Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade, has declared he will make the state a window to Africa through the establishment of additional tourism facilities.
Ayade said his vision for the state is not only to make it Nigeria tourism capital but a window to the entire African continent.
The governor stated this, yesterday, in Calabar during the presentation of the Calas Vegas Master Plan by a South African company, Afri-Gon.
The governor, who regretted that although the state was known globally for tourism, but with less activities and facilities for the sector to thrive, assured his administration is building the Calas Vegas in Calabar as well as the Busafot Resort in Obanliku Local Government Area to boost tourism.
“Today marks the kick-off of the journey towards the actualisation of the Calas Vegas city. Cross River State is the tourism capital of Nigeria but lacks the facilities to keep tourists busy.
“Today, we are rehabilitating and bringing Obudu Ranch Resort to life again. To also complement the Calas Vegas city we are building in Calabar, we are developing another resort in Obanliku. This project is also the reason I am building the Obudu Cargo Airport,” he said.
Justifying establishment of the airport, Ayade said: “When tourists visit Calas Vegas in Calabar, they will also know they can fly to Obudu to visit the Busofat resort and from there to the ranch. With this, there will be activities to sustain tourism across the state and I have no doubt that when completed, the state will have enough traffic.”
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of Afri-Gon, Eran Goven, promised the resort, when completed, would be the best in Africa and one of the best in the world.
“We have been in communication with the governor to create a city with a world-class resort that will offer something that has never been seen before and will drive tourists back into Nigeria.
“We have designed the project to have a world-class golf components where international golf championship can be hosted, the resort will have the biggest swimming pool in the world, standard hotels, bungalow and floating bungalows and billionaire boulevard,” he said.
He assured that they would continue to learn from the governor who has the vision to ensure every detail of the project was completed.