The Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB) said it has begun training enumerators and officials ahead of a comprehensive data collection for the upcoming Carnival Calabar.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRSTB, Ekpenyong Ojoi, in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, said the training became necessary after a record-breaking performance of the 2024 Calabar Festival and Carnival.

Mr Ojoi said the training was aimed at equipping field officers with the skills to accurately capture visitor numbers, spending patterns and the overall economic impact of the festive season.

He said the training was also part of efforts of the bureau to strengthen evidence-based tourism planning and policy.

Mr Ojoi said the resource persons were drawn from the bureau and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to ensure the state had reliable tourism data.

According to him, an executive summary of the festival in 2024 highlighted the growing scale and economic importance of the event.

He said 2024 edition with the theme, ‘Our Shared Prosperity,’ ran for 32 days and featured major attractions such as the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Calabar Food Festival, Carnival Calabar dry runs and the Parade of the Bands, alongside cultural dances, music, fashion shows and sports competitions.

“According to the report, Margaret Ekpo International Airport recorded over 10,000 inbound passengers between November 1 and December 29, 2024, up from 7,452 in the same period in 2023.

“Of this figure, 79 per cent arrived from other Nigerian states while three per cent came from the diaspora, largely for leisure and carnival-related activities.

“An estimated 150,000 visitors entered Calabar in December 2024 via road, air and sea, spending about N8.875 billion on transportation alone. This represented a 42 per cent increase in visitor numbers compared to 2023,” he said.

Mr Ojoi said tourist traffic to major attractions such as the Obudu Mountain Resort, Marina Resort and Kwa Falls also increased, with more than 300,000 visitors recorded between November and December 2024, up from about 190,345 in 2023.

He further said hotel occupancy rates climbed to 68 per cent from 57 per cent a year earlier, with over 90 per cent of hotels reporting full occupancy between December 15 and 29.

Also, revenue from hotel bookings was estimated at N2.79 billion while food and breakfast sales generated about N900 million.

Mr Ojoi said the new data collection would build on the 2024 gains, provide deeper insights into visitor behaviour and spending, and also position the state as one of Nigeria’s leading cultural and tourism destinations.

The Cross River State Government has prepared about 4,000 hotel rooms and approved a grant to assist hotel owners of hospitality facilities in the state to clean up their facilities.

The state has also strengthened its air connectivity through CallyAir with the acquisition of two new aircraft in preparations for this year’s carnival.

 (NAN)