The 2024 Calabar Carnival and festival attracted unprecedented numbers, with a 42% increase in visitors compared to 2023, according to research from the Cross River State Tourism Bureau.
Between November 1 and December 29, 2024, Calabar International Airport recorded over 10,000 inbound passengers, a significant rise from 7,452 in the same period of 2023.
Notably, 79% of these passengers were domestic travelers from other Nigerian states, while 3% were from the diaspora, predominantly visiting for leisure and the carnival.
December alone witnessed a remarkable influx of approximately 150,000 visitors arriving by road (89%), air (7%), and sea (4%). These visitors collectively spent an estimated ₦8.875 billion on transportation to the destination, a sharp increase from the ₦3.1 billion spent in 2023 when 62,512 visitors attended the carnival.
The report highlighted that most visitors came from Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abia, the FCT, and Enugu, while international attendees hailed from Cameroon, the UK, Canada, and Equatorial Guinea. The surge in visitor numbers underscores the growing appeal of Calabar’s annual carnival, solidifying its position as a premier tourism and cultural event in Nigeria and across Africa.
