DAVAO CITY — Tourists exploring Davao City now have a new digital travel companion as the Davao Tourist Passport moves from a physical booklet to a mobile application backed by Japan’s smart-city initiative.
The digital version was launched on August 14, 2026, through a partnership involving the Japanese government’s Smart JAMP (Smart City supported by Japan ASEAN Mutual Partnership), the City Government of Davao, and the private-sector-led Davao Tourism Association (DATA).
Developed by Tokyo-based urban technology startup SchemeVerge, the app runs on the Horai MaaS (Mobility as a Service) platform, bringing tourism information, promotions and mobility-related features into a single digital environment.
From a ₱500 booklet to a digital travel tool
The original Davao Tourist Passport was launched in 2025 as a tourism promotion initiative offering discounts, perks and special deals from participating establishments. The physical passport was priced at ₱500 and was designed to encourage visitors to explore Davao while supporting local tourism businesses. GMA News reported that the passport was not a government-issued travel document or legal passport, but a tourism promotion tool.
The digital version takes that concept considerably further.
At its launch, the application had 60 participating establishments, with more businesses and information expected to be added. SchemeVerge CEO Tatsuki Yamanami described the Kadayawan rollout as a soft launch, indicating that the platform is still expected to expand.
Among the features are interactive tourism maps, destination visualization, access to participating establishments, promotional offers, personalized trip planning, smart travel suggestions, communication with partner businesses, and mobility and booking integration.
Japan partnership puts mobility at the center
What makes the Davao project different from an ordinary tourism-discount app is its connection to smart mobility.
Japanese official and project-linked information describes Horai as a platform capable of helping travelers discover destinations, plan itineraries and arrange supported transportation. Its existing platform also supports digital tourism passes and NFC-based use in participating locations.
For Davao, the bigger objective goes beyond helping tourists find restaurants or attractions.
According to the Philippine Information Agency, tourism and mobility data generated through the project could eventually help the city government in traffic management, transportation planning and event planning. The app is also being considered for integration with the city’s developing High Priority Bus System, or Davao Bus Project.
That means tourist movement could potentially become another source of information for understanding how people move around the city.
Davao tourism is already gaining momentum
The digital upgrade comes as Davao City records strong tourism activity.
City tourism data cited by PIA showed 525,342 tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2026, a 19-percent increase compared with the same period in 2025. By the end of April, the city had recorded a 15-percent increase in arrivals for the first four months of the year.
The city is also positioning major events such as the Kadayawan Festival as important drivers of visitor activity, making the timing of the digital passport launch particularly significant.
Japan and Davao deepen smart-city cooperation
The tourist passport is part of a broader Japanese-supported smart-city cooperation rather than an isolated tourism project.
Smart JAMP is designed to help ASEAN cities address urban challenges through smart-city technologies. In Davao, Japanese officials have previously been involved in feasibility studies concerning areas such as flood control and traffic management.
Chiaki Ohya, director for International Planning for Construction Industry, said the tourism application is intended to contribute to traffic management and event planning while demonstrating how tourism data can support wider urban planning.
The current Smart JAMP tourism project is described as a one-year project, although Japanese representatives expressed hope that Davao could eventually sustain the application or develop its own similar system after the project period.
Why this could matter to travelers
For tourists, the immediate attraction is convenience: instead of carrying a booklet and separately searching for destinations, deals and travel information, users can access multiple tourism functions through their smartphones.
For businesses, the digital platform provides another way to put their establishments in front of visitors.
For city planners, however, the long-term value may be even bigger.
If the system generates reliable information about where tourists go, which destinations attract visitors and how travelers move between locations, that information could help authorities better understand tourism flows and transportation needs. PIA specifically reported that the data could be used in traffic management and urban planning.
And that is where Davao’s digital tourist passport becomes more than a tourism promotion campaign.
It becomes a potential piece of the city’s broader smart-city ecosystem.
The real test starts now
The launch gives Davao a high-tech tourism tool, but the bigger question will be whether travelers actually use it—and whether more establishments, destinations and transportation services join the platform.
The initial 60 participating spots are only a starting point, according to SchemeVerge, which said more information will be added after the Kadayawan soft launch.
If the platform succeeds in connecting tourist attractions, local businesses and transportation, Davao could demonstrate how a tourism passport can evolve from a simple discount booklet into a digital mobility and destination-planning system.
For now, the message is clear: Davao tourism has entered its digital phase—and the next chapter could be much bigger than discounts and digital maps.
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