Attempts have been made to revive the tourism industry in Bangladesh after overcoming the Covid-19 Pandemic. Tourist arrivals are on the rise as tourist spots in Cox's Bazar, including beaches, have been opened. Tourist spots in Cox's Bazar are filled with tourists.
Tourist travel has started in St. Martin Island. The traders have started various initiatives to make up for the loss by starting preparations for the Thirty First Night celebrations. Stakeholders have emphasized on increasing the facilities for the development of tourism industry. Tourist police are working to ensure the safety of tourists.
Bangladesh's tourism industry is turning around again after overcoming the Karona epidemic, 11-month lockdown and various crises. Tourism in Cox's Bazar, the world's longest beach town, has begun to pick up again. Some tourist spots are being made more attractive for tourists by developing infrastructure.
Apart from Cox's Bazar beach, all tourist spots including Chakriya Dulahazara Bangabandhu Safari Park, Ramu Buddhist Monastery, Botanical Garden, Mathiner Koop, Himchhari, Adinath Temple, Patuartek, Darianagar, Inani Pathar Beach, Jaliya Island are now open.
Every day domestic and foreign tourists are coming. In more than four and a half hundred hotels, motels and guest houses, there are no vacancies on weekends. In the middle of the week, the hotel-motel owner told him that 80% of the room bookings of these hotel-motel guest houses.
Talking to a tourist, one said that after two years, he and his five friends came to Cox's Bazar. They have not been able to come for various reasons including lockdown.
Nowshin, who came from Jatrabari in Dhaka, said she was very happy to come to Cox's Bazar with her family. However, it seems that the price of food has increased more than before.
Rahim Afroz, a tourist from Narayanganj in Dhaka, said that there were so many dry fish shops near the beach that the whole area smelled bad.
Alhaj Omar Sultan, president of Cox's Bazar Hotel Motel Guest House Owners Association, said there are more than four hundred and fifty hotel motel guest houses in Cox's Bazar town. Due to the 11-and-a-half month lockdown and corona, everyone's business was about to close. After the beach was opened, tourists started coming. Now our hotel owners are trying to turn around again. We are also providing various facilities to the tourists to make up for the loss.
Abul Kashem Sikder, general secretary of the Hotel Motel Guest House Owners' Association, said that during the Corona period, hoteliers and tourism-related businesses suffered huge losses, but now the corona virus has lessened its influence and the beach is open and tourist arrivals are increasing during the winter season. Everyone is trying to make up for the loss. Preparations have started in hotels for him to celebrate Fast Night after school and college exams. Many hotels are booking in advance. Overall, the tourism business is good.
Alhaj Lion Abdul Karim, vice-president of the Hotel Owners Association and chairman of Ocean Paradise Limited, said: Corona could not pay the bank installment properly. Now I am trying to make up for the loss. If the influx of tourists continues, we will be able to make up for it very quickly.
Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury, general secretary of the Hotel Owners Association, said that from now on, some groups are making bookings for the Thirty First Night in big hotels. We will be able to make up for the loss if we continue to celebrate the Thirtieth Night as well as continue the trend of tourists coming now.
Kasem Ali, vice-president of the Restaurant Owners' Association, said there were more than 300 small and large food stalls in and around Cox's Bazar. Our restaurants are now trying to make up for the loss of Corona. He acknowledged that the increase in food prices was due to rising prices of essential commodities.
Ikram Chowdhury Tipu, a tourism analyst, said that the facilities for tourists visiting Cox's Bazar should be further enhanced. The tourist spots that exist at present do not have much attraction after dusk. Therefore, the government should take initiative to keep the nation afloat after the evening.
SM Kibria, founding president of the Tour Operators Association, said shipping has started from Teknaf to St. Martin. Due to Corona, all the tour operators became unemployed. Now the work is slowly starting. Travel has started in tourist spots including St. Martin. Several more infrastructural facilities need to be created for traveling to the austerity spots.
Kalim Ullah, president of the Cox's Bazar Hotel Motel Guest House Officers' Association, said more than a million officials had suffered during the Corona. Many have lost their jobs. Now everything is back to normal in the hope of tourists.
Abu Morshed Chowdhury Khoka, president of Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce, said traders had suffered a lot during the Corona. Traders involved in the tourism industry were left helpless. Although there was talk of government incentives, the traders did not get it due to various reasons. Now traders are able to make up for some losses in the hope of tourists. However, more facilities need to be provided for tourists in Cox's Bazar. There is no children's park for children. The children who come with their parents have no choice but to take a bath on the beach. A number of events, including a separate children's park, need to be set up to entertain tourists.
Deputy Commissioner of Customs Excise and VAT Cox's Bazar Mohammad Chaidul Alam said the government was cooperating with traders to make up for the loss of Covid-19. Where AC hotels were 15%, their VAT has been increased to 10%. Non-AC has been reduced from 8.5 per cent to 5 per cent. In the current financial year i.e. 2021-2022, the revenue collection target has been set at Tk. 406 crore. Of this, Tk 6 crore 59 lakh has already been collected till October. Besides, Tk 299.61 crore was collected during the Coronation period last year. He said the revenue of Tk 100 crore is collected from the tourism sector alone every year.
Tourist Police Cox's Bazar June Superintendent of Police Md. Zillur Rahman said that police personnel are working day and night at all the tourist spots including Cox's Bazar beach to ensure the safety of the incoming tourists. Apart from security, services are being provided to tourists in various ways. At the same time, the police are working to raise awareness about hygiene.
Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Mamunur Rashid said infrastructural development work is underway at several tourist spots. Various facilities are being created for the convenience of tourists. Everything is monitored from a separate tourist cell to provide various facilities to the tourists visiting Cox's Bazar.