Tourism restrictions on Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh’s only coral island and an environmentally critical area, will be relaxed for four and a half months from Nov 1, allowing visitors to travel there until Mar 15, 2027, under specific rules.
The decisions were taken at an inter-ministerial meeting held by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Oct 12.
Sabrina Rahman, senior assistant secretary at the ministry, confirmed to bdnews24.com that final instructions for implementing the decisions were issued by the ministry’s Environment-2 branch on Oct 25.
Under the instructions, authorised tourist vessels will continue operating from Nuniyachhara jetty in Cox’s Bazar.
However, several restrictions have been imposed to protect the island’s environment and biodiversity.
The average number of tourists visiting the island must not exceed 3,500 a day.
Each visitor must also pay a Tk 100 environmental conservation fee.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the Department of Shipping will not be allowed to authorise any vessel to operate on the Saint Martin’s route without prior approval from the environment ministry.
The Department of Environment (DoE) will manage the fees collected under the Environment Conservation Rules, 2006.
All previously issued directives on environmental conservation will remain in force.
The inter-ministerial meeting on Oct 12 was chaired by Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo.
The ministries of civil aviation and tourism, and shipping, along with the Bangladesh Tourism Board, DoEt, district administration and Tourist Police, have been directed to take the necessary steps to implement the decisions.