As winter reaches its final stretch in the last week of January, Cox’s Bazar sea beach appears to have regained its familiar vibrancy. Beneath the soft sunshine, alongside horizon-touching blue waters and the steady rhythm of rolling waves, thousands of tourists are once again gathering on the shore. With their arrival, colour has returned to life for beach-based traders, whose faces now reflect relief and quiet optimism.
Even before daybreak, a hum of activity spreads across Laboni, Sugandha, and Kolatoli points. The sound of horses’ hooves, the roar of beach bikes, the spicy aroma of jhalmuri, and the laughter of visitors together transform the shoreline into a lively festival ground.
Abdul Malek, a chair-and-umbrella vendor at Laboni Point, said the beach had been largely quiet just weeks ago. “Now the crowd is increasing every day. When tourists come, it brings light to our lives as well,” he said.
At Sugandha Beach, food vendor Mohammad Ismail echoed a similar sense of relief. “Good sales at this time feel like a blessing for us. If the crowd continues like this at the end of winter, we can live a little more peacefully with our families,” he said.
The influx of tourists has also restored momentum to hotels, restaurants, and transport services. A hotel manager in the Kolatoli area said demand for rooms remained strong even in the final week of January. “This late-winter tourist flow is giving our business fresh hope,” he added.
Just as the waves repeatedly return to the shore, this end-of-winter surge of visitors is bringing renewed vitality to Cox’s Bazar’s economy. If weather conditions remain favourable, stakeholders expect this warmth of prosperity to continue spreading across the beach into early February.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Hussain Shetu
