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In a country where tourism is the 5th growth driver, local Philippine companies are scrambling to take advantage

The Philippines has been enjoying an accelerated pace of growth in its tourism industry. With over 4 million arrivals in the first eight months of 2016 alone, a 12 per cent increase from the same period in 2015, coupled with its It’s More Fun in the Philippines international campaign, there is room in the market for various travel companies to disrupt the tourism industry.

In this list, we put the focus on five Filipino travel startups that are changing the way people travel around the Philippines.

Trail adventours 

Tagline: Share. Life. Outdoors.

Hiking since 1997, the decision to start Trail Adventours seems to have come naturally to brothers Coby and Guido Sarreal. Launched in October 2010 with three adventure guides and two hiking destinations, the company now offers hikes to over 50 mountains in the Philippines alone, including newly opened trails in unique destinations in the country.

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With a network stemming from 58 adventure guides and a strong online presence in adventure groups, Trail Adventours have serviced all sorts of hikers — from new hikers to seasoned mountain climbers — just as long as they share the passion for the great outdoors. The company works with seasoned adventure guides and local communities to ensure safe hikes that are neither intrusive or destructive to the environment and the local culture.

Trail Adventours has also expanded its hikes to various mountains outside of the country. Travelers can join their hikes through their website.

Experience Philippines

Tagline: Don’t think. Be random.

True to its tagline, any trip that Experience Philippines offers seem random. Any trip posted in the website only includes what travellers should prepare to bring and not the destination. Destinations are announced upon meet-up on the day of the trip and only upon arriving will the travellers know what activities they can join.

The company offers five types: random road trips, singles road trips, retro road trips, quick getaways, and random OUTings. Travellers can take part in any of the surprise destinations and activities that the group organises.

Founder Giancarlo Gallegos credits collaboration with local tourism offices, other travel groups, and local communities in the success of their trips. The company’s strong online presence and online customer relationship has also helped Experience Philippines expand its network of avid travellers and local service providers.

Experience Philippines also organises special trips for individuals and groups. It is also the only company in the Philippines that organises roadtrips exclusively for the LGBTQ community (random OUTings). Travellers can sign up to join trips through the Experience Philippines website.

MAD Travel

Tagline: Adventures that matter.

Standing for ‘Make A Difference’, MAD Travel was launched in partnership with Gawad Kalinga, a global movement building homes and communities for the less fortunate. The company’s tailor-made travel experiences aims to bring travellers to different destinations for activities that would help them gain an awareness of the social problems that various social groups in the country are trying to solve.

Also read: 7 Filipino social entrepreneurs who are making a difference in the community

A social enterprise, MAD Travel partners with other local social enterprises, as well as development groups in the local communities, to provide an alternative travel experience. The activities that MAD organises involve interaction between the travellers and locals, such as volunteering in an organic farm, learning to surf from the locals, and visiting transformed communities.

MAD Travel also customises trips for individuals and organisations, and the team also offers experiences made especially for kids. Travellers can join their scheduled activities through the website.

Zigzag Travelers

Tagline: A global gateway for Philippines culture.

What started as a group to organise tours in the El Nido islands of Palawan in 2015, Zigzag travellers has expanded to become an online booking platform for experiences all over the Philippines.

With a mission to empower local communities, Zigzag Travelers work closely with its travel partners all over the country to promote the services of the local enterprises. Founder Karl Murphy stresses the importance of the startup’s collaborative relationship with partners in providing new and exciting tour packages that travellers can avail. It is the goal of the company to ‘reacquaint’ Filipinos and introduce visitors to true colourful Filipino heritage and culture.

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Zigzag Travellers offer trips to some of the most popular destinations in the country which involve activities such as rock climbing, culture tour, and food crawl. Travellers can book trips using the website.

Tripkada

Tagline: Trips by travelers like you.

When April Cuenca and Ragde Falcis started FlipTrip back in 2014, the idea was to give travellers a platform where they can customise their own trips to off-the-beaten-path destinations in the Philippines. A couple of years in, though, they noticed that travellers don’t create their own trips; they join the trips already organised by the company.

Realising that trip joining is a growing trend in the adventure travel market, FlipTrip pivoted their model, and Tripkada was born.

Launched in August 2016, Tripkada offers trips created, organised, and led by their curated community of travelers. The trips feature smaller and lesser-known destinations where their travel groups can interact with the locals, creating livelihood opportunities  and promoting sustainable tourism development in local communities.

Tripkada collaborates with various organisations to create its trips. They also encourage individuals to become part of their community of trip organisers. Travellers can join their trips through the website or by downloading their app.

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Featured Image Credit: supertrader / 123RF Stock Photo

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