Today, the world celebrates World Tourism Day, a moment set aside to reflect on how tourism can be more than an industry of leisure and spectacle. This year’s theme, “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation,” is particularly significant for regions like Akwa Ibom State, where tourism holds immense promise—not only as a driver of economic activity but as a force for environmental protection, cultural preservation, and inclusive prosperity.

The time has come to realign tourism in Akwa Ibom. It should no longer be seen as a standalone growth engine, measured merely by the number of hotels built, flights landed, or festivals staged. Instead, tourism must be reframed as a catalyst for positive change across the environmental, social, and economic spectrum. The state stands at a critical crossroads, where visionary policy, targeted investments, and deliberate inclusion can transform its tourism sector into a model of sustainable development in Nigeria.

Tourism Beyond Numbers: A Call for Sustainable Transformation

Traditionally, conversations around tourism in Akwa Ibom have centered on infrastructure growth: new hotels, improved road networks, and beach resorts. While these are necessary, they represent only the surface of what tourism can achieve. If tourism is to serve the future, it must go deeper. It must become a tool for preserving our environment, empowering communities, and building resilient local economies.

Environmental Responsibility:
Akwa Ibom is blessed with a fragile yet rich ecosystem—from the lush mangrove forests of the Mbo and Ibeno axis to the scenic coastlines and inland waterways. Tourism expansion without sustainability can threaten these resources. A sustainable tourism framework would mean promoting eco-friendly practices, regulating coastal developments, and ensuring that hospitality operators adopt green policies like waste reduction, renewable energy use, and responsible sourcing.

Cultural Preservation:
Tourism must not flatten or commercialize Akwa Ibom’s culture. Rather, it should elevate and protect it. Our culinary traditions, from edikan ikong to afang soup, our unique masquerades, traditional music, and indigenous crafts must be integral parts of the tourism experience. Sustainable transformation requires structured support for cultural practitioners so that they benefit directly from tourism and pass heritage to future generations.

Inclusive Economic Growth:
Tourism can and should create broad-based prosperity. That means small players—the guesthouses, local food vendors, tour guides, artisans, boat operators, and transport providers—must not be left behind while only large hotels and multinational brands benefit. When tourism is structured inclusively, it becomes a lifeline for ordinary citizens and uplifts entire communities.

The Case for a Hospitality Support Fund

To achieve this vision of sustainable transformation, Akwa Ibom State must take deliberate action. One critical step is the establishment of a Hospitality Support Fund for small and medium-sized providers in the hospitality value chain.

Tourism does not thrive on large hotels alone. In fact, small hospitality providers—family-run lodges, eateries, beach huts, homestays, cultural centers, and rural eco-lodges—constitute the true soul of the industry. They offer authenticity, spread economic benefits to local communities, and provide affordable access for a wider range of tourists. Yet, they are often the most vulnerable.

Many small operators face crushing challenges:

• Lack of access to affordable financing for renovations, expansion, or staff training.
• Difficulty meeting government regulations and quality standards due to limited resources.
• Little or no visibility in state tourism promotion efforts.
• Vulnerability to shocks, whether from economic downturns, pandemics, or natural disasters.

A Hospitality Support Fund would provide targeted relief and empowerment. Through soft loans, grants, capacity-building workshops, and marketing support, the government can ensure that these providers not only survive but thrive. The fund should be accessible, transparent, and designed to build resilience. It should not become another bureaucracy but a lifeline that strengthens the base of the tourism pyramid.

By supporting these players, the state will be investing directly in job creation, community development, and inclusivity, thereby reinforcing the transformative power of tourism.

Building the Right Foundations for Transformation

For tourism in Akwa Ibom to lead sustainable transformation, it must rest on certain foundations:

1. Policy Realignment

Government policy must explicitly link tourism to sustainability goals. This means setting clear environmental standards for operators, creating incentives for eco-friendly practices, and ensuring tourism investments undergo environmental and social impact assessments.

