After two barren years, Cox's Bazar is expected to overflow with tourists on Eid. Can it handle the load?

The last two years may have been a write-off for Cox's Bazar, the country's most popular tourist destination, but the resort town is likely to be stretched beyond capacity by an onrush of holidaymakers this Eid.

According to hospitality industry insiders, most rooms in hotels and motels are already booked.

Despite all the COVID restrictions that were in place, Cox's Bazar attracted a good number of tourists during the Eid holidays in 2021. But problems usually arise when people head down to the south coast during the holiday season without booking accommodation first. Some have even had to spend the night in their cars.

Tourism-centred businesses, including hotels, motels and guest houses, say they are ready to cater to tourists this time.

In anticipation of the massive tourist influx, the local administration and law enforcement agencies have also made extensive preparations to serve and protect them from any form of harassment.

At least 500,000 arrivals are expected during the Eid holidays -- a figure that is likely to go a long way to offsetting the losses incurred by the tourism industry in the last two years.

According to hoteliers, the majority of rooms in most hotels and motels are booked as of Sunday. The rest of the rooms are expected to be occupied between Monday and the day of Eid on Tuesday. Tourists will also flock to Cox's Bazar on Wednesday, the day after Eid.

The tourist hub, home to the world's longest natural sea beach, is blessed with plenty of other sights and sounds for tourists to absorb. These include the Marine Drive, the Himchhari Waterfall, the rocky beaches of Inani and Patuartek, the Burmese Market in the city, the Adinath Temple in Maheshkhali, the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Dulahazara and the Buddhist monastery in Ramu.

The number of tourists usually multiplies during the Eid holidays. For a few days, Cox's Bazar comes to life as all entertainment centres are abuzz with people.

But a group of unscrupulous traders and touts are also on the prowl in a bid to cash in on the festive fervour by overcharging tourists for food and lodging. This, in turn, has a negative impact on the tourism sector as a whole.

According to industry insiders, Cox's Bazar boasts at least 520 hotels, motels, guest houses and cottages. These contain about 20,000 rooms which can house more than 120,000 guests.

But tourists travelling in groups often have to cram into a single hotel room due to overcrowding during the holidays. As such, it is not possible for more than 150,000 tourists to stay in Cox's Bazar's residential hotels each day.

Abul Kashem Sikder, president of the Cox's Bazar Hotel-Motel, Guest House and Cottage Owners' Association, says most of the hotels in the beach town were closed during the month of Ramadan.

Hotel authorities and other stakeholders used the break to undertake preparatory work, including cleaning, washing and repainting their respective establishments in order to provide uninterrupted services during the Eid holidays.

"Cox's Bazar has more than 520 accommodation facilities for tourists, including hotels and motels. It has the capacity to hold 120,000 people at a time. About 70 percent of rooms in these residential hotels have already been booked as of Sunday. Hopefully, the remainder of the hotel rooms will be rented between Monday and Tuesday,” said Sikder.

"This time around, hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to visit Cox's Bazar every day during the long holiday."

Sikder lamented the heavy losses counted by tourism-centred businesses in Cox's Bazar during the last two Eid holidays. With coronavirus cases trending down for the last few months, he hopes the industry will be able to recoup at least some of its losses this year.

However, he called on the administration to take clamp down on the opportunists who actively try to rip off large numbers of tourists during the holidays.

The tourist police as well as other law enforcement agencies have taken strict security measures at all tourist centres in Cox's Bazar, including beaches, to ensure a hassle-free experience for visitors during the Eid holidays, said Additional Superintendent Md Rezaul Karim of Cox's Bazar's Tourist Police.

In addition, round-the-clock beach-bike, water-bike and motorbike patrol teams have been deployed at various points of the city to prevent unsavoury incidents such as muggings, sexual harassment and other inconveniences faced by tourists. Law enforcers are on strict orders to take immediate action to deal with any reported violation of law and order.

"In addition to security, six tourist help desks have been set up at various points of Cox's Bazar to provide immediate assistance to tourists and visitors. Each help desk will be equipped with a first aid box. In addition, awareness campaigns will be conducted to avoid any unfortunate incidents in the sea.”

There will also be a 'Child Support Centre' for help in rescuing lost children on the beach and handing them over to their parents as well as a 'Lost and Found Centre' to help tourists retrieve lost items such as mobile phones, wallets or other belongings.

With a heatwave in the forecast for the next few days, the tourist police have also taken measures to provide clean and potable water to tourists.

A 'watch tower' and seven 'observation centres' have also been set up to monitor the overall situation, according to Rezaul.

The authorities are prioritising the safety and security of tourists during the Eid rush, according to Cox's Bazar's Additional District Magistrate Abu Sufiyan.

A monitoring committee comprising local representatives has been formed to oversee the security measures while four mobile courts headed by executive magistrates will also be deployed to prevent any type of harassment and untoward incidents. The office of the District Tourism Cell at the beach's Laboni Point will be open round the clock to monitor the overall situation.

Immediate action will be taken at the field level on any complaints of hotels and restaurants overcharging guests, said Abu Sufiyan.