Blockade hits tourism business in Sundarbans

Tapan Kumar Das, a resident of the Khulna city, had decided to explore the beauty of the Sundarbans with 22 others for three days from December 1 and made bookings with the tourism operation accordingly.

But the group, which comprises seven families living in the same compound in the south-western city, cancelled the trip at the last moment due to political uncertainty stemming from lingering transport blockades.

"The situation is not suitable to go on a trip. Why should anyone set out to visit the Sundarbans if their minds can't be at peace?" Das asked.

He went to the office of the tour operator at the BIWTA Ghat in the city and took back the booking money.

Many holiday-makers like them have either cancelled bookings or put their plans on making trips to the world's largest mangrove forest on the shore of the Bay of Bengal on hold. As a result, tour operators based on the Sundarbans are feeling the pinch.

Since October 31, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have enforced transport blockades to press home their demand for a national election under a non-partisan government.

The political action, marked by violence and torching of vehicles, has disrupted the tour plans of holiday-makers, leading to the mass cancellation of bookings, dealing a blow to the broader tourism industry. The fallout has been even deeper for those who arrange trips to the Sundarbans, piling up losses that run into crores of taka.

Industry people warn that if the situation persists, they will have no other option but to discontinue the business.

The main season for the Sundarbans-based tourism starts in October and it runs until March, meaning tour operators have to sit idle for the rest of the year. However, the ongoing political unrest has forced most holiday-makers to stay home in order to avoid caught in trouble.

As a result, the Sundarbans which usually brim with domestic and foreign tourists as soon as the winter season kicks off, is currently witnessing a drastic fall in the number of customers.

Shaik Abdul Kuddus, proprietor of New Rainbow Tours, told The Daily Star that there were four bookings from the last week of November to the second week of December, but they were cancelled owing to the political uncertainty.

"A trip of 42 tourists was booked with my company and they were supposed to set out on December 8. Accordingly, I arranged almost everything. But they cancelled it at the last minute. I could not manage to convince them to reconsider the decision."

"They made the advanced booking. Now, they are asking me to make refunds."

Photo: Star/File

Every month, Kuddus has to spend more than Tk 1 lakh for ship rents, salary of the staff and office rents. "Those who run luxury ships are incurring more losses," he said.

According to an official of the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans, many small and big companies offer tourism packages centring the forest. Currently, the platform has 50 member firms.

The operators collectively have about 70 vessels, including 20 luxurious ones. Most of the ships organise trips for passengers from Khulna to the Sundarbans.

Some ply between Dhaka and Khulna while several ships go to the Sundarbans from Mongla of Bagerhat.

Tour operators usually offer a three-day package to visit the Sundarbans. The price starts at Tk 7,500 per person while a luxury ship charges between Tk 13,000 and Tk 25,000, which includes accommodation, meals and forest tours.

The number of domestic tourists visiting the Sundarbans increased by 45 percent after the inauguration of Padma Bridge in June 2022. The number of foreign tourists has almost doubled, raising the demand for luxury cruise ships. New investments are also coming to the sector.

Data from the forest department showed, 146,190 tourists visited the Sundarbans in 2020-21. Of them, 390 were foreigners. A total of 149,415 tourists travelled in 2021-22, including 1,103 from other countries.

In 2022-23, the number of local tourists jumped to 217,169 and foreign tourists to 2,274.

Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa Ltd in Cox's Bazar joined the Sundarbans-based tourism business two years ago and currently has two ships for the route.

SM Musfiqur Hasan, local supervisor of the cruise ship business segment of the hotel, said after the opening of Padma Bridge, the presence of tourists shot up.

"But it has currently come down to almost zero. We have not been able to attract visitors even after offering packages at discounted prices. Many tourists are cancelling trips owing to safety concerns."

Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Center is a popular tourist destination in the Sundarbans. It is seeing a dearth of tourists now.

Howlader Azad Kabir, officer in-charge of the centre, said 1,000 to 1,500 tourists used to visit the centre on weekends in the past. Now, it has come down to an average 400 on weekends and 70 on weekdays.

M Nazmul Azam David, general secretary of the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans, said: "We are in trouble as we are counting losses. When the annual exams at schools and colleges are completed, the presence of tourists usually goes up. But this year, we are witnessing a lack of tourists."

"Those who had made advance bookings are now asking for refunds," he said, adding that the segment is witnessing five to six trips now compared to the 50 trips usually seen at this time of the year.