The country’s major tourism attraction Cox’s Bazar is likely to have a negative impact on tourism industry following the government’s decision to restrict tourists’ arrival in Saint Martin’s Island.
If the opportunities for sea travel in the country are curtailed, tourists will go abroad and we will lose our hard-earned foreign currency, so this decision is suicidal. Tourists from our country will be eager to visit our rival countries Thailand, Singapore, Maldives and other Asian countries.
Former president of Tour Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) Md Rafeuzzaman said this at a press briefing on ‘Save Tourism, Save St. Martin’s held at Dhaka Club on Saturday.
“The initiative to restrict travel to this place, which is very popular with domestic and foreign tourists, is another big disaster and suicidal decision after the pandemic. We strongly demand of the authorities concerned to move away from such a decision to save the tourism of St. Martin’s and the country,” he added.
In the interest of the development of the tourism industry, TOAB leaders also demanded that a policy be formulated to ensure the travel of domestic and foreign tourists without restricting travel to St Martin’s keeping the biodiversity and natural environment intact.
According to TOAB leaders, Cox’s Bazar, St Martin's Island and its environments are the most attractive destinations for domestic and foreign tourists. Every year a large number of domestic and foreign tourists stay in these places and enjoy its biodiversity and natural beauty. The island is one of the major tourist attractions for Cox’s Bazar. Tourism is the only source of income for the underprivileged people of the island isolated from the mainland.
St. Martin’s Island is the home to 10,000 locals, as well as another 4,000 people from different parts of the country. Tourism is the only source of income for 90 percent of the people there. They make a living for the seven months with the income of five months during tourist season.
Apart from this, around 5 lakh people of the country including those from Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar are living with their families as a backward linkage around the tourism of the island. As a result, restricting travel to Saint Martin’s without creating any other alternative arrangements will certainly have an adverse effect on Bangladesh's tourism sector.
Hotel Owners Association of St Martin’s, Sea Cruise Operators Owners Association of Bangladesh President Tofail Ahmed, General Secretary Hossain Islam Bahadur, Toab vice president Md Shahid Ullah, other members of TOAB, Tourism Stakeholders, among others, were present at the press briefing. TOAB President Shiblul Azam Qureshi presided over the function.