Today, it can be safely argued that Cross River State is noted more for its tourism enterprise than for anything else. Since 1999 to date, there have been sustained efforts by successive administrations to re-engineer and rebrand the State as a tourism spectacle and hub not just in the Cross River Region but in Nigeria and indeed, the West Africa Sub-region at large. This paper seeks to show that there is an organic and inescapable relationship between Cross River’s current tourism efforts and its history and environment. Put differently, we would attempt to demonstrate that the foundation of Cross River tourism is embedded in its history and environment and it is from these pristine bowels that the current initiatives can truly find rhythm, momentum and relevance.
Keywords: Cross River, Environment, Nigeria, Tourism, history
