In Camiguin, tourism is hit hardest by the Middle East crisis

CAMIGUIN, Philippines — Benjamin Cablay, 57, calls himself a boat captain. Every day for the last 17 years, he has been bringing tourists aboard a small four-seater motorized pump boat docked along the coast of Mambajao, Camiguin. 

It would take him seven minutes to ferry tourists to nearby White Island, a pristine white sandbar that is a famous tourist spot on the island province.

This time last year, during Holy Week, Cablay would take 10 to 15 trips to-and-from the island. Non-peak tourist seasons would bring him an average of around five trips per day. 

He did not expect this year to be any different.

Then, on one random day in February, he woke up to war — one waged 7,500 kilometers away. He did not know then that that war would push his only source of livelihood to the brink.

Foreign tourists dwindled. Local tourists from mainland Mindanao no longer had the luxury of driving all the way to Camiguin. The gas he used to power his boat suddenly cost more than he could comfortably afford on the current rates he was charging to customers.

By noon on Holy Tuesday, Benjamin was sitting by a tree, along the coast where five or six empty boats were docked, along with a handful of other boat captains, who were just waiting for passengers to come. 

WAITING. Boat captain Benjamin Cablay waits along the dock of Mambajao, Camiguin, for tourists seeking passage to nearby White Island on March 31, 2026. Photo by Shay Du/Rappler

He had only taken one trip that day, sometime at dawn. Some of his co-workers had already gone home after two boat trips, wanting to look for some other way to supplement their income.

“Pirteng lisura lagi,” he said. “P150 na lang gyud ang among net income. Kuhaan dayon [rental for] P160. Unya helper P100, unya P100 pud sa gasolina. P150 na lang gyud ang mabilin sa boat captain.”

(It’s so difficult. Only P150 is left for our net income. Deduct rental for P160. Then, P100 for the helper, then P100 for gasoline. So only P150 is left for the boat captain.)

With no other source of livelihood, it is barely nearly enough for him and one other dependent in his family. But even he was aware that he was having a slightly easier time, since other boat captains faced the same struggle, but they had even larger families.

SETTING OFF. Boat captains prepare their pump boats for the first round of trips to White Island, Camiguin on March 31, 2026. Photo by Shay Du/Rappler

And yet there was not much they could do about it. He cannot ask for an increase in boat fares yet, since that would need approval from the municipal council. His association of boat captains — 60 in all across three barangays — only plan to petition for the fare hike once gas price per liter hits the P100-mark

So far, only drivers, fisherfolk, and farmers have been promised government aid or subsidy. Cablay does not fall under any of these categories.

So now, he and his family budget his income in whatever way they can. They could no longer afford to buy fish from the market, so they only eat eggs. When the going really gets tough, Cablay would venture out to sea to fish for their food, though he is not a fisherman. He joked that he can no longer afford to buy beer, so he drinks Kulafu, a cheaper local liquor.

Just a month into the US-Israel war against Iran, Cablay and his fellow boat captains have become some of the earliest casualties of the crisis. But it is likely that they will not be the last.

When Rappler asked Camiguin Governor XJ Romualdo what sector in the province had been hit the hardest by the crisis, he immediately had an answer. “Definitely tourism,” he said.

Exponential tourist growth — until now

The year 2026 was supposed to be a “big year” for tourism in the province, according to Romualdo. The province has been promoting an “Isle Visit Camiguin 2026” campaign since last year. The program features unique activities for every month of the year: January had a lechon contest, while February offered discounted accommodation rates and a video reel contest. 

The promotion and initial activities seemed to have paid off. In mid-January, the New York Times included Camiguin in its “52 Places to Go in 2026” list, occupying the 37th spot overall and being the sole Philippine destination. Romualdo also told Rappler that tourist data from January and February had shown that arrivals had far exceeded those at the same time last year. 

Then, March came. It should have continued the province’s tourism momentum, with the promotion of climbing activities, a new squid-fishing initiative, and anticipation from the upcoming summer and Holy Week.

