Cox's Bazar, the world longest natural sea beach

Cox's Bazar, the world longest natural sea beach enriched with miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colorful pagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes, delightful sea-food--this is Cox's Bazar, the tourist capital of Bangladesh. Having the world's longest (125-kilometers) beach sloping gently down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist sport in the country. There are also a few very old wooden Buddhist temples at Ramu, a few kilometers from Cox's Bazar, well worth visiting. Located at a distance of 152km south of Chittagong, the leading seaport of Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar is connected both by air and road from Dhaka and Chittagong. A drive to Teknaf, which is the southernmost tip of the mainland of Bangladesh, is a memorable journey. A day trip to either Moheshkhali or Sonadia, the deltaic islands nestled among the gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal, will also be really interesting. Other attractions for visitors are conch shell market, tribal handicraft, salt and prawn cultivation. Besides, the longest sea-beach, Cox's Bazar and its adjoin areas have a lot of things to see and places deserve visit by the tourists.

Cox's Bazar, the world longest natural sea beach

Cox's Bazar, the world longest natural sea beach enriched with miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colorful pagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes, delightful sea-food--this is Cox's Bazar, the tourist capital of Bangladesh. Having the world's longest (125-kilometers) beach sloping gently down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist sport in the country. There are also a few very old wooden Buddhist temples at Ramu, a few kilometers from Cox's Bazar, well worth visiting. Located at a distance of 152km south of Chittagong, the leading seaport of Bangladesh, Cox's Bazar is connected both by air and road from Dhaka and Chittagong. A drive to Teknaf, which is the southernmost tip of the mainland of Bangladesh, is a memorable journey. A day trip to either Moheshkhali or Sonadia, the deltaic islands nestled among the gentle waves of the Bay of Bengal, will also be really interesting. Other attractions for visitors are conch shell market, tribal handicraft, salt and prawn cultivation. Besides, the longest sea-beach, Cox's Bazar and its adjoin areas have a lot of things to see and places deserve visit by the tourists.

Promoting Cox’s Bazar as the Longest Unbroken Sea Beach

Promoting something in the age of globalization may be thought as a common phenomenon. Almost nothing goes without promotion around us. Still, one would wonder why to promote something like a sea beach, a unique ecological resource of the world. A spot of beauty and health like Cox’s Bazar may not need be promoted. But, such a resource and place of attraction as well need be promoted. People across the world now a days have lot to do throughout their working hours. Time constraint and workload have narrowed the scope of men to learn. But the thirst to explore and learn is very much alive. Their needs keep them busy, their demands get fulfilled by quick marketers, their thirst for knowledge is quenched by the materials at their reach. Yes, a mutual exchange of the demand and the means to satisfy them have come at terms with each other. We go for satisfying our needs but there are agents to reach us as well. Therefore, in the same age when channels are there to go to and to reach the market vice versa one need to think twice before deciding the way one would a century before.


Promoting a cause in the twenty first century is not the same as it used to mean a century before when it would have to deal with patriotism, ethical viewpoints, emotional enthusiasm and uplifting the sense of pride as such. In an era of marketing and globalization it tends to encompass the issues of business, economics, human welfare and going for a sustainable development. And all these uphold a national standard at the top. If we consider one or two unique features that our land has and which are famous around the world as places of natural wonder are the Sundarbans and the longest unbroken Sea beach in the world Cox’s Bazar. But, in the era of business and promotion we need to highlight our natural resources in order to bring businesses for our country. Tourism is such a field where Bangladesh as a naturally beautiful country has a lot to explore its prospects.


All the countries of the world now a days are going for massive promotional activities in various media and in diverse ways. These countries have realized the need to join in the trend of globalization. They have a positive attitude toward taking the challenge of getting along the world community while it is moving toward a global village, they have also realized that being globally viable only means becoming locally / nationally stable and well off. It only upholds the pride of a nation. In an era of business and communication the fronts that the countries have to win on are the economic viability, promoting national causes by attracting the attention of the global community toward the resources of its own and above all sustainable development.

