A new avenue for the country’s tourism unfolded yesterday with the inauguration of tourist ship service between Inani Beach in Cox’s Bazar town and Saint Martin's Island.
MV Karnafuly Express set sail for the first time from Bangladesh Navy's newly-built jetty at Inani Beach in the morning.
Hossain Islam Bahadur, in charge of the ship at its Cox's Bazar office, said it will be sailing regularly from the Bangladesh Navy's jetty at Inani instead of the Bakkhali River jetty from now on.
He said usually ships operate on Teknaf-Saint Martin's, Chittagong-Saint Martin's, and Cox's Bazar-Saint Martin's. Earlier, MV Karnaphuli Express was operating from Bakkhali River Jetty, which was not possible this year.
“The vessel is sailing to Saint Martin's Island from Inani Navy Jetty after obtaining all necessary permits from the concerned departments. Through this, a new door of tourism has been opened."
Hossain Islam Bahadur said: "The ship left Inani for the first time yesterday at 9:30am and reached the island at 12:30pm. It is scheduled to depart from Saint Martin's Island at 3pm and reach Inani at 6:30pm.”
Engineer MA Rashid, managing director of the ship, said this ship has a capacity of carrying 750 people. The round-trip ticket price varies from Tk1,800 to Tk3,200, he added.
This entrepreneur said: "Tourists will enjoy the sea through the marine drive and will travel by sea to the coral island in the morning. They will enjoy the beauty of the sea and the sunset while returning. This will be pleasant to the tourists."
In December 2022, the Bangladesh Navy constructed the jetty for international naval exercises. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was the chief guest in the international exercise, and the Navy currently operates the jetty for security purposes.
Businesses in Kuakata fail to draw visitors
December is usually the busiest month for hoteliers and businesses in Kuakata, and like every year, owners and local traders have taken all necessary precautions to welcome tourists. But owners fear that they will face huge losses this year as the picturesque tourist spot is currently seeing only a small number of visitors.
They attributed the low turnout to the national polls to be held on January 7.
Vendors with their temporary stalls and photographers were seen waiting in the beach area, as there were only a handful of them on the beach yesterday.
Business owners said most of the hotels were not getting guests as desired during the peak season. They said the hotels and motels have been cleaned and decorated with colourful lights, hoping to welcome guests. But most of the hotels are not getting enough guests, and only 20 to 30% of rooms have been booked in first-class hotels.
They said the establishments will remain open even on election day, as the day will be a public holiday.
Abdul Motaleb Sharif, secretary of the Kuakata Hotel Motel Owners Association, said: “Every year we get advance bookings for the entire hotel one week ahead of New Year’s Eve. But currently, only 20% of our rooms are booked.”
Dr Ismail Emon, managing director of Hotel Samudra Bilas, said: “Due to the ongoing countrywide strike and blockade programs enforced by the BNP since October 28, we are incurring huge losses. At the moment, our rooms are unoccupied, which happened for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.”
Arif Suman, director of Hotel Khan Friends Park, said: “It seems like the situation we faced during the pandemic still prevails.”
Ruman Imtiaz Tushar, president of the Tour Operators Association of Kuakata (TOAK), said: “The New Year’s Eve is one of the many attractions of Kuakata Beach. Therefore, we have arranged different events around this day.”
Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, superintendent of the Tourist Police in Kuakata Zone, said that there was pressure from tourists throughout the month in Kuakata, but at the moment there is a smaller number of tourists. He said that the tourist police are carrying out their duty to ensure the safety of visitors throughout the year.
Our correspondents, Abdul Aziz from Cox’s Bazar and Anisur Rahman Swapan from Barisal, contributed to the report.
