By Emmanuel Ndon

There is a particular satisfaction in touring a place that one remembers for what it used to be. The ARISE Palm Resort in Uyo carries that contrast with unusual force. What was once an extensive erosion-prone site has been transformed into a sprawling leisure and tourism destination, and the significance of that transformation becomes clearer when the question shifts from what has been built to what the facility can now make possible for the people.

The resort has already moved beyond the stage of being simply a project under construction. It hosted Akwa Ibom’s 39th anniversary variety night in September, bringing together the State’s leadership, past leaders and other distinguished guests in a facility that the President of the Senate described as a remarkable transformation from one of the State’s worst erosion sites into a place of relaxation and enjoyment. On 3 October, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, also visited the resort and described the tourism infrastructure she saw in Akwa Ibom as providing a basis for converting the State’s cultural assets into economic opportunities.

For residents, perhaps the most immediate benefit is the creation of a new recreational environment within Uyo. The resort has been designed as a destination for families, young people, corporate organisations and visitors, with an artificial lake, floating restaurants, a children’s playground, an indoor sports centre, a mini-golf course, a golf simulation room, restaurants, lounges, conference facilities and landscaped relaxation areas. This means that leisure no longer has to be imagined only as something people travel outside the State to find. A substantial part of that experience is being developed here.

That has a social value that can sometimes be overlooked when tourism projects are discussed mainly in financial terms. People need places where they can relax, celebrate, meet friends, spend time with family and participate in recreational activities. Businesses need venues for meetings and events. Young people need spaces for entertainment and sport. Families need destinations where different generations can find something to do. The breadth of facilities at ARISE Palm Resort creates the possibility of meeting several of these needs within one environment.

The economic benefit is even more expansive. A resort does not function through its buildings alone. Its operation requires hospitality workers, cleaners, security personnel, technicians, cooks, drivers, event professionals, maintenance workers, suppliers and numerous other service providers. The State’s Delivery Adviser on Hospitality Infrastructure has projected that the resort could directly employ not fewer than 1,000 people when it reaches full operation. Beyond direct employment, increased visitor traffic can create opportunities for transport operators, food vendors, artisans, entertainers, photographers, tour operators and other businesses that serve visitors.

This is where the resort can become particularly important to surrounding communities. Every visitor who comes to Uyo for leisure, a conference, an event or a short stay represents potential spending beyond the resort itself. Visitors need transport, food, souvenirs, cultural experiences and other services. If properly connected to local businesses, the resort can therefore help distribute tourism spending across a much wider network of people rather than concentrating its benefits within the resort gates.

There is another benefit that is less immediately visible but potentially important: the value of changing how Akwa Ibom itself is perceived. Tourism depends partly on whether people outside a place have a reason to come, stay and return. A major destination with international-standard facilities can strengthen the State’s attractiveness to conference organisers, businesses, tourists and investors. The Federal Government’s decision to engage the State on developing its tourism and creative economy, following the Minister’s recent visit, indicates the growing attention being given to this potential.

The transformation also carries an environmental and urban-development dimension. Turning a large erosion site into a functioning public asset demonstrates what can happen when a working administration rehabilitates land previously associated with environmental degradation and puts it to productive use.

That may ultimately be the most important way to understand ARISE Palm Resort. Its success will not be measured simply by how impressive it looks during a tour, although the scale of the facility is striking. Its deeper value will be measured by the number of people who find employment there, the businesses that grow because visitors come, the families that use it for recreation, the events it attracts, the communities that participate in its economic activity and the visitors who discover something new about Akwa Ibom through it. These possibilities exist because Governor Umo Eno transformed a former erosion site.