Cox’s Bazar has turned vibrant with a surge of tourists arriving from across the country ahead of the year-end holidays.
Stakeholders expect the bustle to continue over the next 10 days.
Even without a public holiday, large crowds were seen from Sunday morning at Laboni, Sugandha and Kolatoli beach points, as visitors flocked to the shoreline to spend time with family members and friends.
Tourists were seen enjoying leisure time on the sandy beach, with many citing winter as the most pleasant season to visit the seaside town.
Alimur Rahman, who arrived from Pabna’s Ishwardi with his family, said Cox’s Bazar’s beauty never fails to impress, adding that the coastal city becomes even more attractive during winter and that his family planned to stay for three days.
Some visitors, however, complained about high room rents and rising additional expenses during the peak period.
Sazzad Hossain, who travelled from Gazipur with seven friends, said hotels were asking Tk4,000 per room and alleged that some establishments were demanding extra charges, urging the authorities to keep a close watch.
Industry insiders said most of the city’s more than 500 hotels and motels currently have no vacant rooms, with advance bookings completed up to December 31.
Tourism-related businesses estimate that around half a million tourists may visit Cox’s Bazar during the final 10 days of the year.
Hotel-Motel Owners Association President Abul Kashem Sikder said the city’s accommodation facilities can host around 1,50,000 guests per day and that the tourist rush would intensify due to the Christmas holiday on December 25 followed by weekly holidays.
Although tourist numbers were relatively low at the start of the season, he said arrivals would surge in the coming days, with most rooms already booked in advance.
He also said hotel owners had been instructed not to charge excessive rents and that multiple administrative teams were working on the ground, with the association cooperating fully.
Meanwhile, Tourist Police Cox’s Bazar Region Additional DIG Apple Mahmud said law enforcement agencies had stepped up vigilance since the beginning of the tourist season and would not tolerate any harassment of visitors.
He said complaints were being addressed promptly and urged tourists to contact the Tourist Police helpline at 01320160000 for immediate assistance.
