CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Camiguin – yes, this island province in Bohol Sea – is offering a wonderful vacation experience in a much more convenient way to both domestic and foreign tourists with the launching of ‘Camiguin Isle Be There’ tourism brand name on Friday, March 17.

The provincial government rolled out the new rebranding theme at the New Capitol Building in Mambajao town to welcome the tourists with renewed vigor and confidence in its bid to get back on its feet after hitting the slides during pandemic.

In so doing, the provincial government has upgraded various tourists’ spots and destinations, and at the same time embraced digitalization and innovation, giving the prospective visitors an easier time upon entering and within the province.

The local government has widened its focus in tourism as part of its measures to recover from the loss due to Covid-19, said Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo in an interview on Friday, March 17.

Romualdo said that because of the steady decline of Covid-19 cases, Camiguin – the second smallest province in the country -- gained the full confidence to completely push tourism with new branding.

"We decided to embark on a new branding and campaign in tourism to push Camiguin into the minds of the people that it’s a place that they can go to," explained Romualdo.

Well-improved destinations, an electronic ticketing system at various tourist spots, and the technological progress of the arrival terminal in Binoni Port are among the developments in the province.

For two years, tourists and residents were prohibited from entering and visiting the tourist destinations in Camiguin because of the pandemic. The province opened its doors for tourists around October 2021.

Despite the reopening, the provincial government did not reach the pre-pandemic level as they only tallied around 120,000 tourists in 2022, noted Romualdo.

In 2019, more than 800,000 domestic and foreign tourists visited Camiguin, and brought in an estimated P4.8 billion worth in revenues.

Romualdo said they started their journey this year, 2023, toward getting back to the pre-pandemic level and getting on track to breach one million tourists target by 2025.

"Our goal is bold and quite ambitious, but we have the tools and are in the right position to reach it," said Romualdo in his opening speech during the Camiguin tourism brand name launch.

The governor also acknowledged the significant role of peace and order in boosting the tourism industry, noting the solid collaboration between the provincial government and Camiguin Police Provincial Police.

He said police visibility has been increased to provide assistance not just for the tourists but also for the residents of the province as well.

On the same day, Romualdo, together with Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 10 director Marie Elaine Unchuan and provincial tourism officer Candice Dael led the ribbon cutting of the new Arrival Terminal facility at the Binoni Port in Mahinog, Camiguin.

With the said facility, all arriving tourists and residents will be thoroughly checked with the use of different scanner machines.

The provincial government urged new tourists to secure their ‘Clean Camiguin QR Code’ which can be accessed to www.cleancamiguinqr.com to enter their basic information, important documents, valid ID and vaccination card among others.

The tourism brand name "Camiguin Isle Be There" was chosen because the provincial government wanted people to think ‘I’ll be there’ once they saw the promotional video of the province, said Romualdo.

The word "isle" was also chosen as replacement of ‘I’ll’ to immediately identify that Camiguin is an island.