Summary
The role of festivals and carnivals cannot be underestimated as they tend to grow the economy and they are largely untapped. The Calabar Christmas festival is the most publicized festival from Nigeria to the international community. This is not to say that there are no other festivals that are publicize but the organizers decide to always bring something new to the events every year which is innovative and keeps the spectators coming back and longing to have more of the African experience. The result of the interviews and questionnaires shows that a large percentage of the population sees the positive and economic effect of the festival on the culture and tourism sectors. Erwin stated in Bonarous (2010:22) that:“…Human beings have the capability to be culture makers. That is, we don’t simply receive and learn culture, but as we interact with others, we have the capacity and possibility of creating and shaping culture.”
The interactions of people from various communities, countries and states is simply an unconscious avenue of education and cultural enlightenment and this is due to the fact that culture is dynamic with the capacity and possibility of reshaping itself. Tourism also is being developed via the movement of people from various places to the Calabar and in the process they engage in tourism activities such as business, visiting the various tourist sites amongst others. During the 31day long Calabar Christmas festival, there is an influx of people from various places to be part of the carnival at one point or the other, and this has a ripple effect on the economy of the state as hotels are booked in advance, food and drinks which are essential are consumed, gifts items and souvenirs are bought by the visitor and other economic activities. This does not leave out the educational aspect of the visit, orientation and re-orientation of the tourists. This is not affecting the tourist alone but also the indigene that might never have left his locality and has the opportunity of meeting people from different places with different experiences, way of dressing, and mannerisms. This is the point where there is acculturalisation as one person picks up certain aspects of the other culture. The tourism industry is not left out in these as there is a ripple effect on the tourism industry, as these tourists would love to visit the major tourist’s sites that they have heard about, and read about and going back with souvenirs from these places. This is not leaving out some of the negativity that comes with events such as the Calabar Christmas festival. Due to the influx of people into the city, there is always an issue with waste disposal as people tend to litter venues of these events. There is also the issue of pick pockets especially at concerts and other crowded events. Other issues include traffic jams, noise as well as hike in prices. The carnival also has a negative effect on the sexual behaviour of people and Research by F.M. Attah, Etal (2013:23) states thus: “it was evident in the study that Calabar carnival fiesta influences the sexual behaviour of the people during the festive period. The high influx of people into Calabar Metropolis encouraged late night fun and all forms of sexual activities”. This means that as good and economically valuable carnivals are, they come with some level of negativity to to system and culture of the host community.