2. Human Capital Development

Tourism is powered by people. Well-trained hospitality staff, knowledgeable tour guides, and skilled artisans can elevate the visitor experience. The government and private sector must invest in continuous training, not only in service delivery but also in digital skills for marketing, online booking, and storytelling.

3. Infrastructure with a Purpose

While infrastructure is vital, it must serve sustainability. Roads to tourist sites should be complemented by waste management systems. Airports should be linked to eco-conscious transport. Hotels should be encouraged to source food locally, supporting farmers and reducing carbon footprints.

4. Community Participation

Tourism cannot be sustainable if communities feel excluded. Local communities must be involved in decision-making, benefit-sharing, and ownership of tourism projects. A village that hosts a festival, for example, should see tangible economic returns from tourism, not just perform for outside audiences.

5. Digital Transformation

In today’s world, tourism visibility depends on digital platforms. Akwa Ibom must embrace digital tourism marketing, leveraging social media, interactive websites, and virtual reality tours. But more importantly, small providers must be given digital literacy training and integrated into these platforms to increase their reach.

Recognizing Progress While Calling for More

In fairness, Akwa Ibom State has already recorded giant strides in tourism development under the leadership of the present administration. The Governor’s vision has translated into bold projects such as the Ibom Arise Park, a world-class hospitality and leisure center currently rising from what was once a dangerous ravine. This project is not just a symbol of transformation but a demonstration of how abandoned and unsafe spaces can be converted into hubs of social and economic value. The Association of Hospitality Providers in Oro (AHPRO) fully aligns with the Governor’s Arise Agenda and celebrates these achievements as evidence of a genuine commitment to reposition tourism. However, AHPRO also emphasizes that while these large-scale projects are vital, the government must do more to empower small and medium hospitality operators, who remain the lifeblood of the industry and the true connectors between visitors and communities.

A Call to Action for Akwa Ibom

The message of World Tourism Day 2025 is clear: tourism is no longer about numbers alone; it is about transformation. For Akwa Ibom State, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

If tourism is approached with sustainability at its heart, the state can unlock a future where:

• Pristine coastlines are preserved even as they attract global visitors.
• Local communities thrive as direct beneficiaries of tourism.
• Small hospitality providers grow into resilient businesses with government support.
• Akwa Ibom’s rich culture is celebrated, protected, and transmitted to future generations.

The government must therefore act swiftly to create the Hospitality Support Fund, institutionalize sustainability standards, and champion community-driven tourism. This is not a task for government alone—private investors, civil society, local leaders, and even tourists themselves must all play a part. But it is the government’s role to lead with vision, policy, and enabling support.

AHPRO’s Voice

Speaking on behalf of its members, the Chairman of the Association of Hospitality Providers in Oro (AHPRO) remarked:

“We commend His Excellency for his visionary projects, particularly the Ibom Arise Park, which has already changed the landscape of our state. But as we celebrate these milestones, we must also remember that the small hospitality operators are the backbone of Akwa Ibom tourism. Without their survival and growth, the promise of sustainable transformation will remain incomplete. This is why we strongly urge the government to establish the Hospitality Support Fund. With such an intervention, the Arise Agenda will not only inspire the big players but also empower the everyday entrepreneurs who give visitors a true taste of Akwa Ibom.”

Tourism in Akwa Ibom has the potential to be far more than leisure and business travel. It can be a force for sustainable transformation, uniting environmental responsibility, cultural pride, and inclusive economic growth. But this vision will not happen by accident; it requires deliberate choices, bold policies, and meaningful support for every actor in the tourism value chain.

On this World Tourism Day, let us reimagine tourism in Akwa Ibom not as a fragile industry dependent on external forces, but as a resilient engine of transformation—one that uplifts communities, protects the environment, and builds a shared prosperity for all.

The call is clear: Tourism must transform. And so must we.