Some considerations to Promote Cox’s Bazar

Cox’s Bazar as a cause and product should be taken with due importance. Enterprises from both the government and the private sector are very much needed in this regard. Professional attitude toward the cause can make it a success. But, before anything is done a line of thought and a course of action should be chalked out. Experts and professionals including teachers, consultants and tourism businessmen may be involved in the process. welcoming all the advices may be very useful in this regard.


Following points in this regard may be considered:

1. Using media: introducing the media personnel from the print and electronic media. The National Tourism Board (BPC) should engage itself to invite personnel from print media to highlight the grandeur of the destination as a natural wonder.

Government should advertise in the widely circulated international magazines including the famous tour magazines with glossy illustrations. The aesthetic view should never be lost sight of.


2. The prospects of electronic media should be explored. The international entertainment and news channels should be used for mass advertisement along with lucrative rhetoric. Slogans may be developed for the purpose.


3. The Tourism Board can arrange programs in popular satellite channels at attractive TV slots to highlight the beauty and grandeur of the sea beach. The programs should be furnished with attractive videos exhibiting mastery in the aesthetic sense of colour, tones and sound. As they have made in Vienna. We have seen quality documentaries of Ronald Halder and A. Masud Choudhury Pitu here.


4.The Tourism Board along with the airlines can jointly work for this. Private sector can be involved with the effort and their involvement can be treated as an observance of corporate social responsibility.


5. The front desks of the airliners may have posters, booklets and souvenirs exhibiting the beauty and other aspects of the sea beach.

6. The diplomatic missions of Bangladesh may go for arranging seminars, shows etc to promote the cause.


7. Non Resident Bangladeshis may be involved in the process of promotion.


8. The airlines should develop seasonal packages for the tourists to attract them to have trip to the sea beach. Frequent flyers may be given bonuses or discounts.


9. The airliners can jointly work with the tour operators to arrange tourism fairs abroad in order to develop markets.


10. Celebrities may be involved to work as ambassadors to promote the cause.


11. All the agencies involved in the tourism sector should go for publishing in the web. Portals of different brands as G – mail, Yahoo!, Hotmail can be used for advertisement. The front pages of the search engines can be hot spaces for advertisements. Sharing features social networking medias as Facebook, Orkut, Myspace, Hi – 5 may be used to induce world community to know and get interested to the destination. This practice is seen in the international web dailies as The New York Times, The Guardian, International Herlad Tribune. Facilities of mailing should be incorporated with the sharing features in the web.


12. Videos can be uploaded in e – snips and YouTube.


13. The promoting airliners, tour operators and the travel agencies may be given subsidies under a well chalked out definition.


14. The stakeholders involved in the tourism sector should include renowned experts.


15. International competitions regarding the beach may be introduced with lucrative prizes as has been done in the case of the Great Barrier Reef.


16. Walking and other sports centering the beach may be arranged. An international walking event may be arranged yearly and named: Walk In The Longest Unbroken Beach.

A marathon may be introduced named: The Cox’s Bazar Marathon. Special emphasis may be put including developing packages for internationally acclaimed walking competitors.

Other sports tournaments as beach volleyball, beach cricket, beach racing by motor bikes, surfing which would be broadcast in international media.


17. Artists from home and abroad may be invited to make sand sculptures in the beach.


18.UNICEF may be convinced to declare a day to observe The Sea Beach Day. On the eve of this day mass awareness may be created among the population of the world so that they realize the value of preservation of the sea beaches. By highlighting the Cox’s Bazar the cleanliest and the longest beach to explore we can promote the cause. Programs as Cleaning The Longest Sea Beach may be arranged involving celebrities who are UN Ambassadors.


19.The National Tourism Board may announcing lucrative prizes for tourists, photographers, documentary makers who can highlight Cox’s Bazar as the longest unbroken beach.


20. Entertainment facilities including barbecue, casino, motorized and non motorized vehicle drives around the beach areas, skilled tourist guides may be developed and utilized to make positive impression in the incoming tourists so that these tourists themselves promote Cox’s Bazar as an attractive destination.


