Tourist movement to Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh’s only coral island in the Bay of Bengal, has been suspended for the next nine months starting from Sunday, following the conclusion of the annual tourism season on 31 January.
Under government regulations, the island remains open to visitors only from November through January. However, tourist arrivals this season were largely confined to December and January, as overnight stays were not permitted in November.
Hossainul Islam Bahadur, general secretary of the Sea Cruise Operator Owners Association of Bangladesh, said approximately 1,17,000 tourists visited Saint Martin during the two-month active season.
“Although the island officially opened on 1 November, the restriction on overnight stays meant there were virtually no tourists in November. The bulk of visitors arrived in December and January,” he said.
By Saturday afternoon, the tourism season had come to a complete halt. Around 3,000 people, including tourists, hotel and restaurant staff and traders, departed the island aboard six vessels and several wooden trawlers. After 4pm, more than 200 hotels, resorts, restaurants and shops shut down, leaving the island devoid of visitors.
Alamgir Hossain, 45, from Dhaka’s Moghbazar area, said he had been working at a restaurant on the island since December. “The restaurant closed today, so I am heading back to Dhaka,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday morning, a small number of tourists were seen enjoying the crystal-clear waters along the island’s western beach. Ali Akbar, 45, a resident of Baridhara in Dhaka, said he and two others arrived on 28 January aboard MV Karnaphuli.
“We walked around the entire island and took our final swim before leaving this afternoon,” he said as they boarded the return vessel.
Nur Ahmed, vice-president of the Saint Martin Island Shop Owners Association, said business activities were vibrant during the two peak months.
“Since Saturday afternoon, the island has gone completely quiet. More than 200 hotels, resorts and eateries have closed,” he noted.
Cox’s Bazar Additional District Magistrate Md Shahidul Alam said six ships left the Nuniachata jetty on the Bankkhali River early Saturday morning without any tourists on board. The vessels reached Saint Martin by early afternoon and returned to Cox’s Bazar carrying about 2,500 departing visitors.
He added that around 500 hotel employees also left the island using wooden trawlers.
To safeguard the island’s fragile ecosystem, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a 12-point directive last October, according to the Department of Environment (DoE). The guidelines mandate closure of Saint Martin from 1 February to 31 October, limit daily visitors to 2,000 during the open season, and allow overnight stays only in December and January.
The directives ban beach lighting at night, loud music, barbecues, entry into the core forest area, and the collection or sale of key forest fruits. Any harm to wildlife, including sea turtles, birds, corals, king crabs, snails and oysters, is strictly prohibited.
Motorised vehicles such as motorcycles and sea bikes are barred from the beach, while strict restrictions apply to polythene use. Single-use plastics, including chips packets, plastic cutlery, straws, toiletry sachets and small plastic bottles, are also discouraged.
Md Jamir Uddin, director of the DoE’s Cox’s Bazar office, said the impact of tighter regulations is already visible.
“Due to strict enforcement and increased awareness among visitors, the island’s environment is gradually recovering, and biodiversity is returning,” he said.
Saint Martin’s Island was declared an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999. In January 2023, the government further designated 1,743 square kilometres of the surrounding Bay of Bengal as a marine protected area under the Wildlife (Conservation and Protection) Act.
