Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, was the biggest cyclone to hit the Philippines to date, claiming over 6,000 lives and an estimated $5.8 billion in damage.
Travel brands such as
Air Asia pledged to donate double of the donation amount it collected via its
#toPHwithlove campaign, and
Cebu Pacific Air waived off all excess baggage fees during the cyclone period. These brands also put social media to its best use during this period and earned
emotional votes too.
While Philippines is
identified by Amadeus as one of the emerging markets for air travel, leisure bookings to the country experienced a dip after the cyclone.
Forward Keys, the travel intelligence data provider for marketers, studied (leisure) air travel bookings for the Philippines that were made in main GDSs worldwide.
According to the study, the 2012 air bookings for Philippines show November and December as more relevant months for Asian countries than for Long Haul source markets. Refer the chart below.
Both the Asian and long haul travel bookings to Philippines were impacted after Typhoon Haiyan. Notice the constant dip in booking in the chart below.
Decrease has been more relevant from Asian markets than from long haul countries.
Top source markets (in both Asia and long haul) for Philippines have shown relevant erosion after Haiyan.
In the Asian market, bookings from Hong Kong experienced the highest drop rate of 70% after Haiyan, compared to before-Haiyan period.
In the long haul market, Germany was the most affected country with a 51% drop in bookings to Philippines.
However, future bookings for Philippines looks positive. The number of bookings from December 19, 2013 till April 2014 is more or less same compared to similar period last year.
Christmas campaign doesn't seem to have impacted bookings as it is 13% above the 2012 levels.
Bookings arriving in the mid and long term are also above 2012 levels despite expected drop from Asian markets.
Study methodology
This analysis is based on Air Reservation Data propriety of ForwardKeys as of December 7, 2013.
Includes air reservations made by passengers with "leisure profile", identified as:
- Passengers from Asian markets staying between 4-13 nights in Philippines, travelling in couples or groups up to 5 pax. and booking issued with more than 30 days of anticipation
- Passengers from Long Haul markets staying between 6-21 nights in Philippines, travelling in couples or groups up to 5 pax. and booking issued with more than 45 days of anticipation
NB: Typhoon Haiyan image via Shutterstock.