The long-awaited reopening of St. Martin’s Island to tourists on November 1 is clouded in uncertainty, as no passenger vessels are yet ready to operate on the route.
This has left both tour operators and travelers anxious ahead of the start of the season.
On October 22, the Environment Department of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change granted permission for tourist travel to the island, issuing a 12-point guideline under the Eco-Friendly Tourism Directive 2023.
One of the key directives states that tourists may visit the island during the day but are not allowed to stay overnight. The announcement has sparked discontent among ship operators and tourism businesses.
“This decision is impractical,” said tourism businessman Hossainul Islam Bahadur. “Visitors should be allowed to stay overnight. As of now, no vessels are ready to sail to St. Martin’s on November 1—and none will be.”
Nur Mohammad, in charge of the Cox’s Bazar office of Keari Sindbad, echoed the frustration: “Declaring the island open from November 1 is just eyewash. The government says tourists can go and return on the same day, but they stay. That’s completely unreasonable.”
He explained that if a tourist boards a ship from Cox’s Bazar at 7 a.m., it would take until 2 or 3 p.m. to reach St. Martin’s. “But the return ship must leave by 3 p.m. So the entire day would be spent at sea, with no real time to explore the island,” he said.
Tour operators added that the government’s restrictions have created severe uncertainty in the industry. None of the shipowners has made preparations yet. Since no vessels are operating on November 1, spreading misleading information is unfair,” one operator said.
Meanwhile, thousands of tourists who had planned trips to St. Martin’s next week are frustrated. Many have already booked hotels and tickets, only to now reconsider their plans due to the uncertainty.
Rahat Ahmed, a tourist from Chattogram, said, “If we have to return the same day, it’s not really a trip. We’ll spend the whole day just traveling on the sea.”
Sabina Yasmin, a visitor from Dhaka, shared a similar sentiment: “We planned for months to stay a few days on the island. Now the government says we can’t stay overnight. What’s the point of such a trip?”
Another disappointed traveler, Mehedi Hasan Tushar, added, “If tourism is opened like this, no one will go. We’re very frustrated. The government should make decisions based on ground realities.”
Government sources stated that the overnight stay ban was implemented to safeguard the island’s fragile ecosystem and biodiversity.
However, local tourism stakeholders argue that prohibiting overnight stays could severely damage the island’s tourism-dependent economy.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
Photo: Collected
