What Bangladesh Can Learn from Sri Lanka about Clean Tourism!

I had a chance to visit Cox’s Bazar in October 2026 as part of an international research team. The members were from Australia, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. I felt deeply embarrassed when I took the visiting team to Cox’s Bazar beach for recreation. What we witnessed was alarming. Plastic bottles, polythene bags, disposable cups and other waste were scattered across many parts of the beach. This was not just an issue of poor cleanliness; it reflected a serious failure of environmental awareness and management. 

What surprised me most was that nearly half the passengers on the flight were local and international environmental professionals and activists working to protect Cox’s Bazar. If so many people and organisations are involved, why is the situation worsening? Are our efforts reaching the ground, or failing to turn awareness into action? Later that month, our project team travelled to Sri Lanka and visited Mirissa, a popular coastal destination. It was very different: cleaner roads and beaches, well-maintained public spaces, conveniently placed large trash bins, and a more orderly approach to cleanliness. The experience has prompted me to reflect on how Sri Lanka can sustain its tourist areas. Why aren't we able to develop a comparable infrastructure in Bangladesh?

Sri Lanka has long faced marine litter and plastic pollution, but has taken strong action in recent years. It joined the UN Environment Programme's Clean Seas Campaign in 2017. On 21 September 2018, the Marine Environment Protection Authority launched a Beach Caretaker Programme at Dadalla Beach in the Galle District. It pays local residents to clean and maintain designated beach areas and encourages businesses to support cleanups and environmental protection. Sri Lanka has sustained this effort for years. In February 2025, the government launched an island-wide beach-cleaning programme under its "Clean Sri Lanka" project, linking environmental protection with tourism growth. These examples show that change is a process, not a single campaign or awareness programme. It requires policies, institutions, resources, people and ongoing monitoring.

A 50-foot sculpture made from about five tons of waste plastic was recently erected at Sugandha Point and Seagull Point in Cox's Bazar by Bidyanondo Foundation and the district administration. The project creatively highlights the dangers of plastic pollution, but what happens to tourists’ bottles and food wrappers? Without a nearby bin, the sculpture risks becoming just a photo opportunity. 

 Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

What stood out during our trip to Mirissa was the convenient placement of large garbage bins. Travellers can’t carry waste for long, so bins should be available before they resort to littering. Bangladesh’s government should install large bins throughout Cox’s Bazar Beach, along tourist roads, and near markets, restaurants, and hotels, and empty them regularly. Staff should work scheduled hours, and collection trucks should run daily, especially on weekends and holidays, to recover recyclable materials. 

Sri Lanka’s Beach Caretaker Programme offers a model for coastal management: residents maintain designated sections of coastline. Bangladesh could adopt a similar scheme, funded through partnerships among local governments, tourism authorities and businesses. Employing local caretakers would also create jobs in coastal communities. Clear rules are also needed: visitors must not litter beaches or roads, and businesses must keep waste out of public areas and drains. Environmental violations should incur appropriate penalties, but enforcement alone is insufficient. Authorities must first provide residents with adequate waste-disposal options. Rules, facilities, and enforcement must work together.

Dadalla Beach, Sri Lanka

For instance, Colombo is a good example to look at. Colombo, a densely populated commercial and port city, faces heavy traffic, pressure on public services, and challenges managing residents’ waste. Sri Lanka’s efforts to clean its streets and protect the environment may offer Bangladesh useful lessons for improving its larger cities and tourist destinations. Bangladesh doesn’t lack awareness: NGOs and volunteers have organised beach clean-ups, seminars and environmental programmes, contributing significantly to coastal protection. Though commendable, temporary campaigns cannot replace sustained public services. We need a clear Clean Tourism Policy and effective waste management in every tourist area. 

We need to measure our progress toward this goal by evaluating our impact. Is there an increase in the number of operational trash bins? What percentage of the plastics that we collect can be recycled? Are beach cleanups becoming more frequent? Are our streets and public areas cleaner than before? These indicators matter more than counting campaigns or awareness events. My October trip from Cox's Bazar to Mirissa taught me that simply telling people to keep tourist spots clean isn’t enough. Cleanliness requires a system that holds everyone accountable for their own mess.

The Plastic Monster serves as a stark warning about the harm done by plastic pollution. However, the true measure of its success will be determined by what occurs daily around it. The sea doesn't need to be reminded of what we've done wrong by installing yet another sculpture. What it needs is a system that will prevent us from making the same errors every day.
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The writer is a Research Fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD) and PHD Fellow of BOBP-IGO, Chennai, India. She can be reached at [email protected]