Home ›› 24 Dec 2022 ›› Nation
Tourists from all over the country are flocking to the sea beaches Patuakhali’s Kuakata and Cox’s Bazar for the three-day weekend.
Along with the two days of the weekend on Friday and Saturday, office workers got an additional holiday on Sunday, December 25 for Christmas.
Hotels of Kuakata are 90 per cent booked as the beach city bustle with tourist activities. After the opening of the Padma Bridge, all the hotels and motels in Kuakata are booked in advance during major and minor government holidays.
Tour Operators Association of Kuakata’s (TOAK) President Ruman Imtiaz Tushar on Thursday confirmed this information. The hotel owners and other businessmen of the tourist town expect to recoup their losses incurred during the pandemic.
Ruman said they are likely to get a large number of tourists at the end of the year. “We expect all the hotels and motels to be booked to full capacity. My advice for tourists is to book rooms in advance if they plan to come here during the holidays.”
As winter is the tourist season, all sorts of businessmen of Kuakata have been preparing for the arrival of tourists since the beginning of December.
SM Almas, the owner of local Haimanti Tours and Travels, said when there is excess tourist pressure in Kuakata, some unscrupulous hoteliers rent out rooms at exorbitant rates.
“If someone visits without booking a room in advance, unscrupulous businessmen take the opportunity and charge them more than the market rate. This is why it is preferable for tourists to ensure advanced booking,” he added.
Kuakata Tour Guide Association President KM Bachchu said, “The arrival of tourists has increased since Thursday, and it seems that by Friday-Saturday the town will be very crowded. So we have also taken extra preparations so that we can serve the tourists without any kind of suffering.”
He also said that more tourists will arrive in Kuakata this December than in other years. “Due to the pandemic, people have not been able to visit tourist spots in the past two years. And since the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, more people have visited Kuakata this year than any other previous years.”
Md Solaiman, the owner of Sagor Kanya Residential Hotel in Kuakata, said it will take at least 10-12 years to recover the amount of loss that the pandemic caused. However, he expects that they can recover quickly now that more tourists are visiting regularly.
Md Sagir Hossain, the owner of Kuakata Chowrasta Allahrdan Restaurant, said they had to pay the staff while the establishment was closed for about two years. “Many hotel and restaurant owners like me took a severe financial hit during that time. But things are looking up now as more tourists visit our beach town during every holiday.”
Tourist Police Kuakata Zone Inspector (SI) Hasnain Parvez said, “Our team is deployed round the clock at each point of the area. We have deployed additional police at critical times to ensure the safety of the tourists.”
According to Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners Association, there are 150 small and big hotels in Kuakata with a capacity of 14,000-15,000. But due to the influx of tourists during the holidays, many tourists spend the night in nearby houses and inside cars. Many people return to their homes at night after travelling all day.
Tourist traffic in Cox’s Bazar
Meanwhile, our Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports a similar situation in the city during this holiday.
The city with the world’s longest sea beach is bustling with tourist activities since Thursday. Law enforcement officers are working to ensure their safety around the clock.
Sources said most hotels and motels around the city had been booked by Thursday as tourist traffic increased for the holiday. Hotel owners expect more tourists will check in by Friday for the vacation.
One of the most popular beaches of the town, Laboni Point was crowded with thousands of tourists on Thursday. Tourist Police expect more tourist traffic by Saturday.
Travellers are also flocking to other tourist spots of the city, including St. Martin's Island, Inani Beach, Himchari National Park, the Buddhist temple in Ramu, and Maheshkhali Adinath Temple.
Osman, a tourist from Dhaka, said he had a difficult time booking a room at first. However, he was able to rent a room and after spending some time with the quiet natural beauty of the area, he feels his visit was worth the trouble.
The manager of Hotel The Cox Today said they did not get many tourists at the beginning of the month but the hotel was booked to full capacity this weekend.
Delwar, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Tourist Police Cox's Bazar Region said, “Our teams are working hard to ensure the safety of all tourists. Thousands of tourists will visit the city this weekend.”
Cox's Bazar Tourist Cell Magistrate Masum Billah said their first priority is to ensure the tourist's comfort and safety. They are working to ensure that the tourists do not get overcharged in any way.
