"Camiguin Isle be there" launched to attract more tourists
March 18, 2023 at 10:57 pm,
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By Steph Berganio
CAMIGUIN province is now eager to draw more tourists to visit their beautiful island as it recently launched their new brand, "Camiguin Isle Be There."
Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo said that "Camiguin Isle be There" campaign invites tourists to look forward to what the province has to offer, most especially their trademark tourism.
Romualdo said that at the height of the pandemic, Camiguin re-opened in 2021. It was known as the place that is very difficult to enter because the local government prioritize the protection of their people's health and safety.
"Nagclose ang Camiguin, nag re-open 2021 na known kami na critical to enter kay nagclose man gyod mi diha kay amo pod gilantaw ang level sa health facilities namo, kanang pag protect sa population dinhi kay grabe among pag push sa vaccination, " said Romualdo.
As Covid-19 cases slowed down this past few months, they were confident to push opening tourism as long as they see to it that people are very well protected through vaccination.
"This past few months wala na gyod nagsaka ang Covid (cases) ug confident nami na okay, time to push tourism kay very well protected na ang population, so to do that we decided to embark on the new brand to push ang Camiguin sa mind sa mga tao," he explained about the new branding.
The Isle-be-there concept is to invite people were you can see, hear the promotional song that encourages people to visit the peaceful island in Mindano in between Visayas.
"Kung makita ang promotion materials, (ang vibe kay) gusto ko moanha diha. Ang Isle, kay among experience before, internationally a lot of foreigners ilang ingon what is 'Camiguin? So we told them it' s an island in Mindanao, it is in the northern part, right between Visayas and Mindanao, and very peaceful nga isla gyod siya sa Pilipinas."
Among the developments in the province include improved tourism sites and its digital aspect, including e-ticketing and innovations of qr system for information.
CAMIGUIN QR AND E-TICKETING
Governor Romualdo is much elated as they are the only province in the Philipphines to launch the e-ticketing system.
"We're very proud..kay kami pa ang tourism destination to come up with e-ticketing system. Naa pako i-improve, nice na gyod siya kay mura ka og nag-online shopping and it will take you to the tourist destination, pila mo kabuok, pila ang price so mao nang innovations. If you want to keep building it up dinhi lang nimo sa Pilipinas makita."
Romualdo further said that aiming for cashless transaction and the online payment will through the GCash, Paymaya and other available and easier online payment.
MILLENNIALS AMONG THE TOP TOURISTS
With the retooling of the Camiguin Qr system, Romualdo said that they can get very detailed information from different people coming in Camiguin.
He described Camiguin Qr as a very helpful on their part to monitor who's coming in and coming out in the province, including the visitors' age, address, where tourist destination they will go, and so on.
Among the top tourists in the province are those aged 20 to 30 years old (the millennial age), mostly women and coming from different parts in Mindanao.
Foreign tourist are mostly Europeans.
"So all of these things ang scan to promote,"
HOW TO REGISTER?
If you are planning a trip to camiguin and experience less hassle bookings, just click the link https://cleancamiguinqr.com/ and register your details.
Governor Romualdo assures tourists that provided information will be protected by the data privacy law.
After registering the Camiguin Qr, attach a vaccinated ID and profile picture and connect to top tourist destination where you want to go, including reservation and bookings of your hotel and accomodation.
Unvaccinated tourists are now allowed in the province but must present first the result of their antigen test 24 hours before their entry to the island.
OPENING OF ARRIVAL TERMINAL
Passengers coming from the ferry will have to enter the arrival terminal to scan their Qr Code where the system will aknowledge them and welcome them to the Island.
Despite the big losses of the tourism industry during the Covid pandemic, Romualdo is is hopeful the province is resilient, and that sooner or later the tourists will flock again.
Last year around 128, 000 tourist arrivals came to the province, too little compare to 800,000 tourists in a year before the pandemic.
Right now the tourist arrivals keep on increasing and a very good sign for tourists to flock this coming Holy Week season.
"When we talk sa mga resorts and accommodation, mas ma-established, ga-peak ilang stays.. so hinay hinay.. among target mahinay hinay hopefully this year maabot namo this year ang 600,000 to 800,000 tourist arrival and then 1 million by 2025, " Romualdo said.
(Photos by Steph Berganio)