Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River, on Tuesday, said plans were underway to upgrade tourism sites across the state to meet international standards.

Speaking with journalists in Calabar, Mr Otu said this was to attract local and international tourists to the state.

He said the state was also working on creating the needed infrastructure to boost tourism in the areas of transportation and accommodation, among others.

“We are currently training personnel within the state and outside the country to upgrade our tourism sites. We are partnering with investors to bring some of them to 21st-century standards.

“Currently, we are trying to ensure our roads are taken care of. We are not waiting on the federal government again because it has become clear that priorities are too many, so we have to help ourselves.

“We want to ensure people easily access those tourism sites with very little difficulty and we are looking at stabilising our product pricing by making sure transportation is improved. We will explore gas, electricity and trains.

“We are going to improve aviation as well,” he said.

Speaking on the just-concluded Calabar Carnival, Mr Otu commended the competing and non-competing bands for their remarkable input, which culminated in the success of the event.

He appreciated everyone who worked behind the scenes in the nine-month preparation period for the carnival.

According to him, with guidance from renowned professors, researchers, individual artists, and many more professionals, the carnival was improved.

He said that in view of the need to bring back the international carnival, the state would work on ensuring world-class accommodation facilities are put in place ahead of the next edition.

He noted that the state would have a post-carnival review to assess the areas to be improved on and other programmes to introduce.

He said that depending on the outcome of the review, the state would consider establishing diaspora bands in 2025.

“International Carnival is not scrapped; we are looking at the prospect of established diaspora bands in 2025. This time, we are going to have a post-carnival review to put things right.

“We are aware that three to four months ahead of the Calabar Carnival, hotels were already fully booked. So, we are trying to make sure we do not only have enough hotels but also ensure they are upscaled to international standards.

“This is because the next Calabar Carnival will be a bigger picture with our international carnival in place.

“We already have international hospitality facilities that are moving here; we have hotels that are almost completed that can compete with any hotel across the world,” he said.

Mr Otu expressed excitement over the exhilarating performance of physically challenged individuals in the carnival.

He said the possibility of having a dedicated carnival band for them in 2025 would be explored.

“We do not see them as being limited by whatever challenges they face. We are looking at some of the things they have put to us but there must be a policy.

“We are looking at setting up a proper structure in their favour. So, to encourage them on the carnival front, the chairman of the Carnival Commission will check if they actually need their own band,” he said.

(NAN)