St. Martin remains empty of tourists on 1st day of reopening

After being closed for nine months, the country's only coral island, St. Martin, has finally been reopened. However, as ship owners have not obtained permission to transport tourists, no tourists are able to visit the island on Saturday (November 1).

As per the instructions of the government's Ministry of Environment, tourists have been allowed to visit St. Martin in November on the condition of travelling the island only during the day.

Moreover, as the renovation work of the only jetty to the island has not been completed, tourist ships will not be able to dock at the jetty.

Hossain Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh, said: "Initially, two ships named 'Karnaphuli Express' and 'Bar-Aulia' were supposed to leave from the Nuniachhara BIWTA Ghat in Cox's Bazar. But the ship owners have backed out of the decision. As a result, no ship will go to St. Martin on Saturday."

"It takes seven to ten hours to go from Cox's Bazar to St. Martin. It is almost impossible to leave in the morning and return in the day. On top of this, the tourism board's passenger registration software has not yet been launched. In such a situation, tourists will not be found."

Alhaj Nurul Amin, leader and former chairman of the St. Martin Hotel-Motel Owners Association, said, “There are more than 250 hotels and rest houses on the island. Last year, I saw that no one came to visit for just a day after crossing the 8-hour journey. So we have no preparations for this November. Maybe in December-January, we will clean up and prepare for tourists.”