Hotel owners in Cox’s Bazar have faced difficulties in attracting tourists even after offering discounts during the ongoing countrywide blockade.
Bandarban Hotel-Motel Owners Association sources said the number of tourists had dipped sharply since January 5, the day BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia imposed the blockade for an indefinite period.
Hoteliers have offered a 50% discount but are still struggling to secure bookings, said the association’s General Secretary Sirajul Islam.
Ashish Dhar, manager of Greenhill Hotel, said the tourism sector would face severe consequences if things did not improve.
Owners of 50 hotels under the association were said to have been facing a loss of Tk50 lakh every day. From January 5 to February 3, they incurred a total loss of Tk15 crore.
Bandarban Four Star Hotel Manager Ripon Chowdhury said the number of visitors had declined alarmingly.
Bandarban draws a host of tourists from different parts of the country every year, who come to visit the district’s popular attractions.
Hoteliers said they experienced a similar slowdown in business during the 2013 political unrest and were hopeful about recouping the losses, but the non-stop blockade and frequent general strikes had again got in the way.
Shahadatur Rahman, owner of Fist Restaurant in the district town, said he would have to consider lay-offs if there was no change in the present situation.
Some hotel owners said they took out loans to recover the 2013 losses but had now run into troubles as political turbulence had diminished the number of tourists.
Those owning small businesses, especially transport and loom business owners, are also bearing the brunt of the blockade.
Manager of Banaful Textile Sumon Dey said sales had plummeted because of the absence of visitors.
Bandarban Jeep-Microbus Owners Association sources said transport owners had been counting losses as tourist numbers had dwindled.
In Bandarban Sadar and Ruma upazilas, there are 215 tourist cars, locally known as chander gari, but the owners are suffering from the lack of visitors.
