Cross River State has been a major tourism hub in Nigeria, with an estimated 4500 tourists trooping in each year (Cross River State Tourism Bureau). Tourism is a major part of the state's economy and Cross River prides itself as the nation's paradise; therefore, staging different tourism activities to attract tourists to the state. These activities include the Calabar Christmas Carnival, Obudu Mountain Race and the Leboku Festival. The primary effort of this research therefore is to examine the reasons why tourist choose Cross River State over other tourism destinations in Nigeria, and to critically analyze the social, economic, environmental and cultural impacts of sustainable tourism in the state on the economy, and the local population. To achieve these feat, primary sources of data was used in the likes of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Secondary data was also used through books, online sources of scholarly journals, articles, magazines and newspapers. A case study was done on the three geo-political zones of the state - Southern, Central and Northern senatorial districts. A sample size of 190 respondents from the three zones was selected as adequate for this research. Key findings of this study were: (a) Tourists love Cross River because of its serene natural environment and availability of natural parks such as the Cross River National Park. (b) The hosting of major tourism driven festivals such the Calabar Christmas Carnival which is the biggest street party in Africa, the Obudu Mountain Race which attract athletes from all over the world, and the Leboku Festival hosted in the biggest village in West Africa - Ugep. (c) Tourism has contributed immensely to the economy of the state, the sustainability of the environment, and the socio-cultural standing of the locals. It has greatly improved the standard of living and quality of life.