Cox’s Bazar tourism faces Tk 1,000cr losses due to Covid-19

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Cox Gazette | Online Desk August 4, 2020, 12:56 PM

The tourism industry of Cox’s Bazar has been facing Tk 1,000 crore losses due to shut down for four and a half months over the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, resulting in the unemployment of 30,000 people in the district.

According to a report by Dhaka Tribune, the businessmen of the area urged the authorities to resume the tourism industry on a limited scale, however, the local administration said it is not possible to lift the ban for now. But if the situation is normal, it will be done after Eid.

Meanwhile, hotels, motels, and various tourist attractions were shut down due to the outbreak of coronavirus infection in the country, as a result, businessmen, officials, and employees working in the industry are now leading miserable lives.

“Businessmen of the area are facing huge bank loans, and the small businesses are facing extreme losses amid the pandemic,” said Mokhim Khan, general secretary of Cox’s Bazar Kalatali Marine Drive Road Residential Hotel-Motel Owners’ Association.

Md. Kamal Hossain, Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, said there is a possibility of resuming the tourism business after Eid under certain conditions. 

“Only those establishments with adequate coronavirus infection prevention measures and strict hygiene compliance will be allowed to resume business,” he added. 

It was learned that more than 150,000 people, including about 30,000 employees of hotels, motels, and restaurants, and more than 150 tour operators are now out of work.

It is worth to be mentioned that 470 hotels and motels, more than 2,000 eateries, Burmese markets, and 5,000 tourism-dependent businesses in Cox’s Bazar were shut down over the last four months due to the deadly virus pandemic.