Prospects of Eco-tourism at Cox's Bazar
Photo: Amdadul Huq / driknews
Though Cox's Bazar is as a tourist destination, there is a great potential of developing eco-tourism here. Moreover, to conserve and preserve the tourism resources of Cox's Bazar, eco-tourism must be promoted here as soon as possible. Here the landmark eco-tourism resources are Safari Park at Ukiah, the lush green forests at Inani upto Teknaf, Egg Island drifting amidst the Naf river, St. Martin's Island and Shah Parir Dwip, Kudumb Guha, Teknaf Safari Park, etc. For keeping eco-balance here, some initiatives should be taken immediately such as guided tours inside the forests and parks, clear marking of do's and don't's at entrances, enforcement of set code of conducts, etc. At Inani, Shilkhali, Mankhali and Teknaf, the government may set up eco-resorts. One or two privately owned small eco-resorts are being operated here. But they can not maintain everything in environment friendly manner. Local community's involvement in eco-tourism development should be done by promoting their handicrafts, traditional foods, local fishes and vegetables. Here, a tripartite system including local government, private sector and the tourism department may be introduced for eco-tourism development. More and more local people can be trained up for working as small and medium eco-tourism enterprisers. Local people can be involved in beach cleaning, tree plantations and conservation of eco-system. Unplanned tourism activities must be stopped now at Cox's Bazar.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments