COX'S BAZAR, 18: Amid the Victory Day celebrations and year-end public holidays, the country's only coral island, Saint Martin, is experiencing a massive surge in tourist arrival.
From December 15 to December 31, nearly all tickets for boats operating between Cox's Bazar and Saint Martin have been sold out in advance.
According to the government's daily cap of 2,000 passengers, the number of tourists visiting the island during this period could reach around 40,000.
Sources indicate that not only until the end of December but also until January 11, half of the tickets have already been booked. As a result, tourist crowds on the island are expected to grow even further in the coming days.
It is reported that since the start of the season, from December 1 to December 14, approximately 22,000 tourists have already visited Saint Martin via the official travel pass system.
Under this system, only a limited number of tourists are allowed on the island each day.
According to the government's travel pass website, the highest number of passes issued during the first 14 days was on December 14. On that day, 1,871 passes were issued out of the allotted 2,000. Six boats transported 1,856 tourists to Saint Martin.
Hosain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the C-Cruise Owners Association, said,
"Although passenger numbers were low at the beginning, tourist arrivals surged from the third week of December as the public holidays began. Almost all tickets have been sold out until the end of December. Especially with December 25 being a public holiday, the rush will continue."
He added, "In November, tourist interest was low due to the lack of overnight stay permits. However, now, with overnight stays allowed until January 31, six approved boats are operating daily while following regulations."
Meanwhile, the District Administration and Tourist Police are regularly monitoring the implementation of the 12-point government directives to protect the environment and biodiversity of Saint Martin. Despite strict supervision, several irregularities and ticket fraud cases have been reported over the past two weeks.
On December 1, the first day of the travel pass system, the boat 'Kerry Sindabad' was fined 50,000 BDT for selling tickets without a valid travel pass. Later, on December 3, the Tourist Police detected counterfeit QR-coded tickets at the Nuniarchhara jetty, where multiple passengers attempted to travel on the same ticket.
Most recently, on December 11, 44 tourists from Manikganj were defrauded through a travel agency. The mobile court imposed fines on the agency following the complaint.
Additional DIG of Tourist Police, Apel Mahmud, said, "The Tourist Police are fully supporting the implementation of government directives. Any irregularity or fraudulent activity is addressed immediately."
Executive Magistrate Tanzila Tasnim said, "Monitoring at the jetties begins early each morning. No tourists will be allowed beyond the approved limit, and legal action is taken against any violations."
It is noteworthy that Saint Martin Island was declared an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) in 1999. In 2023, the government declared a vast area of the Bay of Bengal surrounding the island as a Marine Protected Area under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. In October this year, a 12-point directive was issued to preserve the island's environment and biodiversity, which is currently being strictly enforced.
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