After a long period of one and a half months, one of the country's prime tourist destinations, known as the Kingdom of Clouds, Sajek Valley has been reopened for tourists.
On Tuesday, the first day, approximately 600 to 700 tourists arrived at Sajek Valley from various parts of the country, confirmed Rahul Chakma, the organizational secretary of the Sajek Resort Owners Association.
He said that the absence of tourists over the past month and a half has resulted in a financial loss of around Tk15 to Tk20 crore.
He also said that on the first day, thousands of tourists visited Sajek.
He hoped that if the number of tourists increases in the coming days, they will gradually be able to recover from this loss.
Saiful Islam, manager of Sajek Kureghor Resort, said that on the first day, a large number of tourists arrived in mahindra vehicles, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles, and nearly all resort rooms were booked.
Mohammad Jasim Uddin, a driver of a mahindra vehicle in Sajek, said that about 40 vehicles traveled from Khagrachari to Sajek Valley since morning.
He estimated that approximately 700 tourists arrived.
Rangamati District Commissioner Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Khan said that tourists were discouraged from travelling from October 8 to 31.
However, now that the law and order situation is stable, it was reopened for tourists starting on Friday.
As there were restrictions in Khagrachari until Monday, no tourists could visit Sajek.
He said that tourists have been visiting Sajek since morning and that they can safely travel in Rangamati District.
He further said that the tourism-related businesses have suffered temporarily due to being closed for a month and a half.
Now that the tourism season has begun, those involved in tourism will be able to recover.
It is noteworthy that the last time tourists entered Sajek was on September 18, after which the authorities discouraged travel due to conflicts in the hills and safety concerns, preventing tourists from heading to Sajek.
Although travel restrictions for tourists in Rangamati District were lifted on November 1, tourists have been visiting Sajek since November 5 due to the necessity of using roads in Khagrachari District to access this location.
