Home ›› 06 May 2022 ›› Front
After nearly two years of Covid-19 restrictions, the Cox’s Bazar tourism industry is getting back up on its feet — thanks to holidaymakers who have thronged the world’s longest beach using the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
After a droughty Ramadan, the rush of holidaymakers to the top tourist destination has brought the smile back to the faces of owners and workers of local businesses.
Industry insiders say hotels, resorts and restaurants are set to do business of over Tk 100 crore during the Eid holiday, which started last weekend and is set to end on Saturday.
There are more than 500 hotels, motels, resorts and guest houses in Cox’s Bazar and all of them are now mostly occupied, according to industry people. They said businesses lost thousands of crores of taka over the past two years due to the Covid-19 shutdowns and restrictions. This holiday rush will help them somewhat recover from that loss.
Abul Kashem Shikder, general secretary of the Federation of Tourism Services Association of Bangladesh, told The Business Post that over 10 lakh tourists have arrived in Cox’s Bazar for the seven-day Eid holiday.
“Around 90 per cent rooms in hotels, motels, resorts and guest houses are booked. The rest will be booked in a day,” he said.
“We are expecting to do business of at least Tk 200 crore to Tk 300 crore during this holiday,” Kashem expressed hope. Zahirul Islam, the chief accountant of Mermaid Beach Resort, said that around 90 per cent of their rooms were booked till the end of the holiday.
Thousands of tourists were seen enjoying their time on the beach at Kalatali, Sugandha, Seagull, Laboni and Kabita Chattar points, apart from other tourist spots, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Many of them expressed happiness over the fact that they were spending the holidays outside of their homes and cities after a long time living under Covid-19 restrictions.
Some also shared displeasure over the high cost of everything, including hotel room rent and food prices.
Md Mamunur Rashid, the deputy commissioner and district magistrate of Cox’s Bazar, told The Business Post that hotel owners have been instructed not to harass tourists and charge extra for rooms. “They have also been told to hang the rent list at the hotel entrance. Strict action will be taken if these rules are violated.”
Additional Superintendent of Police Rezaul Karim, of Cox’s Bazar zone’s Tourist Police, said they estimate that around two lakh tourists visited the beach every day since the holiday started.
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure tourists’ safety,” he added.
According to district administration sources, four mobile courts were working to ensure the safety of tourists on the beach and prevent any kind of harassment.
