The Cross River government has called on hotels to upgrade their services ahead of the 2024 Calabar Carnival and street parties scheduled to take place during the yuletide.

Ekpenyong Ojoi, director-general of the Cross River Tourism Bureau, made the call on Monday in Calabar at an award presentation of N1 million each to 20 hotels and N500 thousand each to 14 restaurants and bars.

Speaking during the presentation of cheques, Mr Ojoi said there would be no tourism in Cross River without the private sector’s involvement.

According to him, Governor Bassey Otu is committed to ensuring the growth of hotels, which will boost the tourism potential of the state.

He, however, said that the hotels also needed to upgrade their services.

“As we support you, you need to upgrade your services. When customers call for food or water, does it take up to 30 minutes before they are provided? Do we still have hotels with leaking roofs?

“The Bureau will come after such hotels and close them down. The governor has assured that, by the first quarter of 2025, two new aircraft will be added to the state’s fleet.

“This is to boost traffic to the state. So, hotels have to be ready to accommodate these tourists and give them the best service,” Mr Ojoi said.

Charles Ogar, chairman of the Hoteliers Association of Nigeria, Cross River chapter, appealed to owners of hotels and restaurants to partner the state’s tourism bureau for growth in the sector.

Mr Ogar, who called on the beneficiaries of the grants to ensure that they were ploughed back into their businesses, said tourism in Nigeria has to be led by Cross River.

He thanked the state government for its support of the industry while calling for the training and retraining of players in the state’s hospitality industry to boost its potential.

(NAN)