Major ticketed events and the nightlife economy recorded strong earnings during the 2025 Calabar Festivals and Carnivals, generating hundreds of millions of naira across entertainment, hospitality, and small business activities.
This was contained in a report by Prince Ojoi Ekpenyong, Managing Director of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, detailing how the festival period boosted the state’s night economy and creative sector.
According to the report, flagship ticketed events including Funfest, the Calabar Fashion Show, and Queen of Humanity generated an estimated N130 million. Meanwhile, the five leading nightclubs in the city—Roman, Zero Arena, Amber Lounge, Club Voltage, and Bays Bar—recorded combined revenues put at about N460 million during the festival period.
Ekpenyong further disclosed that ancillary activities linked to the festivals, such as online streaming services, food and drink vending, dance troupes, car rentals, logistics operations, and creative merchandising, generated an additional N1.7 billion. These activities, he noted, provided significant opportunities for small and medium-scale enterprises operating within the tourism and entertainment value chain.
He emphasized that beyond the parades and performances, the Calabar Festivals and Carnivals continue to stimulate the broader night economy, creating income streams for creatives, vendors, service providers, and entrepreneurs across the state.
The Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTB) had earlier held training for enumertors ahead for a comprehensive data collection exercise for the 2025 Detty December season in Calabar, building on the strong performance recorded during 2024 Calabar Festival and Carnival.
The training, organised by the bureau, was aimed at equipping enumerators and officials with the skills needed to accurately capture visitor numbers, spending patterns and overall economic impact during the festive period. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRSTB, Ekpenyong Ojoi, said resource persons drawn from the bureau and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) were engaged for the exercise, underscoring the state’s commitment to evidence-based tourism planning and policy.
