From December 1, tourist ships to Saint Martin’s Island, the nation’s only coral island, will resume operations. A lack of passengers delayed the launch, initially scheduled for November 28. However, uncertainty surrounding the mandatory travel pass requirement has puzzled tourists and officials.
Government directives limit daily visitor numbers to 2,000. The island allows overnight stays for tourists in December and January but prohibits them in November and February.
New regulations on Saint Martin’s Island introduced the mandatory travel pass to manage unregulated tourism. The Ministry of Environment mandated that the Bangladesh Tourism Board develop an app to obtain the pass. However, the app is unavailable on the Google Play Store, leaving tourists in a dilemma.
A Cox’s Bazar Life reporter contacted various officials, including the Additional District Magistrate of Cox’s Bazar and the committee chair managing Saint Martin’s tourism regulations. They, too, could not provide clear information about the travel pass system.
Nilufa Yasmin Chowdhury, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Cox’s Bazar Sadar and the committee’s chairperson, told Cox’s Bazar Life that they are also unsure about the travel pass system.
“The ministry mentioned an app from the Bangladesh Tourism Board, but we have no further details. The primary duty of our committee is to ascertain the ship’s departure point from Cox’s Bazar and guarantee the transportation of no prohibited items such as polythene bags or single-use plastics,” he added.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Nizam Uddin Ahmed echoed similar sentiments: “The travel pass system is not under our purview. The committee overseeing unregulated tourism on Saint Martin’s Island should provide clarity.”
Mohibul Islam, Deputy Director of Marketing and Branding at the Bangladesh Tourism Board, revealed that a separate website for the travel pass is under development but could not specify a completion date.
He added that the government would determine the implementation date of the travel pass system.
Nur Mohammad Siddique, the Cox’s Bazar in charge of the approved ship Keari Sindabad, said that the lack of clarity currently allows their vessel, which has a capacity of 350 passengers, to operate without the pass.
“Once we introduce the travel pass system, we will coordinate accordingly,” he stated.
This lack of coordination has left tourists eager to visit Saint Martin’s Island grappling with confusion, awaiting more explicit guidelines from the authorities.
By Abdur Rashid Manik
