Four-day public holiday for Durga Puja festival and the travel ban in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) have increased the influx of tourists in sea beaches in Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata and other tourist destinations in the country.
Thousands of people flock to the sea beaches, haors in Sunamganj and other tourist spots in Sylhet and Moulvibazar and other regions of the country to enjoy the country’s natural beauty enriched with sea, mountains and forest.
As a result, the country’s tourism sector has got a boost as transaction of huge amount of money are making the tourism industry viable for economic and social development.
People in the tourism sector said that the rise in travellers comes as a relief for the tourism industry in Cox’s Bazar, Kuakata and Sylhet as these regions were suffering from low turnout in last three months due to political circumstance.
Hakim Ali, president of the Bangladesh International Hotel Association; said that the tourism industry holds tremendous potential as the economy is growing steadily despite several challenges. With the rising number of domestic travellers, the number of international hotels in the country has also seen growth, he added.
Bangladesh was embroiled in a political upheaval since mid-July as a student-mass uprising culminated with the ousting of the Awami League government on August 5. However, as the political situation is calming down, tourists are flocking to various destinations for the holiday on the occasion of Durga Puja.
Cox’s Bazar sea beach and Kuakata sea beach are now buzzing with a stream of tourists. The owners of hotels, motels and resorts are happy with the tourist rush after a long lull.
Joynal Abedin, a trader in Laboni point in Cox’s Bazar sea beach; said that they are very with presence of huge number of tourists in Cox’s Bazar. They sale is good.
A large number of tourists thronged Cox’s Bazar, where the longest natural sea beach of the world. Besides Cox’s Bazar sea beach, popular spots like Himchari, Inani, and Daria Nagar Patuar Tek are bustling with visitors.
More than six lakh people are expected to visit the country’s largest tourist destination in Cox’s Bazar sea beach till tomorrow (Sunday). About four lakh of these people expected to arrive till Saturday.
The locals and the people involved in tourism sector heaved a sigh of relief as they got the opportunity to restart their livelihoods with the reopening of hotels, motels, restaurants.
Owners of hotels, motels and resorts in Cox’s Bazar said that the influx of tourists has increased in the beach town due the ongoing travel ban on three hill districts-- Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati, reports our Cox’s Bazar Correspondent.
SM Kibria, former president of the Tour Operators Association, said that many tourists have come to Cox’s Bazar through them. Many tourists are now in Cox’s Bazar cancelling their tour to CHTs. The number of tourists in Cox’s Bazar has increased as the tourists were discouraged to travel the three hill districts. “Our bookings would have been more if the tourists could go to the Saint Martin’s island,” he said.
The district administrations of the three hill districts have imposed a 23-day travel ban from October 8 to 31. As a result, the people who had wanted to go to the panoramic tourist spots in the districts are now flocking to Cox’s Bazar to enjoy holiday on the occasion Durga Puja, the largest religious of Hindu community in Bangladesh.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Rangamati Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Khan told media that the decision was made to ensure the safety of tourists, with hopes that the situation will normalise by the end of the month.
Local tourism organisations and people involved with this sector have expressed deep concern over the economic impact of the travel ban. “We are facing a major crisis due to travel ban in CHTs. We don't know how we will survive,” said Ramzan Ali, a leaseholder at the boat dock operated by the Ragamati Parjatan Corporation.
According an UNB report, ten organisations, including the Rangamati Resort Owners’ Association, the Houseboat Owners’ Association, and the Residential Hotel Owners’ Association, submitted a memorandum to the district administration calling for the government to lift the ban immediately.
“We are facing severe uncertainty regarding our livelihoods. The ban sends a highly negative message to tourists and threatens to push the developing tourism sector in these regions to the brink of collapse,” they said in the memorandum.
Adviser to Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Supradip Chakma recently said the ban would be lifted soon. “We are in talks with the Home Affairs adviser, and a decision will be announced shortly,” he said.
People usually put Cox's Bazar and the CHTs at the top of their list for travel. The two regions now account for 55 per cent of all domestic tourism. However, the travel restriction in in CHTs came at a particularly difficult time for the tourism sector. Hotel and resort operators had received advanced bookings for the Durga Puja holiday.
Usually vibrant with tourists during holidays, the popular tourist destinations in the three hill districts now wear a desolate look due to the 23-day ban. Tourism businesses in the three districts are set to suffer huge losses as all bookings have been cancelled due to the restriction.
On the other hand, almost all of the rooms at local accommodation facilities in Cox’s Bazar have been booked for the weekend. There are more than 450 hotels, motels, resorts, guesthouses and cottages in Cox’s Bazar that can collectively cater to about 1.87 lakh people each day.
Comrade Kalim Ullah, president of the Cox's Bazar Hotel-Motel Zone Officers’ Association, said that 100 per cent booking of all hotels has been completed. However, the overall business would be good this season, he added.
Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury, vice president of the Hotel Owners’ Association; said that the star-rated hotels are fully booked.
Abul Kashem Sikder, president of the Cox's Bazar Hotel Guest House Owners Association; said that tourists started arriving as early as Tuesday. He mentioned they will closely monitor accommodation prices so no one can charge tourists extra to capitalise on this influx.
He, however, expressed hope of recovering previous losses as they received good bookings during this holiday.
Abdul Kader Mishu, director of star-rated hotel Ocean Paradise Limited, highlighted the struggles faced by the tourism sector since 2012, noting that without regular business, running organization by loans is like "keeping an elephant as pet."
He mentioned that they achieved 100 per bookings during this four-day public holiday and expect 80-85 per cent until October 19. To revitalise tourism, many establishments are offering discounts of up to 50 per cent alongside a special Hilsa festival running until October 20, showcasing eight varieties of Hilsa dishes at affordable prices.
The authorities of Sayeman Beach Resort and Hotel the Cox Today both informed that their establishments have achieved full bookings for Thursday, Frida, Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, special measures have been taken to ensure the safety of tourists. Tourist police, along with the army, are working to ensure the safety of visitors in Cox’s Bazar.
Superintendent of the Tourist Police Cox’s Bazar Region Al Asad Muhammad Mahfuzul Islam, said, “We are using IT-based monitoring and continuous patrolling to ensure the safety of tourists.”
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cox’s Bazar Mohammad Salahuddin said that the district administration has started special monitoring due to the presence of large number of tourists during the holidays on the occasion of Durga Puja. Mobile courts to ensure that visitors should not face any harassment.
Sylhet typically sees very few tourists at this time but this year is a little different as the number of visitors, especially in Sreemangal and haor areas, has increased considerably due to the travel ban in CHTs.
s such, almost all of the houseboats and resorts in the region have been fully booked in advance of the Durga Puja holiday.
Similarly, travel and hospitality service providers in Kuakata are hopeful of recovering the losses incurred during the recent mass uprising.
The domestic tourism industry registers turnover of around Tk 76,990 crore each year, as per a report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2020.
Bangladesh boasts about 30 tourist destinations, with roughly 2.5 crore locals visiting the spots annually.
