Tourist arrivals in Camiguin increased by nearly 37.86 percent in 2025, an official said Wednesday.

In a statement, Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo said that despite limitations in data collection caused by the suspension of the province’s Smart Tourism system, tourist arrivals grew from 288,558 in 2024 to 397,818 in 2025.

Of the total, 376,322 were domestic tourists while 21,496 were foreign visitors.

Romualdo said the provincial government was unable to use its smart travel or quick response (QR) code system beginning last year, following a court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction in a case challenging the Smart Tourism Ordinance.

As a result, the province faced difficulties distinguishing residents from visitors and identifying tourists’ nationalities.

“Due to the preliminary injunction issued by the court, we were prevented from using our Smart Travel system last year,” Romualdo said.

He said over 654,000 people passed through the province’s ports and airport during the year, making tourism tracking more difficult.

Despite these constraints, the Provincial Tourism Department consolidated available data to assess overall tourism trends.

Romualdo said that although the figures were less precise than those generated by the Smart Tourism system, they still indicated sustained mobility and growing interest in Camiguin as a destination.

According to the compiled data, domestic tourist arrivals rose by 39.3 percent, while foreign arrivals increased by 15.7 percent.

Although detailed origin data could no longer be tracked, Romualdo said on-the-ground observations indicated that a significant number of foreign visitors came from Europe, underscoring the island’s continued appeal to the European market. (PNA)