International online remittance service Remitly recently undertook a quick survey of Filipinos’ most sought-after travel destinations and found some surprising results.
The company looked at Google Search data to determine the most popular travel locations among Filipinos living abroad. Destinations in this list were chosen from Google’s list of the top 50 must-see locations. These were then cross-referenced with Google Search trends with results limited to the Philippines, and ranked based on how often the locations come up in people’s search queries.
When it came to Google searches from Filipinos, The Taj Mahal in India was top-of-mind. Unquestionably the most famous mausoleum in the world, it draws an astounding 8 million tourists per year; nonetheless, with an average of 40,000 monthly Google searches, it is apparent that many Filipinos still have it at the top of their bucket lists in 2022.
The Statue of Liberty is second only to the Taj Mahal in Pinoys’ bucket lists. A gift from the people of France in 1886, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New York City’s iconic waterfront.
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, comes in at number three. Constructed between 72 and 80 AD, it is the world’s biggest amphitheater. More than 6,000,000 tourists pay it a visit annually, and approximately 22,000 online searches for it are conducted monthly from the Philippines alone.
Below is the full list of Filipinos’ most-searched destinations:
| Rank | Destination | Average Monthly Searches (from the Philippines) |
| #1 | Taj Mahal | 40,500 |
| #2 | Statue of Liberty | 33,100 |
| #3 | Colosseum | 22,200 |
| #4 | Stonehenge | 22,200 |
| #5 | Angkor Wat | 18,100 |
| #6 | Okavango Delta | 18,100 |
| #7 | Blue Lagoon | 14,800 |
| #8 | Marina Bay Sands | 14,800 |
| #9 | Bora Bora | 9,900 |
| #10 | Machu Picchu | 9,900 |
“The first thing that people tend to do when planning their next trip – or dream vacation – is take to Google to research the destination and find out everything they might need to know,” said a Remitly spokesperson. “As a result, it’s safe to assume that the more that a particular place is searched for, the more people want or even plan to visit someday.”
A full breakdown of the research can be found here.
