Tourist spots buzzing with holidaymakers

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COX'S BAZAR, Nov 19 (UNB): Thousands of holidaymakers from home and abroad are now crowding different tourist spots with top attractions being romantic, sun-kissed beach-town Cox's Bazar and Saint Martin's Island.
Many nature-loving people once again selected the world's longest beach as their holidaying spot, which is famous for its fascinating look, crystal clear waters and charming environment - all the ingredients of a memorable beach holiday.
The tourists, including foreign and locals, taking the opportunity of three-day government holiday for Eid-ul-Azha plus two days of weekly holidays (Friday-Saturday), converged here to enjoy the seashore beauty of the Bay.
Over 200 hotels, motels and rest houses having the capacity of accommodating nearly 40,000 guests were booked well-before the holiday, sources said.
"It's a beautiful coastline dotted with numerous stunning things, sandy beaches and picturesque green trees…it offers all visitors a warm welcome as well as a fantastic array of local delicacies and drinks in its restaurants," said Sharif Nayeem who travelled to Cox's Bazar from the capital with his spouse Mila.
An ecstatic Mila also chipped in: "Cox's Bazar is such an idyllic holiday spot. No wonder it's loved by all who visit this tourist resort."
All the shoreline shopping centres are now also buzzing with the arrival of tourists and the shopping centres of the town are witnessing brisk business.
Though allegation was there from the visitors of having to pay excess charges for hotel and motel rent, the owners of hotels and motels claimed they were not charging any
extra money. "Rather, we're offering additional facilities with mouth-watering delicacies," said Aminur Rahman, a hotel owner.
He thinks that the hotel charge is affordable. "It was pre-fixed. There was no hike," he said.
Security measures have been tightened in the tourist spots for ensuring foolproof security to the visitors.
Police sources said they have taken three-tier security measures in and around the tourist spot to ensure foolproof security to the visitors. Community police is also cooperating with regular police in ensuring security.
Most of the visitors expressed their satisfaction over the security arrangements made by the government.
Similar crowd was seen at Saint Martin's Island, a small island in the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal.