St. Martin's Island

The tourists, who began to show signs of being agitated, were finally ferried to the island under special arrangements, but certain questions regarding the journey to the place arise for obvious reasons. First, the tourists didn't know that they wouldn't be allowed to travel by sea-truck. It has been reported that getting down from the small vessels is hazardous for women and children in the absence of a jetty.

The problem that the tourists faced gives a bleak picture of the facilities being offered to the people intending to visit one of our prime tourist spots. Obviously, the island is a place that many local and foreign tourists are interested in. But how long can they retain it if they cannot travel to the island or have to undertake a perilous journey? There was a jetty at the island last year which has vanished into thin air for the reason not known to us. Again, the task of building a new one didn't receive due attention. The report published in the daily Prothom Alo says that the local Union Parishad did not give the permission for rebuilding the jetty. But it is very unclear why the local body failed to realise the importance of reconstructing the jetty when hundreds of people visit the island every day. So the truth of the matter may lie elsewhere. The government department concerned should find out why the jetty could not be rebuilt.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

There is great emphasis these days on developing the tourism industry. But the emphasis is not reflected in the ground reality. In today's competitive world the countries are offering more and more facilities to the travellers. But we are not even providing the bare minimum for the tourists to feel encouraged to visit our sites.

The tourism department has to activate itself and make sure that people don't find themselves in great difficulty while seeking the pleasure of travelling to a beautiful place. It needs to do something more than telling us that Bangladesh has great potential to attract tourists.