St. Martin's opens November 1, overnight stays allowed
Collected Photo
St. Martin's, the country's lone coral island which is now environmentally vulnerable, will open to tourists from November 1.
This will continue until March 15, 2027. During this period, an average of a maximum of 3,500 tourists will be able to travel to and from the island, daily.
Each tourist will have to pay a 100-taka environmental conservation fee. However, the authorities concerned will not be able to permit any vessel to operate to the island without the approval of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
These decisions were conveyed in a memo from the Environment-2 Branch of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Sunday, instructing the relevant departments to implement them.
The memo, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Sabrina Rahman, said that tourists will be able to travel to St. Martin's from November 1 until March 15. Approved tourist ships will continue to operate from Nuniarchhara Ghat. The number of tourists must not exceed an average of 3,500 per day.
To protect the island's environment, a fee of 100 taka will be collected from each tourist. The Department of Environment has been asked to take necessary measures in this regard under Rule 26 of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) Management Rules.
In addition, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and the Department of Shipping will not be able to permit vessel movement to St. Martin's without the approval of the Ministry of Environment. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, the Ministry of Shipping, the Department of Environment, the Cox's Bazar District Administration, the Bangladesh Tourism Board, the Superintendent of Police, and Tourist Police have been instructed to take necessary measures for conducting tourism activities.
The ministry's letter further said that all directives of the notification regarding St. Martin's issued on October 22, 2025, will remain in force.
For a long time, the issue of maintaining a balance between tourism activities and the conservation of the island's biodiversity has been under discussion. The new decision sets the tourist entry period and daily number, alongside maintaining an environmental conservation fee and a mandatory approval requirement for vessel movement.
