Visitors face room crisis as Kuakata tourism booms after Padma Bridge opening

It has become immensely difficult to find hotel rooms in Kuakata, especially during the holidays, as the number of tourists visiting the area has increased significantly since the Padma Bridge was launched in June last year.

Many tourists are overcharged for rooms while many others visiting the spot have to return to Patuakhali Sadar after enjoying the sunset at the sea beach as they cannot find a place to spend the night there.

"Seven of us stayed in a single hotel room as we could not find any other room vacant. It was very difficult to stay with so many people in one room," Oliur Rahman, a government employee from Barishal who visited the spot recently, told The Business Standard.

"We even had to pay double the actual rent for the room as we had no alternative," he added.

"I have come from Dhaka to enjoy the holiday, thinking that rooms would be available here. But I could not find a single hotel room vacant. So, I have rented a room in a residential house in Patuakhali," said Shahin Khan, a private bank employee from Dhaka.

Hotels and motels in Kuakata have the capacity to accommodate around 20,000 residents, but the number of tourists visiting the area gets to be double that number on holidays, according to the Hotel Motel Owners' Association of Kuakata.

"It is very difficult to increase the number of rooms in the existing hotels overnight, but the number of hotels here is increasing day by day. A number of hotels are in process of construction," said Motaleb Hossain, secretary of Kuakata Hotel Motel Owners' Association.

He said the room crisis has arisen in recent days as the Padma Bridge has made it easier for tourists to visit the area and it becomes severe during the holidays. Earlier, the number of tourists in the area increased significantly only during the winter season.

Regarding visitors' complaints about excessive rent, he said, "We will take stern action if we find any hotel overcharging guests by exploiting the situation."

He further said the residents of Kuakata, particularly the owners of houses near the sea beach, should come forward to support the tourists during the severe crisis of rooms as they can earn well by renting part of their homes during the peak season.

"I have vacated two rooms in my house for visitors as many of our relatives and acquaintances come to Kuakata regularly. However, we need more residential hotels in the area," Said Tofayel Ahmed Tapu, a councillor of Kuakata municipality.

Along with the number of tourists, sales of all kinds of products have also increased in the area recently, said local businessmen.

"I currently sell dry fish worth around Tk50,000-70,000 daily on average, while previously my sales amounted to Tk10,000-20,000," said Saidur Rahman, a seller at the Kuakata dry fish market.

Kolim, a restaurant owner in the area, told TBS, "Currently, I have to supply food to three to five tourist groups every day, while earlier I was struggling to get one such order a day."

"We have been working round the clock to serve the best food to the tourists but sometimes – especially during the long holidays – we cannot keep up with the demand and we have to decline orders," Said Kolim, secretary of Kuakata Restaurant Owners' Association.

Hawkers on the beach have also been earning well following the surge in the number of tourists in the area.

"I currently earn Tk500-700 daily by selling peanuts on the beach," said Raja Mia, a hawker on the beach.