This paper aims to assess private sector as a panacea for destination development in Calabar. Major private sectors that are involved in the development of hospitality industry were used for this study. The checklist and questionnaire were the methods used for data collection in this study. One hypothesis was tested using the multiple regression analysis. The result from the data collected indicates that the private sector have significantly contributed towards destination development in Calabar. The data collected on the socio-economic impact of the private sector on destination development shows that the private sector have significantly impacted socioeconomic development through employment generation, increase in government revenue, good security and it has encouraged the emergence of other tourism support services in the area. However, in spite of the tremendous impact of private sector efforts towards the development of hospitality industry in Calabar, their activities are challenged by various factors such as insecurity, political instability among others in Calabar. Nevertheless, adequate measures must be put in place to address the challenges faced by private sector in a bid to provide essential services to visitors in Calabar.