Instead, Romualdo said that Camiguin only hit 18,000 tourist arrivals in that month — slightly below the 20,000 they had logged in March 2025. 

“Hindi naman super [mababa], pero it’s supposed to be growing,” he explained. “Kasi ang January and February [2026] far exceeded the January and February 2025. So we were projecting na ang March would follow that trend, pero bumaba ang [arrivals] sa March.”

(It’s not super low, but it’s supposed to be growing. Because January and March 2026 far exceeded the January and February 2025. So we were projecting that March would follow that trend, but the March arrivals decreased.)

CAMIGUIN GOVERNOR. Camiguin Governor XJ Romualdo speaks to media about the island’s plan for solar energy and the impacts of the Middle East crisis during a media tour organized by the Mindanao Goes Solar movement on March 30, 2026. Photo by Shay Du/Rappler

Holy Week should have been the province’s peak season for tourist arrivals, with more than 20,000 people anticipated to arrive in that week alone. That number is usually the amount of tourist arrivals that the province would receive in an entire month.

“We’re expecting that it might decrease this Holy Week. Holy Week tourists are mostly from Northern Mindanao so they drive and then go through the ferry, [but] the fare of ferries and then of course the cost of fuel have increased,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Warning signs

Other tourist workers have not felt the Middle East crisis’ effects on the same level as Cablay. But that does not mean they have been left completely unscathed.

TOURISM WORKERS. Employees of Paras Beach Resort in Camiguin speak to reporters during a media tour organized by the Mindanao Goes Solar movement on March 29, 2026. Photo by Shay Du/Rappler

In Paras Beach Resort, right beside the jumpoff point for Cablay’s boat, business appeared to go on as usual. But according to Leofrance Sagbigsal, the resort’s front desk manager, they had received some cancellations.

“Meron na rin nagkaka-cancel [kasi] mahal na ‘yung pamasahe going here, kasi nag-i-increase na po ‘yung ferry rates….. Mga P70 yung increase sa ferry, meron pa doon sa mga sasakyan,” she explained.

(There have been cancellations because the fares going here are more expensive, especially since the ferry rates increased. The increase is around P70, and then there’s still the cost for those traveling by car.)

Jay Cutab, a van rental driver, had a similar experience. Save for some bookings because of a recent marathon held in the province, he had been unable to get the same number of reservations that he used to secure in the past, in the weeks leading to Holy Week.

VAN RENTAL. Van rental driver Jay Cutab navigates the streets of Camiguin during a media tour organized by the Mindanao Goes Solar movement on March 31, 2026. Photo by Shay Du/Rappler

Cutab worked for his brother’s van rental service so his own daily income has not changed much since the crisis started. But increases in fuel and food prices on the island have lessened how much of that money he can spend on other essentials.

As a result, he has had to make adjustments. Before the crisis, their van service would usually take care of the gas refills for their customers. Now, with the sharp increase in fuel costs, they can no longer afford that for longer trips.

At home, Cutab has also been adjusting his meals to use ingredients sourced from the island instead of the more expensive ones brought in from the mainland.

The impacts may seem small for now, but even the provincial government is worried for the months to come. 

“’Di ba ang airlines nag-announce na by April sila mag-i-increase? So ‘yan ‘yung mas kinakabahan ako, both by air and by sea na ‘yung mamahal,” Romualdo told Rappler.

(Isn’t it that the airlines announced that they will increase their fares by April? So I’m more worried about that, when both travel by air and sea will become more expensive.)

In the meantime, boat captains like Cablay continue to bear the brunt of dwindling tourism activity and soaring gas prices. And since their unconventional livelihoods do not fall under the conventional categories that qualify for government aid, they are left to fend for themselves in a war that is not of their making. – Rappler.com

This story was done in collaboration with the Mindanao Goes Solar movement, an advocacy group pushing for a clean energy transition in the area through the adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.