Tourists throng Cox’s Bazar ahead of 3-day holiday

Our Correspondent :
Thousands of local and foreign tourists have swarmed to Cox’s Bazar beach to enjoy the three-day holiday that starts today (Friday).
Cox’s Bazar sea beach is the longest sea beach in the world.
The holidaymakers have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, a town on the southeast coast of Bangladesh, as they became fortunate to have three-day holiday (two weekly holidays–Friday and Saturday– and the Christmas Day, which is also a public holiday) at a stretch.
Besides, all the hotels, motels and resorts in Cox’s Bazar were found booked on Thursday due to the rush of tourists.
“The city has more than 500 residential hotels and resorts. All of those have been filled with tourists marking the holidays,” Abul Kasim Sikder, president of Cox’s Bazar Hotel, Motel and Guest House Owners’ Association, told The New Nation yesterday.
He added, “The hotel rooms were booked prior for the three-day holiday period. Even today, we have returned many tourists because the rooms are not vacant anymore.”
In Cox’s Bazar district, more than 50,000 people employed in tourism-related businesses directly or indirectly.
Tour operators said more than five lakh tourists flocked to the world’s longest natural sea beach and its adjacent tourism sites on Thursday.
While visiting the beach on Thursday afternoon, it was found that the Laboni, Sugandha and Kalatali points of the beach were teeming with people of all ages. They were seen bathing, playing on the beach and taking pictures.
Businessman Anwar Hossain, who came from Dhaka at the beach with her family members, said. “I could not visit Cox’s Bazar for the last couple of years for lack of a long vacation. This time, I got three-day holiday and came here with all the family members.”
Besides, many tourists have alleged that hotel owners have hiked room rents in the key tourist areas of Cox’s Bazar taking advantage of the huge rush of holidaymakers. The beach city’s easy-bike and rickshaw pullers, and restaurant owners were also charging high.
Anwar Kamal, president of Tour Operators Association of Cox’s Bazar, said, “Our business was in declining trend for some times. We were disappointed. But now it booms amid three-day holiday. All the hotels in Cox’s Bazar have been booked for three consecutive days. Many tourists are calling for rooms but we are not able to provide them rooms.”
Besides, police are working on the ground for the safe travel of the tourists.
Apart from regular forces, additional members of Tourists and District Police have been deployed in the tourism city.