Cross River State recorded more than one million street participants, 12,000 airport arrivals in a single month and about 20,000 active traders during the 31-day 2025 Detty December celebrations, prompting officials to begin early planning for an expanded 2026 edition, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, Mr. Ojoi Ekpenyong, has said.
Ekpenyong spoke at the Naija7Wonders Conference, where tourism stakeholders examined the economic impact of Nigeria’s festive travel season, lessons from last December’s surge, and preparations for future editions.
He traced the origins of what is now branded as Detty December to 21 years ago, when residents gathered at White Market Roundabout in Calabar to dance — a moment he said helped former governor Donald Duke identify tourism as a viable development tool for the state.
According to Ekpenyong, the 2025 edition marked a scale the state had “never seen before,” serving as a melting point for visitors from across Nigeria’s 36 states during the Cultural Festival segment of the carnival. The Calabar Festival — branded locally as Detty December — runs for 31 days and blends street parades, concerts, cultural showcases and commercial fairs.
He said the surge in attendance translated directly into economic activity. Hotels were fully booked, diaspora visitors injected foreign exchange into the local economy, and the Christmas Village — a 31-day commercial hub — hosted roughly 20,000 traders engaged in buying and selling.
Corporate participation also expanded, with Guinness Nigeria operating about 300 beverage booths within the festival grounds. Ekpenyong said daily foot traffic through the village demonstrated the scale of spending power circulating during the period.
Beyond headline figures, he described the festival as an accessible economic platform, noting that small vendors — including sachet water sellers — could generate significant revenue within weeks due to the sheer volume of visitors.
Ekpenyong credited early partnerships with tourism promoter Ikechi Uko and platforms such as Akwaaba African Travel Market for helping the festival attract international audiences in previous years, including performances by global artists such as Akon, Lucky Dube and Don Moen.
Reviewing last year’s experience, Ekpenyong said the unprecedented turnout reinforced the need for stronger infrastructure planning — particularly accommodation capacity — as visitor demand outpaced available rooms.
He also highlighted the value of year-round preparation, describing the festival as a project that requires a full 12-month planning cycle. Security management, vendor coordination and visitor logistics, he said, were critical success factors that would be scaled up going forward.
Ekpenyong maintained that Cross River recorded no major security incidents during the month-long festivities, attributing the outcome to coordinated planning and community engagement.
Looking ahead, Ekpenyong said the state has begun preparations for the 2026 edition, including road shows and promotional campaigns aimed at sustaining international visibility.
He called on private investors to expand hotel and hospitality infrastructure, arguing that accommodation shortages now represent the state’s biggest growth constraint. He also pointed to anticipated infrastructure projects — including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and a proposed deep seaport — as catalysts expected to increase visitor flows.
Ekpenyong welcomed signals of greater federal collaboration, referencing remarks by Obi Asika, Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, on the need for joint public-private investment in large-scale cultural tourism.
“For 21 years, this festival has evolved into a major economic platform,” Ekpenyong said. “What we are doing now is applying the lessons from 2025 to build a more coordinated, more profitable and more inclusive Detty December in 2026.”
He added that the state views the aviation, hospitality and cultural sectors as interconnected drivers of festive tourism — positioning Detty December as both a cultural celebration and an economic engine for Cross River State.
