Ivan De Guzman, Maki Santos, Jax Reyes)
Klook Philippines recently held the first-ever Kreator Awards, which honored some of the most-loved travel content creators in the country.
“Just a year ago, we had a community of 300 passionate Kreators. Today, that number has soared to over 3,000 dedicated and talented Kreators in the Philippines. This phenomenal growth is a testament to your talent and dedication.” Michelle Ho, General Manager of Klook Philippines and Thailand said, opening the Kreator-studded night.
“In the past eight months alone, your Kreator codes have facilitated nearly half a million transactions and inspired almost half a million travelers, not just in the Philippines, but all over the world,” Ho boasted. “At Klook, we are committed to continuing our support to you and our Kreator program, and we are dedicated to growing and evolving alongside you,” she said.
An industry innovation, Klook developed the Kreator Program in Q4 of 2022 to create mutually beneficial relationships with public figures through an influencer affiliate initiative. With the goal to build a community with a shared passion for travel and content creation, the program has seen great success since its launch.
With 15 awards and 27 awardees announced that night, Klook awarded Kreators of three different categories: First is People’s Choice, where the public was given the chance to vote for their favorite Kreators, followed by Partners’ Choice, the category in which Klook’s valued partners chose their top Kreators. The final category is Klook’s Choice which bases its winners on Kreators’ performance under the Kreator Program for July 2023-July 2024.
As the program commenced, the awarding ceremony captured more than just the speeches of those who won their awards; it also captured the immense passion, dedication, and sense of community.
The title of ‘Favorite Female Travel Kreator’ was voted for among 10,000 netizens on Klook’s social media. Winner Jen Barangan, a former flight attendant turned travel, food, beauty, and lifestyle Kreator thanked Klook, her peers, supporters, and her fiance, and shared the award to her fellow travelers saying “Let’s continue to create adventures and share it with the world!”
Joining Jen Barangan, Arshie Larga won ‘Favorite Male Travel Kreator’. Later in the night, Arshie also bagged the ‘Dapper Explorer Award (Best Dressed, Male Category)’, and the sought-after ‘Trendsetter Award’ for popularizing one of Vietnam’s hidden gems– Sapa. “When I started creating content back in 2016, the number one brand na gusto kong makatrabaho is Klook, because travel content talaga yung ini-aim ko, pero sadly it didn’t work.” Despite his initial plans of being a travel creator falling through then, he amassed a following of 4.1 Million followers on TikTok, loved by many for his informative content as a pharmacist and now, as a travel creator too. “Just keep on being inspired to create content, wag natin gawin lahat just for the money. Just enjoy what you’re doing and darating yung time na mabibigyan ka ng opportunity na mag-shine sa inyong mga platform,” he concluded.
“Nung estudyante palang ako, iniipon ko yung baon ko para makapag-travel kahit once a year lang,” Ivan De Guzman, winner of ‘Top Hotel Kreator’ award said. Being the Kreator with the highest hotel booking sales from July 2023 to July 2024, he shared his own experience in the program, “Simula noong naging Klook Kreator ako, nakatravel na ako sa 13 countries, 12 po doon, ginamit ko si Klook.” As a Kreator with insightful travel tips and vlogs, he ended his speech inspiring his fellow kreators “All together, we will reach places we never knew would be possible with Klook.”
Travel and food creator, Maine Ybiernas accepted the ‘Rising Star Traveler Award’ with a very personal story of her own sharing that “in the middle of the construction of our dream house, we stopped for nine months. It was Klook who gave way for me to earn more so that I could finish the house.” Championing remarkable growth from top 100, to now top 5 Kreators, she expressed her gratitude to the opportunities that brought her to where she is today.
Jm Banquicio, winner of the ‘Top Outbound Kreator Award’ was recognized for having achieved the highest sales for international destinations such as Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. As a travel, food, and lifestyle creator, Banquicio doubled down on those who supported his content creation journey saying “Itong award na to, bonus nalang sa atin eh. Just being part of the Kreator Community, malaking bagay siya para sa akin .Tuloy-tuloy sa pagawa ng content, and let’s support each other. Thank you, Klook!” he said.
Chuck and Joe, celebrated their win for the title of ‘Top Domestic Kreator Award’, which is given to the Kreators who have achieved the highest sales for local travel destinations. “First namin talagang goal when we started content creation on travel was to promote local tourism. Thank you, Klook kasi isa ang Klook sa nagbigay samin ng opportunity to travel to different places,” the duo happily announced.
The Cenzons, another iconic and lively travel twosome, won the Kreator of the Year, Silver Award. “Talagang ito yung most rewarding time noong naging Klook Kreator kami, kasi we should have been in another place. It’s a long story but, I think Klook saved us and I’m really proud of this chapter,” Moe Cenzon shared.
Winning the Gold Award for Kreator of the Year is Jax Reyes, known for his insightful and friendly content on personal finance and travel. With 327.5K followers on TikTok, Jax is the top sales-generating macro Kreator from July 2023 to July 2024 and has consistently ranked among the Top 5 Klook Kreators per month. Having won the ‘Travel Luminary Award’ from the People’s Choice category earlier in the night, Jax is a testament to Klook’s mission to be for the people. “It’s easier to travel because of Klook. The right of everybody is to travel and you have to make it very budget-friendly. I believe Klook is one of the best platforms out there,” he said as he accepted his award. “Let’s keep creating content, let’s make the world a smaller place, and let’s make sure that we democratize traveling because everybody in the world deserves to travel.”
The complete list of winners for the Kreator Awards 2024 can be found below:
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
- Travel Innovator Award | Hazel Quing
- Travel Luminary Award | Jax Reyes
- Favorite Female Travel Kreator | Jen Barangan
- Favorite Male Travel Kreator | Arshie Larga
PARTNER’S CHOICE
- Hop Inn Traveler’s Choice | Nana Silayro
- The Travel Club Globetrotter Awards
- Ivan De Guzman
- The Poor Traveler (Yosh Dimen and Vins Carlos)
- Marvin Samaco
- Colz Vidal
- Jen Barangan and Renz David
- Mariane Tagaca
- Gerald Dadula
- Detourista HQ (Marcos Caratao)
- Icia Ramirez
- Rosie Domingo
- Johnnie Walker KEEP WALKING Award | Hershey Neri
KLOOK’S CHOICE
- Best Dressed Awards
- Fashionable Wanderer | Justine Sy
- Dapper Explorer | Arshie Larga
- Trendsetter Award | Arshie Larga
- Top Activities Kreator Award | Mimi Miaco
- Top Hotel Kreator Award | Ivan De Guzman
- Rising Star Traveler Award | Maine Ybiernas
- Top Outbound Kreator Award | JM Banquicio
- Top Domestic Kreator Award | Chuck and Joe
- Kreator of the Year
- Gold Award | Jax Reyes
- Silver Award | The Cenzons (AJ Cenzon and Moe Cenzon)
- Bronze Award | Camille Piano