UNB, Dhaka :
The government is moving ahead to have its first exclusive tourism park in Cox’s Bazar to transform the tourism industry developing world-class luxury hotels and ensuring modern facilities like other countries which bring sun-seekers to beaches.
Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has taken the initiative-‘Sabrang Tourism’-encompassing an area of around 1,100 acres having an amazing hill and sea beach territory, multifaceted diverse and admirably beautiful.
The project site is located with exclusive beach front and half-an-hour sea cruise to St. Martin, a coral island.
“A feasibility study on the establishment of Sabrang Exclusive Tourism Zone has been completed,” BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury told UNB.
He said, a draft summary has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking CCEA’s (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) approval for appointing Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL) to construct an embankment for protecting the Exclusive Tourism Park.
The BEZA chief said, they are also working on sending another proposal over land filling and developing a drainage system for the zone.
Some 884 acres of land, according to BEZA officials, have already been acquired while the initial site assessment is also completed.
They said the ‘purest’ air, lofty hill, sea and lagoon create perfect conditions for the development of all types of tourism entertainment at
Sabrang in Teknaf upazila under Cox’s Bazar district.
Director of Tour Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) Taufiq Rahman welcomed the decision and said inbound tourism will certainly flourish in the country if it is properly implemented.
“If you want to encourage inbound tourism, foreigners must be given something exclusive. It exists in other parts of the world. There should be separate facilities for foreign and local tourists,” Taufiq, also founder Chief Executive of Journey Plus, told UNB.
He said, they had tried to attract foreign tourists to Cox’s Bazar in the past but failed as they did not get what they want as part of leisure tourism.
“Foreigners, as part of their leisure travels, want sunbath. They want to take part in beach activities relatively more openly. They want to drink. They want entertainment,” said the tourism expert adding that which is not possible now in Bangladesh’s open beach given the country’s social norms.
Taufiq, also secretary general of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Bangladesh Chapter, said the success depends on which model the government follows to attract foreign tourists in the truest sense.
BEZA has also kept security issues in mind as the site is close to Myanmar border and is planning to invite foreign tourists through Myanmar smoothly having a stopover there. Myanmar receives huge foreign tourists every year.
“I don’t think security issues will be a matter of concern,” said the Toab leader explaining the prospects of the BEZA plan.
He said around 30 kilometers of beach from Cox’s Bazar to Inani are already occupied by various commercial establishment. “So, we need to think of proper utilization of the remaining 90 kilometers of beach if we claim that it’s a 120-kilometer beach.”
BEZA officials said, they will give priority to private investors in the Sabrang Exclusive Tourism Zone-both from home and abroad.
They want to see Sabrang as the most modern and international tourism zone in the country which will help increase the flow of foreign tourists as many global tourism spots are developed on shores.
The proposed park is 5 km away from Teknaf town. Cox’s Bazar-Sabrang Marine Drive is the access road to the proposed park and this connects the National Highway in a stretch of 5 km.
Cox’s Bazar Airport is at a distance of 96 km from the proposed park. The connectivity from airport to the proposed park takes around 1.5 hours of travel time by road.
Teknaf Land Port is only 9 km form the zone and the Naaf River is only 8 km from zone.
Hotel complexes, eco-tourism, recreational tourism, business tourism, sports, water tourism, education and health tourism are planned to develop there.
The government is moving ahead to have its first exclusive tourism park in Cox’s Bazar to transform the tourism industry developing world-class luxury hotels and ensuring modern facilities like other countries which bring sun-seekers to beaches.
Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has taken the initiative-‘Sabrang Tourism’-encompassing an area of around 1,100 acres having an amazing hill and sea beach territory, multifaceted diverse and admirably beautiful.
The project site is located with exclusive beach front and half-an-hour sea cruise to St. Martin, a coral island.
“A feasibility study on the establishment of Sabrang Exclusive Tourism Zone has been completed,” BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury told UNB.
He said, a draft summary has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking CCEA’s (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) approval for appointing Chittagong Dry Dock Limited (CDDL) to construct an embankment for protecting the Exclusive Tourism Park.
The BEZA chief said, they are also working on sending another proposal over land filling and developing a drainage system for the zone.
Some 884 acres of land, according to BEZA officials, have already been acquired while the initial site assessment is also completed.
They said the ‘purest’ air, lofty hill, sea and lagoon create perfect conditions for the development of all types of tourism entertainment at
Sabrang in Teknaf upazila under Cox’s Bazar district.
Director of Tour Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) Taufiq Rahman welcomed the decision and said inbound tourism will certainly flourish in the country if it is properly implemented.
“If you want to encourage inbound tourism, foreigners must be given something exclusive. It exists in other parts of the world. There should be separate facilities for foreign and local tourists,” Taufiq, also founder Chief Executive of Journey Plus, told UNB.
He said, they had tried to attract foreign tourists to Cox’s Bazar in the past but failed as they did not get what they want as part of leisure tourism.
“Foreigners, as part of their leisure travels, want sunbath. They want to take part in beach activities relatively more openly. They want to drink. They want entertainment,” said the tourism expert adding that which is not possible now in Bangladesh’s open beach given the country’s social norms.
Taufiq, also secretary general of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Bangladesh Chapter, said the success depends on which model the government follows to attract foreign tourists in the truest sense.
BEZA has also kept security issues in mind as the site is close to Myanmar border and is planning to invite foreign tourists through Myanmar smoothly having a stopover there. Myanmar receives huge foreign tourists every year.
“I don’t think security issues will be a matter of concern,” said the Toab leader explaining the prospects of the BEZA plan.
He said around 30 kilometers of beach from Cox’s Bazar to Inani are already occupied by various commercial establishment. “So, we need to think of proper utilization of the remaining 90 kilometers of beach if we claim that it’s a 120-kilometer beach.”
BEZA officials said, they will give priority to private investors in the Sabrang Exclusive Tourism Zone-both from home and abroad.
They want to see Sabrang as the most modern and international tourism zone in the country which will help increase the flow of foreign tourists as many global tourism spots are developed on shores.
The proposed park is 5 km away from Teknaf town. Cox’s Bazar-Sabrang Marine Drive is the access road to the proposed park and this connects the National Highway in a stretch of 5 km.
Cox’s Bazar Airport is at a distance of 96 km from the proposed park. The connectivity from airport to the proposed park takes around 1.5 hours of travel time by road.
Teknaf Land Port is only 9 km form the zone and the Naaf River is only 8 km from zone.
Hotel complexes, eco-tourism, recreational tourism, business tourism, sports, water tourism, education and health tourism are planned to develop there.
