Cox's Bazar tourism takes a punch from curfew

Daily turnover takes a nosedive, businesses suffer Tk 3b loss so far

TAHJIBUL ANAM | July 29, 2024 00:00:00

Photo shows chairs on the Cox's Bazar sea beach lie empty in almost a complete absence of tourists during the ongoing shutdown enforced by the government over the student unrest — FE Photo

COX'S BAZAR, July 28: Tourism business in Cox's Bazar is feared to incur colossal losses due to the persistent countrywide unrest over the student movement seeking the quota system repeal in public services.

According to industry insiders, the local tour operators have suffered a loss of around Tk3.0 billion (Tk 300 crore) from July 15-27 due to the student agitation as well as the subsequent nationwide curfew and internet outage.

Since the student unrest over the job quota reform reached a climax on July 18, 2024, daily business turnover in the tourist town has nosedived.

Under the present circumstances, tourists in their millions are averting their faces from Cox's Bazar taking safety issues in consideration.

That is why businesses in Cox's Bazar, one of the country's leading tourist destinations, are inevitably facing the staggering losses.

The beach town is now almost empty of tourists due to the ongoing student unrest as well as the government-enforced shutdown that subsequently came.

All the businesspeople involved in the tourism industry here are experiencing newer volumes of losses every day.

Snail and oyster trader Kamrul Hasan said, "There are no tourists available for the past two weeks. So the income is zero. Every day I open the shop and return home empty handed."

Photographer Ekram Ullah said, "We are passing idle time as there are no tourists on the beach. My family took pictures. There is currently no income; so there is no deposit. I am passing a very hard."

While visiting Cox's Bazar's Labani, Sugandha and Kalatali points on Friday and Saturday, the entire beach area was found almost empty of tourists.

The beach is visited only by a handful of local residents. Besides, other tourist stops of the district like Himchhari, Inani, Patuartek, Ramu Rabar Bagan, Ramu Buddhist Temple and Maheshkhali Adinath Temple are also looking like desert in absence of visitors.

Hotel The Cox Today AGM Mohammad Abu Taleb said, "We are in a very bad situation at the moment. On Saturday (July 27) we had only two rooms' booking. Due to the student movement and government-imposed curfew, we have lost business of at least of Tk15million (Tk1.5 crore)."

"If the country's situation doesn't come back to normal very soon, our organisation will suffer much bigger losses. There will be massive losses in the entire tourism sector of the country including Cox's Bazar," he continued.

President of Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abu Morshed Chowdhury said the unstable situation of the country is a bad sign for the tourism industry of Cox's Bazar.

The tourism services include hospitality industry, transportation, dry goods business, kitkat chairs, beach bikes, horses, photography and mobile beach shops. Currently, the majority of these businesses are closed.

If the current situation of the country does not become normal, there is a possibility of massive losses in the entire tourism sector, Mr Morshed Chowdhury viewed.

Apart from this, the tourism sector of Cox's Bazar has been affected by the internet outage across the country.

Salim Newaz, general secretary of Cox's Bazar Hotel-Motel Guest House Owners Association, said, "I can't find any other way to cover the cost of management in 450 hotels and guest houses in Cox's Bazar, except to stop the business. When we try to turn around, a bad situation comes up. This is very alarming and worrying for the tourism business."

Rashedul Islam Dalim, general secretary of Restaurant Owners Association, said, "We have 120 restaurants in our association. About 100 of them have been closed. There are more than 300 of them. He also said that if the situation is not normal, the owners may lay off the workers to reduce losses."

Mukim Khan, general secretary of Kalatali Marine Drive Hotel-Motel Owners Association, said tourists have kept aloof from Cox's Bazar since the movement started.

Ataul Gani Osmani, additional district magistrate of Cox's Bazar, said tourists got stranded in Cox's Bazar when a chaotic situation suddenly arose in the country. They were sent to their respective destinations under army protection. Currently, Cox's Bazar is covered with a security blanket. Army personnel are patrolling to keep the situation normal.

[email protected]