In a strategic move to transform one of Africa’s largest street carnivals from a spectacular event into a data-driven economic engine, the Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB) has commenced intensive training for enumerators and field officials. This initiative precedes a comprehensive data collection exercise for the upcoming Carnival Calabar, signaling a pivotal shift towards evidence-based governance in Nigeria’s tourism sector.
The Managing Director and CEO of the CRSTB, Mr. Ekpenyong Ojoi, announced the training, framing it as a direct response to the record-breaking success of the 2024 festival. “Following the unprecedented scale of last year’s event, we recognized that intuition is no longer sufficient for planning,” Ojoi stated. “We are moving from anecdotal evidence to hard data to guide every decision.”
The training program, led by resource persons from both the CRSTB and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is designed to equip field officers with advanced skills. Their mandate extends beyond simple headcounts to capturing nuanced metrics: detailed visitor demographics, precise spending patterns across different sectors (accommodation, food, transportation, souvenirs), duration of stay, and primary motivations for travel. This granular data is the cornerstone of what experts call “destination management”—a systematic approach to developing, marketing, and managing a tourist locale.
Why Data is the New Currency of Tourism
This exercise is far more than an administrative task. It represents a critical effort to quantify the carnival’s true economic impact (its direct, indirect, and induced contributions to the state’s GDP) and its social footprint. Reliable data serves multiple high-value purposes:
- Investor Attraction: Concrete figures on visitor spending and hotel occupancy rates provide compelling evidence for private sector investment in new hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities.
- Infrastructure Planning: Understanding traffic flows and peak visitor numbers informs decisions on road expansions, public transportation, and utility provisioning.
- Policy Formulation: Data reveals which carnival aspects yield the highest economic return, allowing policymakers to allocate resources strategically, such as increasing grants for the most impactful events or segments.
- Enhanced Marketing: Knowing where visitors come from and what they enjoy most enables targeted, cost-effective marketing campaigns.
Building on a Record-Breaking 2024 Foundation
The urgency for this data drive is underscored by the staggering success of the 2024 Carnival Calabar, themed ‘Our Shared Prosperity.’ The 32-day festival, which included the Christmas Tree Lighting, Calabar Food Festival, and the iconic Parade of the Bands, generated compelling statistics that the new initiative aims to delve deeper into:
- Visitor Surge: Margaret Ekpo International Airport saw inbound passengers jump to over 10,000 (Nov-Dec 2024) from 7,452 in 2023, with 79% domestic and 3% international travel. Overall, an estimated 150,000 visitors entered Calabar in December—a 42% year-on-year increase.
- Economic Injection: Visitors spent approximately N8.875 billion on transportation alone. Hotel occupancy soared to 68%, with peak periods at over 90% full, generating an estimated N2.79 billion in booking revenue. Food and beverage sales added roughly N900 million.
- Statewide Ripple Effect: Tourist traffic to key attractions like Obudu Mountain Resort and Kwa Falls exceeded 300,000, up from 190,345, proving the carnival acts as a gateway for exploring the entire state.
Preparing for an Even Greater 2025 Event
In anticipation of the data-informed influx, the Cross River Government is undertaking significant preparations. Approximately 4,000 hotel rooms have been prepared, supported by grants to help hospitality providers upgrade their facilities. Furthermore, the state’s airline, CallyAir, has bolstered its fleet with two new aircraft to improve air connectivity and capacity, directly addressing the transportation spending patterns identified in the previous year.
The upcoming data collection exercise is therefore not an end in itself, but the beginning of a sophisticated feedback loop. The insights gathered will refine these preparations for 2025, create benchmarks for future growth, and ultimately solidify Cross River State’s position as Nigeria’s foremost cultural and tourism destination, where every colorful costume and rhythmic beat is also a valuable data point for sustainable development.
