longer leisure trips, with the average length lasting up to 9.57 days. “Longer stays allow travelers to explore multiple attractions or combine city visits with leisure experiences.”

Popular outbound destinations include Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Osaka, Seoul, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, and Hanoi.

“Major cities across the region remain particularly popular for quick getaways, offering a mix of leisure, entertainment, and culinary experiences suited to the extended holiday break,” the company said.

Domestic travels also sustained a central role during the Holy Week, as bookings grew by 25% YoY.

Top local spots include Manila City, Cebu, Palawan, Boracay, Davao del Sur, Bohol, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Leyte, and Misamis Oriental.

AirAsia Move, the online travel agency (OTA) of the AirAsia group, reflects the same positive figures on domestic travel.

The platform underscored that 86% of its flights during this period are domestic, with 55% of the trips departing from Manila.

Other key departures are from Cebu (12%), Iloilo and Tacloban (5%), Caticlan and Puerto Princesa (2%), and other regional airports nationwide (19%).

For Manila-based travelers, 56% will be traveling alone, while 18% are couples, followed by 15% children, and 11% group of friends.

According to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), passenger traffic from Mar. 29 to Apr. 5 could reach up to 2.46 million, up from the 2.41 million recorded during the same period last year.

Similarly, the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) projects daily passenger traffic for both local and international flights to reach 1,353,265, slightly higher than the 1,326,730 in 2025.

The daily passenger volume for the period is also expected to remain above 143,000.

While Trip.com expects Good Friday to be the busiest travel date, NNIC forecasts Easter Sunday as the busiest day of the period with projected traffic of 158,884 travelers.

“Passenger demand remains strong, although the increase is lower than earlier expected due to flight suspensions and operating restrictions affecting some Middle East services,” NNIC said in a statement on Saturday. — Almira Louise S. Martinez