Tag: tourist destination

Manila, Philippines – The travel trend to ‘escape’ to more off-beat destinations dominates Filipinos’ New Year’s Eve (NYE) plans, but the preference to stay in the metro still tops their choice for the celebration.

According to a report by digital travel platform Agoda, Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, came out as the number one destination for Filipinos’ NYE plans. Aside from the vibrant and crowded city of Manila, the report shows that travelers also prefer to celebrate their New Year in the country’s popular tourist attraction Boracay, landing at the second spot. 

Meanwhile, Cebu ranked third for its rich history and proximity to multiple islands, while the fourth spot was nabbed by Tagaytay, which is close to the city center that offers scenic views of the Taal lake volcano. Lastly, Baguio, ended at fifth, with Filipinos’ wanting to make the most out of the ‘sweater’ weather.

Moreover, new joiners Bohol, which is known for its chocolate hills, and the hustle and bustle city of Davao made it to the list of popular destinations for the New Year, knocking off Laguna and Iloilo off the top ten list.

Timothy Hughes, Agoda’s vice president of corporate development, noted that their data shows that in addition to the big city, traditional, celebration destinations, travelers across Asia are showing their ongoing desire to escape the constrictions and controls of pandemic impacted cities.

He further shared that the appeal of Asia’s beaches, stunning scenery, and freedom of open space has people heading for the coast and mountains in droves.

“Data shows that Taiwanese and Thai travelers are booking higher star category hotels compared to last year. Joining travelers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, and Vietnam in the hunt for a luxurious end to a tough 2021,” said Hughes.

The report also found that in Asia, the preference for four to five-star hotels is even stronger with Taiwan and Thailand travelers upgrading from one to three-point-five-star accommodation for New Year’s Eve this year, joining Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam travelers who continue to choose 4-5 star venues to celebrate the arrival of 2022. Meanwhile, in India, one to three-point-five-star hotels remain popular among travelers, reflective of trends in 2020.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – MHholidays, the tour operating arm of Malaysia Airlines, has launched a new product, “Trips and Tours”, an offering of a wide selection of activities, attractions, and experiences in addition to the existing flights and hotel packages.

The new product features more than 40,000 selections of travel experiences worldwide. These include trips, concerts, attractions, museums, and excursions across 1,000 international and domestic cities within and beyond the airline’s network. 

“Trips and Tours” is in support of the Malaysian government’s initiative of reviving domestic travel and tourism sectors. Through the government’s “Green Travel Bubble Initiative”, there are now over 100 new activities and attractions on offer across 12 domestic cities Malaysia Airlines flies to.

“The introduction of Trips and Tours further builds on MHholidays’ aim of making travel seamless by providing an all-in-one travel booking experience leveraging technology. Currently, MHholidays packages are only available for MH operated flights, and we are working towards expanding it to include Firefly codeshare flights in 2021. In line with our Fly Malaysia campaign, the MHholidays’ Trips and Tours highlights the amazing attractions we have across our nation while playing our part to support the revival of domestic tourism travel by curating safe, secure, and amazing experiences for all our customers,” said Malaysia Airlines’ Group Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Lau Yin May.

The product is now on offer on the MHholidays’ official website or through Malaysia Airlines’ official mobile, available on download at the Google Play Store or at the App Store.