Hotel booking falls drastically in Ctg, reckoning Tk1,000cr losses

The five-star Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View, usually boasting a 70% booking rate of its 241 rooms during July-August, has seen bookings drop below 20% due to the ongoing unrest centring the quota reform movement.

Over 50% of advance bookings have been cancelled by both local and foreign tourists in these 15 days.

An internet outage has further worsened the situation by halting new bookings entirely. If the unrest persists, the hotel authorities fear substantial financial losses.

Similar dire situations are reported across hotels in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, and the three hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachari.

In the past 15 days, losses have exceeded Tk1,000 crore, similar to the collapse of the hotel and tourism sector at the end of 2023 due to political unrest, industry insiders say.

According to the Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA), the number of guests in starred hotels has decreased by over 90%, and corporate events like seminars and workshops have been halted. The current crisis has led to a near-total cessation of bookings and a drastic decline in tourism activity.

Faysal Kabir, sales and marketing manager of Radisson Blu, said, "Foreigners' travel to Bangladesh has decreased due to the ongoing unrest. Garment buyers, officials of foreign projects and embassies, and travel of people from the NGO sector have been cancelled. The previous bookings have also been cancelled.

"Due to the internet blackout, our online booking was stopped. Foreign customers could not be contacted."

Chattogram's star hotel owners said the industry's losses are on par with those during the Covid-19 period. Normally, 80% to 90% of hotels are occupied during this time.

The situation in Cox's Bazar is equally grim. Md Nurul Karim, senior vice president of Cox's Bazar Hotel-Motel Owners Association, said there are more than 500 hotels in Cox's Bazar, employing several thousand workers. None of these workers have had work for the last 15 days. In the past 15 days, the financial loss has exceeded Tk1,000 crore.

"We don't see any signs of improvement in the country's situation. Therefore, hotel owners are planning to hold a sit-in protest."

Abdul Kayum Chowdhury, managing director of The Cox Today, said, "The business condition of all hotels in Cox's Bazar is dire. Hotel bookings are almost zero, with some hotels having only 5 to 6 rooms booked. Our 270-room hotel faces the same situation. It has become difficult for the hotels here to survive."

Foy's Lake Amusement Park and Resort in Chattogram city is also facing severe setbacks. The resort room bookings are nearly zero and conference schedules are cancelled.

Biswajit Ghosh, marketing manager of the amusement park, said, "The whole park is empty of tourists. In such a situation, the maintenance cost is not coming up."

In the hill districts, tourist spots are almost devoid of visitors, and hotels and motels have become nearly empty.

Shariful Alam, managing director of Hotel Shanghai International in Rangamati town, said, "There have been no bookings for the last 15 days. Running the hotel on rent has resulted in a loss of over Tk2 lakh, including employee salaries and rent. I don't know when the situation will return to normal."

Businesses involved in the tourism sector urged an urgent resolution to the ongoing unrest to prevent further financial devastation and save the livelihoods of thousands of workers.