Tourism gets a boost: 4 more eco-tourism centres to be opened in Sundarbans

Tourist destinations in the country's southern districts including world's largest mangrove forest  the Sundarbans and  historic Shat Gombuj mosque are seeing huge flow of tourists as Padma Bridge has made travelling to the region easy and attractive.

The Forest Department is going to open four more eco-tourism centres in the Sundarbans to manage the rising number of tourists.

Muhammad Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer of Sundarbans East zone, said Sundarbans is seeing a sharp rise in the number of tourists after the inauguration of the Padma Bridge.

So, four more eco-tourism centres are being set up in Alibanda, Andamanik, Shekhertek and Kalabagi to handle the huge crowd.

There are already seven eco-tourism centres at Karamjal, Herbaria, Kalagachia, Katka, Kochikhali, Dubla and Heron Point area for tourists to visit in the Sundarban.

Tourists can visit the three centres in Karamjal, Herbaria and Kalagachia with a fixed entry fee and they  have to return within the day.

Tourists have to take permission from the Forest Department earlier to travel to the other four places.

On an average, more than one lakh local and foreign tourists visit the Sundarbans every year where Sundarbans division receives more than Tk one crore as revenue, said DFO Belayet.

Sundarbans directly and indirectly support the livelihood of more than 10 lakh people. This mangrove forest has been protecting the people of the southwestern region from cyclones and floods at various times.

Shat Gombuj Mosque, declared as a world heritage site by Unesco, is believed to have been built more than 600 years ago by Khan Jahan Ali in Sundarghona village of Shat Gombuj Union near Bagerhat-Khulna highway.

On average, 1,000 tourists visit this historic place daily, said Md Jayed, custodian of Shat Gombuj Mosque.

Around five lakh tourists visited the historic mosque last year from where the mosque received Tk 57 lakh as revenue.

The number of tourists and revenue from the sector have increased due to the Padma Bridge, he added.

Bagerhat Tourist Police Inspector Mosharf Hossain said Tourist Police are working to provide round-the-clock security to tourists here.

World Tourism Day to be observed on Tuesday

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has taken an initiative to observe 'World Tourism Day 2022' in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world on Tuesday.

This year's theme 'Rethinking Tourism' is set by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.