CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Tourist arrivals in Camiguin rose by nearly 37.86 percent in 2025, a provincial official said Wednesday.

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

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

Romualdo said the provincial government has been unable to utilize its smart travel or quick response (QR) code system since last year after a court issued a preliminary injunction in a case questioning the Smart Tourism Ordinance.

As a result, the province encountered challenges in distinguishing residents from visitors and determining the nationalities of tourists.

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

He added that more than 654,000 individuals passed through the province’s ports and airport during the year, further complicating tourism monitoring efforts.

Despite these limitations, the Provincial Tourism Department consolidated available data to evaluate overall tourism trends.

Romualdo said that while the figures were not as precise as those produced by the Smart Tourism system, they nonetheless reflected sustained movement and increasing interest in Camiguin as a tourist destination.

Based on the compiled data, domestic tourist arrivals increased by 39.3 percent, while foreign arrivals grew by 15.7 percent.

Although detailed data on tourists’ origins could no longer be monitored, Romualdo said on-the-ground observations showed that a substantial number of foreign visitors came from Europe, highlighting the island’s continued appeal to the European market.