Labor unrest causes downturn in Gazipur’s tourism sector
Photo: Gazipur Safari Park
Protests, vandalism, blockades and arson by garment workers in Gazipur have taken a toll on the district’s tourism sector. Following five consecutive days of unrest, many tourists have canceled their advance resort bookings. Disruptions to road traffic and concerns over security have also reduced the number of visitors to tourist attractions. As a result, tourism businesses are facing financial losses. Meanwhile, employees of resorts and entertainment centers are spending idle hours due to the decline in visitors.
These developments emerged from conversations with officials responsible for various resorts and entertainment centers in Gazipur.
Dream Square, one of the country’s prominent resorts, is located in Maona Union of Sreepur. Nur Alam Siddiqui Babu, the resort’s public relations officer, said its operations had suffered a major setback due to labor unrest. Nearly 98 percent of events and programs have been canceled over concerns about road safety. These included events organized by organizations such as HSBC and UNICEF. In total, events worth around Tk 1 crore have been canceled.
Visitor numbers have also declined at Salna Tourism Resort and Picnic Spot, located beside the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway. Sohrab Hossain, the resort’s manager, said tourists traveling from distant areas had been unable to visit because of the labor unrest. Many people who had made advance bookings contacted the resort beforehand and postponed their reservations. The number of local visitors has also dropped significantly compared with previous levels.
Visitor numbers have also fallen at Gazipur Safari Park, one of the district’s largest entertainment centers. Tareq Rahman, the park’s acting officer, said the number of visitors had fallen to less than half of the usual level during the labor movement. At times, visitor numbers had dropped to almost zero. Although the situation has started to improve somewhat over the past two days, visitor numbers remain low.
Tareq Rahman said visitors come to the safari park from different parts of the country, including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Cumilla, Narsingdi, Manikganj, Savar and Sirajganj. Most of them use the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways. Concerns over traveling on these roads amid the recent labor unrest have discouraged many people from visiting the park. Visitors are now calling ahead to check whether the park is open and whether the situation has returned to normal before making travel plans.
Visitor numbers have also declined at Bhawal National Park. Ariful Islam, a ranger at the park, said the number of visitors had remained low over the past week due to unrest in the industrial area. The park usually receives a large number of visitors on Fridays and Saturdays. However, many people stayed away this time because of traffic disruptions, security concerns and fear.
Ariful Islam said industrial unrest had significantly affected Gazipur’s tourism sector. He said the atmosphere had not been conducive to visiting tourist attractions because of public fear and concerns over the situation.
Entrepreneurs in the tourism sector said this is currently the peak tourist season. If tourists remain concerned about their safety during this period, they will be reluctant to visit resorts and entertainment centers with their families. As a result, businesses in the sector could face substantial financial losses.
