Tourism booms during Eid holidays

Still reeling from the losses due to the political conflict in the first three months of this year, the country's tourism industry is getting a major uplift during this Eid vacation as visitors are rushing in at all the popular tourist spots.
Prothom Alo correspondents report, despite monsoon rains, thousands are going to the tourist spots, much to the encouragement of the hotel businessmen and restaurateurs.
All the hotels and motels of Kuakata have been booked in advance at least a week before the Eid. All the crowd favourite areas like Jhauban, Buddhist temples of Rakhain community, and the beach is swarming with thousands of visitors. The number of visitors will increase more once the weather clears up, the business owners assume.
General secretary of Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners’ Association Motaleb Sharif said the businessmen concerned with this area were having a tough time since the end of last year. However, seeing the crowd during this Eid, the businessmen are feeling much relieved. "We are expecting at least 25,000 tourists during this holiday,” he said.

Other popular tourist spots like Lawachara National Park, Madhabpur Tea Garden, Hum Hum waterfall near the Tripura border, Memorial of Birshreshtho Hamidur Rahman in Sylhet, Garo Tila, Khashiapunji, and tea gardens are also drawing a large number of tourists.
The five-kilometre-long cross-dam around Nikli Upazila in Kishoreganj district has become a popular place to hang out during holidays for Dhaka dwellers. To enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scene of this place, many people are rushing in on this place with their friends and family members.
Officer -in-charge of Nikli police station AKM Mahbub Alam said that the police would provide 24-hour protection around the area for four days following the Eid to ensure law and order.
Nikli Upazila Nirbahi officer Mohammad Mahbub Alam said, “Almost 20-25 thousand people are visiting this area every day. We are planning to ensure electricity in the area for the benefit of the visitors.
Popular tourist spots in the hill tracts of Chittagong were having slow days due to heavy rainfall. However, since the rainfall stopped on Monday, the number of tourists increased drastically in Rangamati.
During a visit to the Holiday Complex area of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), the famous hanging bridge over Kaptai lake was seen crowded with people from both ends. All the boats have been rented out to visitors who went to visit Subholong waterfall and Kaptai lake.
Manager of the Rangamati centre of BPC Alok Bikash Chakma said, all the rooms of the motels are booked till 24 July, and the tourist boom is likely to continue till the first week of August. “BPC is earning around Tk 3 lakh every day - from motel rent, and entrance fees of Kaptai lake and Deer park,” he added.

Joint secretary of Rangamati Hotel Owners’ Association Nesar Ahmed said, “Almost all the rooms of the 50 hotels of this area are all booked out till next Saturday, which means the hotels are earning around Tk 10 lakh per day.”
Proprietor of Boyon Textiles, a shop specialising in indigenous clothing, said that the sale has not spiked up yet. “However, most tourists visit the shopping spots after they are done with sightseeing. With a good number of tourists, the 15 stores in the indigenous clothing market earn around Tk 7-10 lakh per day,” he said.
Surprisingly, another popular tourist spot Bandarban is not doing well in the tourist front, said the businessmen concerned.
Visiting various tourist spots of Bandarban, a small number of tourists were seen. Most of these tourists are from nearby districts, so they are returning home once the day is done, adding almost nothing to the profit of the hotel owners.
“Last year, around 4-5 thousand tickets were sold per day. However, this year we sold only 1,100 tickets this Sunday- which means this year’s tourist gathering is about one third less than the last year,” said Menthan Mro, head of reception of Nilachal tourism spot.
Due to bad weather and relatively short vacation, many tourists are shying away from Bandarban, said the Nezarat Deputy Collector (NDC) of the district deputy commissioner’s office Shamim Hossain.