As tourists arrive, Cox’s Bazar springs back to life. But virus worries linger

Hordes of tourists returning to Cox's Bazar beach at the onset of winter have people, who live off the tourism industry, filled with hope, but fears of a possible surge in coronavirus infection threatens to overshadow the optimism.

Golam Mujtaba Dhruba, back from Cox's Bazarbdnews24.com
Published : 5 Dec 2020, 09:26 PM
Updated : 6 Dec 2020, 07:00 AM

The beach, hotels and tourist centres were allowed to reopen in mid-August after a five-month shutdown, but the scale provided the tourists follow the health protocols.

And people are visiting Cox's Bazar to get a respite from months of restrictions, but most of them appear unwilling to follow the health rules. They do not wear masks, nor do they show respect for physical distancing.

Negligence in following the health protocols may lead to a disastrous situation, admitted Md Kamal Hossain, the deputy commissioner of the district. The district administration plans to apply “more stringent measures” in the coming days and weeks, he said.

The tourism hub of Bangladesh has more than 450 hotels, motels and guesthouses with more than 15,000 people depending on them for an earning.

It also houses more than 500 restaurants employing to at least 10,000 people, said Abu Morshed Chowdhury Khoka, president of Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In all, more than 50,000 people are employed in the tourism-related businesses directly or indirectly in the district, he said.

Usually, the number of tourists from home and abroad in Cox’s Bazar hovers around 30,000 at a time. On weekends, the number skyrockets to 100,000. The number is yet to reach the usual levels after the shutdown was lifted on Aug 17.

More visitors are coming to Cox's Bazar as winter sets in, said Abul Kashem Sikdar, general secretary of Cox's Bazar Hotel, Motel, Guesthouse and Cottage Owners Association.

Two officials waiting to welcome visitors at Resort Islandia last Sunday claimed they were following all the health rules, but nothing was visible. Guests were entering or leaving without wearing masks.

Their business is at its lowest after the long shutdown, said Manager Robiul Hasan Robin.

The number of tourists is gradually increasing after the reopening, he said. “We are abiding by the rules set by the administration. We are also requesting our guests to follow the health protocols," he said.

Most of the people in Cox's Bazar are not following the health rules, Robin said adding the administration must take stringent measures.

At the beach, none of the tourists in crowds had their face covered with a mask.

A group of students from Mostafa Hakim Degree College in Chattogram holidaying in Cox's Bazar were roaming around the beach singing, but most of them did not wear masks.

“We all have a mask with us, but took it off for some time just to click some photos at the beach,” said Mahmudul Hasan, one of the students.

“The necessity of wearing a mask does not come to mind here. We have come here after being housebound for a long time in Dhaka,” said Md Kamal Hossain, an employee of a private company who came to Cox’s Bazar with his family.

‘A WHOLE NEW DREAM’

The longest natural sea beach of the world in Cox’s Bazar is the source of income for people from different groups. Touhidul Islam is one of them. He earns a living by offering a horse ride to tourists.

Some tourists just take a photo on the horseback while some take a ride around the beach, he said. Before the pandemic broke out, he used to earn around Tk 2,000 per day.

Touhid lost his income when the beach was off limits to everyone. Around 50 horse owners like Touhid faced dire conditions at that time.

“People are visiting the beach again, and they are riding horses too. We now dream again to live,” he said.

Abul Kalam, a photographer, saw a slump in his business as people tend to take a photo with their mobile phones these days. Even then, some of them look for a photographer to click a group photo or when they want to capture the moments they wade in the seawater.

Like Kalam, more than 500 photographers earn their living by taking photos of tourists at the beach. They all confronted severe trouble during the shutdown. Some of them even worked as a construction worker.

Abdus Salam, who rents out umbrellas to the tourists, faced a similar situation.  Earlier, he used to earn around Tk 8,000 a day by renting out umbrellas.

“I had no job when the beach was closed to people. I tried fishing in the sea. Now as I have got my old occupation back, I have a whole new dream to live again.”

STILL WORRIED

Crowd of tourists has thinned this year in comparison to last December, said Sayeed Khan, working at the reception of Hotel Beachway. “But it is increasing gradually.”

The number of tourists may drop again if the number of coronavirus cases rise again and the possibility of another surge cannot be ruled out as the authorities are not enforcing the health rules firmly, fear the owners and employees of the hotels and motels.

They want to follow the health protocols to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further, but not everyone is willing to abide by the rules, said Kashem, leader of the hotel owners’ association.

“We make announcements through loudspeakers at different points of the beach to create awareness among the tourists about the health protocols. We run other programmes too. But the fact is, they don’t follow the health protocols,” said Mohammed Mohiuddin, additional police superintendent in Cox’s Bazar.

Deputy Commissioner Kamal admitted that most of the people were not following the health protocols.

“Two mobile courts are conducting drives at the beach every day. No-one has been jailed yet, but some people have been fined. We need to be stricter in future,” he told bdnews24.com.

The hotels and motels were allowed to reopen provided they follow the health protocols, he said adding the authorities will take stern action against those who are not following the rules.

Besides the police, the district information office is making announcements through loudspeakers at different parts of the city to create awareness about the health rules, the deputy commissioner said.

The administration is discouraging the use of surgical masks and promoting the use of three-layered cloth masks.

“Soon we’ll distribute one million masks for free in the entire district, so the common people can use those and stay safe,” Kamal said.