Cox’s Bazar tourism boom exposes gaps in visitor safety

Cox’s Bazar’s growing popularity as a tourist destination is being overshadowed by a series of deadly accidents and security incidents, raising fresh questions about the safety of visitors amid weak fire protection, drowning risks and armed robberies on roads in the beach city.

At least 15 tourists have died in fires and drowning incidents over the past week while hundreds of thousands of tourists were visiting Cox’s Bazar sea beach amid the long Durga Puja vacation and weekends.

The sudden fire at a hotel, the deaths of 10 tourists in a resort fire, the drowning of five holidaymakers at Himchhari beach and reports of armed gangs robbing dozens of vehicles have intensified concerns over whether safety arrangements are keeping pace with the country’s most popular seaside destination at the beginning of the peak tourism season.

The concerns deepened on Friday after another fire broke out at The Sea Princess Hotel in Cox’s Bazar, triggering panic and a rush to escape among around 300 tourists.

The fire came less than a week after a blaze at Tuptup Resto & Resort in the Patuartek area near Inani Beach killed 10 people on 17 October. The three-storey wooden establishment was operating without a fire safety licence despite being flagged as hazardous by the Fire Service and Civil Defence in June.

The incident has also prompted widespread criticism, with many highlighting various crises and shortcomings in the district’s tourism sector.

Sharmin Jahan Tonni, a housewife from the capital’s Uttara, along with her husband and six-year-old daughter, visited Cox’s Bazar after the resort fire.

Visiting the beach for the first time, she said, “Apart from being mesmerised by the natural beauty, including sunsets over the sea, the beach and the crowds, the trip also left me feeling anxious. I was afraid that accidents could happen on the roads. I was also worried about whether a fire might break out at the hotel where I was staying, as there could be a restaurant on the ground floor.”

Hotels, resorts operating without approval

Marine Drive in Cox’s Bazar is lined with restaurants and resorts, with more under construction. The administration has no accurate count of the city’s hotels and resorts, estimated at between 500 and 600, most operating without proper approvals and fire licences.

“Some 40 to 50 resorts had been built around Marine Drive without approval. Our association has around 250 registered hotel and resort members,” Mukim Khan, general secretary of the Cox’s Bazar Marine Drive Hotel and Resort Owners Association, told the Daily Sun.

TupTup Resto & Resort, where 10 tourists, including women and children, died in a fire, lacked required approvals. The Cox’s Bazar Development Authority (CDA) had issued three notices since 2023, culminating in a final order to remove the resort, CDA Chairman Engineer Jasim Uddin said. He added that although CDA approval is mandatory for all structures, most hotels and resorts in Cox’s Bazar were built without it.

“We are preparing to conduct drives in coordination with the administration,” he added.

Fire Service officials said most of Cox’s Bazar’s over 600 hotels and resorts lacked fire licences; only around 150 had them. Inspector Shafiqul Islam said about 125 manual licences had been issued or renewed in previous years, while 23 of 53 e-licence applications had been approved. The Fire Service had issued notices to around 500 establishments.

“We urge them to obtain fire licences. Anyone running a business must ensure safety. Fires can happen, but our primary goal is to ensure that people’s lives are not put at risk and nobody dies,” he said.

“We can only raise awareness and issue warnings,” Shafiqul said, adding that they cannot conduct mobile court operations simply after issuing a notice because they don’t have their own magistrates or the authority to seal premises.

Beach safety another major concern

Poor beach safety – including untrained lifeguards, insufficient warning signs, inadequate rescue facilities, weak danger-zone monitoring and limited rescue capacity – continues to put tourists at risk of drowning. Despite major infrastructure development, the lack of designated safe swimming zones and effective safety systems remains a concern for tourism operators and other stakeholders.

Sea-Safe Lifeguard supervisor Sifat Saifullah said shifting sand and underwater channels along the 120-kilometre beach endanger tourists unaware of the risks. Despite lifeguards’ red flags and public warnings, many ignore restrictions. Locals said 25 lifeguards, 25 beach workers and 70-80 tourist police are insufficient to manage the vast beach.

Anwar Kamal, president of the Tour Operators Association of Cox’s Bazar (TOAC), said, “Safety workers try their best with their limited resources. But they lose control over the situation whenever the number of tourists increases during special occasions.”

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Robberies raise questions about security arrangements

Robbers looted passengers in two rounds at Himchhari Dhala on the Eidgaon-Eidgarh-Baishari road on Monday morning and afternoon.

Victims said eight to 12 masked, armed men blocked vehicles, held passengers hostage, and took some to a nearby forest, where they were beaten and robbed. The gang reportedly stopped around 50 auto-rickshaws and motorcycles, robbing 120–150 passengers.

Passengers alleged no police patrol was present despite the robberies continuing for hours.

Abdul Hakim, an accountant at a private organisation’s Eidgarh branch, said robbers intercepted his CNG-run auto-rickshaw while he was travelling from Eidgaon to Eidgarh with two others, held them at gunpoint and snatched Tk1.5 lakh and a bank cheque book. He said robberies were frequent on the road.

Eidgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) ATM Sifatul Mazdar said, “Several police teams were conducting raids to arrest those involved, while patrols had been intensified in the area. Two people had been detained for questioning in connection with the incident.”

Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman said district police along with tourist police were working on a regular basis to ensure the safety of travellers and locals.

Abu Morshed Chowdhury, president of Cox’s Bazar Nagorik Samaj, warned that if necessary measures are not taken for tourists’ safety, the number of holidaymakers will drop in Cox’s Bazar, creating a serious negative impression among local and international tourists.

“A series of incidents of fires, drowning and robberies has raised public concern. Alongside taking action against criminals, safety must be ensured at hotels, the beach and tourist spots and security must be strengthened at key access roads,” he said.