Home ›› 14 Jul 2022 ›› Nation
People involved in the tourism industry of Moulvibazar and Cox’s Bazar are disappointed with the low number of tourists during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.
On the four-day of Eid holiday, thousands of people were expected to visit the longest sea beach and people involved in the tourism industry of Cox’s Bazar had taken preparations accordingly. But their efforts went in vain as a very low number of visitors went there.
The hotel owners announced 50-60 per cent discounts to attract tourists but finally disappointed over the low number of tourist gatherings.
Hotel Sea-Crown’s Manager Iqbal Muhsin said, “This year’s low tourist presence has left us extremely disappointed. Previously on such holidays, we had to struggle to manage the immense number of tourists.”
Such a situation is prevailing in almost every hotel according to local sources.
Kibria Khan, founding president of the Cox’s Bazar Tours Operators Association, said there are several reasons for the tourist presence in Cox’s Bazar being low.
“People from Dhaka or surrounding areas who like to visit Cox’s Bazar on Eid may have visited the south-western districts this year after the inauguration of the Padma Bridge,” he said. Many people are interested in visiting the tourist spots of those areas as they are now easily accessible by road.
He also said 20 districts of North Bengal including Sylhet are in economic crisis due to severe flood situations and thousands of people are still marooned. People from these areas used to visit the beach on Eid or other holidays.
“The rising prices of daily commodities have left many people in financial crisis forcing them to cancel travel plans,” Khan said mentioning the reasons for low tourist presence in the district.
Cox’s Bazar Tourist Police Additional Superintendent Mohammad Rezaul Karim said, “From experience, we had an idea that Cox’s Bazar beach will be full of tourists this holiday season.”
According to him, one-third of the tourists are from the surrounding areas. The officials estimate a total of 60,000-65,000 tourists by July 14.
Abul Kashem Sikder, president of the Cox’s Bazar Hotel Guest House Owners’ Association, said more than 1.1 million tourists visited the beach during the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday last May. The tourism-related businesses made around Tk 500-600 crore during that time.
Cox’s Bazar Hotel Motel Guest House Officers’ Association’s General Secretary Karim Ullah said according to their estimation most of the tourists are of the middle class.
“The flood situation in the North and rising prices of commodities have left many in a financial crisis. This is why a low number of tourists is visiting Cox’s Bazar this holiday,” he said.
Anwar Kamal, president of the Tour Operators Association Cox’s Bazar, said much like Cox’s Bazar, the three hill districts of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari also had a lower number of tourists.
Tourist presence in Kuakata Beach and the Sundarbans is expected to increase due to the Padma Bridge. However, the tourist presence is low in those areas also, which means that people are not interested in travelling this season.
According to hotel officials, 30-50 per cent of the rooms at the higher-star hotels in Cox’s Bazar have been booked this Eid. And in medium-quality hotels, 10-25 per cent of rooms have been booked.
Meanwhile, Moulvibazar, a popular tourist destination for nature lovers, remains void of tourists during the four-day Eid vacation.
Surrounded by haors, tea gardens, waterfalls and lakes the diverse nature of the district has always been an attraction for tourists. But on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha this year, Moulvibazar has seen a low presence of tourists.
The significant tourist spots of the district including Madhabkunda waterfall, Lawachara National Park, Madhabpur Lake, Badhbhumi-71 and Hamham waterfall were emptier than usual during holiday seasons.
Tourism-related businesses have suffered due to the lack of tourists and travellers.
Sources said the negative impact on the tourism industry is caused by the recent floods in the northern region.
A recent on-spot investigation of the popular tourist destinations revealed most of the visitors are locals or from the surrounding areas.
Mousumi Islam, who was visiting from Dhaka, said, “I visited several tourist spots in Moulvibazar and they were not crowded at all.”
Meanwhile, tour guide Saju Marchiang said, “During holidays, we provide guiding services to a lot of tourists, but this time is an exception. The number of tourists this season is the lowest I have ever seen.”
Selim Mia, chairman of Lemon Garden Resort, said they were expecting more guests this season. “We are trying to make up for the losses incurred during the pandemic, but many guests cancelled their bookings due to the floods in Sylhet.”
SK Das Sumon, a tourism businessman and proprietor of Srimangal Greenleaf Guest House, said, “We hoped to overcome the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic of the last two years this holiday season. But we are having difficulty recovering our investments.”
Moulvibazar Wildlife and Nature Conservation Department Ranger Shahidul Islam said about 1,500 tourists have entered Lauachhara National Park in the last two days. In other years, it would have been more than 5,000 during Eid. This is the lowest number of tourists during the Eid holidays in the last few years.
Selim Ahmed, president of Moulvibazar District Tourism Services Corporation and owner of Grand Selim Resort, said the Padma Bridge was a major cause of the lack of tourism in the same way that floods have affected tourism.
He added that the tourism-related businesses in Moulvibazar are likely to face massive losses this season.
