Unforgettable 32 Days: Calabar Carnival Leaves Lasting Economic Impact

The 2024 Calabar Festival, themed “Our Shared Prosperity,” was a vibrant showcase of Calabar’s rich cultural heritage. Spanning 32 days, the festival featured a diverse program of events, including the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Carnival Calabar Dry Run, the Calabar Food Festival, and the iconic Carnival Calabar Parade of the Bands.

Drawing a significant crowd, the festival welcomed an estimated 150,000 visitors in December 2024, a remarkable 42% increase compared to the 62,512 attendees in 2023. With 89% arriving by road, 7% by air, and 4% via sea, visitors contributed significantly to the local economy, spending an estimated N8.875 billion on travel to the destination, a substantial increase from the N3.1 billion spent in 2023.

Calabar International Airport experienced a notable surge in passenger arrivals, with over 10,000 inbound passengers between November 1st and December 29th, 2024, representing a 34% increase from the 7,452 passengers recorded in 2023. Notably, 79% of these visitors originated from other Nigerian states, while 3% were international travelers, primarily from the diaspora, seeking leisure and Carnival experiences.

The festival welcomed visitors from a diverse range of locations, including Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abia, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Enugu, Cameroon, the UK, Canada, and Equatorial Guinea. An estimated 450,000 spectators enjoyed key events on-site, such as the Cultural Carnival, Children’s Carnival, and Bikers Carnival, surpassing the 279,486 spectators in 2023. Moreover, the festival achieved unprecedented global reach, captivating over 1.2 billion viewers through broadcasts on DSTV, complemented by an additional 100 million viewers who streamed the events live online.