Still recovering from the losses incurred due to last year’s violence and political unrest, the country’s tourism industry is experiencing a significant boost during this Eid holiday, as visitors flock to popular tourist destinations.
Our correspondents report that despite the ongoing heatwave, thousands of tourists are travelling to various tourist spots, much to the delight of hotel owners and restaurateurs.
Thousands of tourists have gathered at the world’s longest natural sea beach in Cox’s Bazar during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Belal Hossain, a tourist from Mirpur, Dhaka, said he arrived in the beach city the day after Eid, but the intense heat has caused some discomfort. Meanwhile, with the Eid holidays in full swing, all hotel, motel, and guesthouse rooms in Cox’s Bazar have been fully booked in advance.
Tourist police have reported that approximately 150,000 holidaymakers arrived in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday (April 2), with another 120,000 arriving on Tuesday (April 1). Hoteliers estimate that around 700,000 travellers will visit the world’s longest unbroken sea beach during the ongoing post-Eid-ul-Fitr holiday.
However, the approximately 500 hotels, motels, and guesthouses in the area can accommodate only 187,000 guests.
Abu Taleb Shah, general manager (reservations) at Hotel The Cox Today, said, “The beaches were largely empty throughout Ramadan. However, the situation changed from Eid day onwards. Our five-star standard hotel has 170 rooms, all of which have been fully booked for a week from Eid-ul-Fitr.”
Similarly, all hotels and motels in Kuakata were booked in advance at least a week before Eid. Popular attractions such as Jhauban, Buddhist temples of the Rakhine community, and the beach are bustling with thousands of visitors. Business owners predict that the number of tourists will continue to rise.
Motaleb Sharif, general secretary of the Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners’ Association, stated that business had been struggling since last year. However, the large number of visitors during this Eid holiday has brought much-needed relief to business owners.
“We are expecting around 100,000 tourists during this holiday,” he said.
In contrast, popular tourist spots in the Chattogram Hill Tracts saw a slow start due to the heatwave. However, the number of tourists in Rangamati began to increase from Tuesday.
During a visit to the Holiday Complex area of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), the famous hanging bridge over Kaptai Lake was found crowded with visitors at both ends. All available boats had been rented out to tourists eager to explore Subholong Waterfall and Kaptai Lake.
Alok Bikash Chakma, manager of the Rangamati centre of BPC, stated that all motel rooms have been booked until tomorrow.
“BPC is earning around Tk3 lakh daily from motel rentals and entrance fees to Kaptai Lake and Deer Park,” he added.
Tourists have also been visiting various holiday destinations in Bandarban. As a result, the tourism sector in Bandarban has experienced a revival after facing security-related challenges in previous months. Around one hundred motels, resorts, and guesthouses, including 55 hotels, have been fully booked since Eid day.
Abdur Rashid, vice president of the Bandarban Jeep-Microbus Samity, said: “At last, the tourism sector in Bandarban has welcomed holidaymakers this Eid. We hope this trend will continue. However, we will need more time to recover from the losses of previous years.”
In Sylhet, popular tourist destinations such as Madhabpur Tea Garden, Lawachara National Park, Hum Waterfall, the Memorial of Birshreshtha Hamidur Rahman, Garo Tila, Khasia Punji, and other tea gardens also saw a surge in visitor numbers during the holiday period.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