21. The sea beach needs to be highlighted as a secure destination in terms of availability of law enforcing agencies. The government should take necessary steps to ensure security for the tourists.

History

The greater Chittagong area including Cox's Bazar was under the rule of Arakan Kings from the early 9th century till its conquest by the Mughals in 1666 AD. When the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja was passing through the hilly terrain of the present day Cox’s Bazar on his way to Arakan, he was attracted to the scenic and captivating beauty of the place. He commanded his forces to camp there. His retinue of one thousand palanquins stopped there for some time. A place named Dulahazara, meaning "one thousand palanquins", still exists in the area. After the Mughals, the place came under the control of the Tipras and the Arakanese, followed by the Portuguese and then the British.

The name Cox's Bazar/Bazaar originated from the name of a British East India Company officer, Captain Hiram Cox who was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (today's Cox's Bazar) outpost after Warren Hastings became the Governor of Bengal following the British East IndiaCompany Act in 1773. Captain Cox was especially mobilized to deal with a century long conflict between Arakan refugees & local Rakhains at Palonki. The Captain made significant progress in rehabilitation of refugees in the area, but had died (in 1799) before he could finish his work. To commemorate his role in rehabilitation works a market / bazaar was established and was named after him as Cox's Bazaar (market of Cox). Cox's Bazar thana was first established in 1854 and a municipality was constituted in 1869.

After the Sepoy Mutiny (Indian Rebellion of 1857) in 1857, the British East India Company was highly criticized & questioned in humanitarian ground specially for its Opium trade monopoly over the Indian Sub-Continent. However after getting dissolved on January 1, 1874, all of company's assets including its Armed Forces were acquired by the British Crown. After this historic take over, Cox's Bazar was declared as a district of the Bengal Province under the British Crown.

After the end of British rule in 1947, Cox's Bazar remained as a part of East Pakistan. Captain Advocate Fazlul Karim, the first Chairman (after independence from the British) of Cox's Bazar Municipality established the Tamarisk Forest along the beach to draw tourist attention in this town and also to protect the beach from tidal waves. He also donated many of his father in law’s and his own lands for establishing a Public Library and a Town Hall for the town. He was inspired to build Cox's Bazar as a tourist spot after seeing beaches of Bombay and Karachi, and one of the pioneers in developing Cox's Bazar as such. He founded a Maternity Hospital, the Stadium and the drainage system by procuring grants from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation through correspondence. Mr. T. H. Matthews, the principal of the Dacca Engineering College (1949-1954) was his friend who had helped him in doing this. Engineer Chandi Charan Das was the government civil engineer who had worked on all these projects. In 1959 the municipality was turned into a town committee. In 1961 the erstwhile Geological Survey of Pakistan initiated investigation of radioactive minerals like monazite around the Cox’s bazar sea-beach area and a number of precious heavy minerals were identified the same year.

Submarine Cable Landing Station

In 1971, Cox's bazar wharf was used as a naval port by the Pakistan Navy's gunboats. This and the nearby airstrip of the Pakistan Air Force was the scene of intense shelling by the Indian Navy during Bangladesh Liberation War. During the war, Pakistani soldiers killed many people in the town including eminent lawyer Jnanendralal Chowdhury. The killing of two freedom fighters named Farhad and Subhash at Badar Mokam area is also recorded in history.

After the independence of Bangladesh Cox's Bazar started to get the administrative attention. In 1972 the town committee of Cox's Bazar was again turned into a municipality. In 1975, The Government of Bangladesh established a pilot plant at Kalatali, Cox's Bazar to assess the commercial viability of the heavy mineral content in the placer deposits of the area with the cooperation of the Australian Government. Later, in 1984 Cox's Bazar subdivision was promoted to a district and 5 years later (in 1989) the Cox's Bazar municipality was elevated to B-grade. In 1994 (jobs) the Marine Fisheries and Technology Station (MFTS) was established at Cox's Bazar. MFTS is a research station of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) headquartered in Mymensingh. The station covers a land area of 4 hactor and is equipped with 5 specialized laboratories, and one indoor and one outdoor cistern complex. In April 2007 Bangladesh got connected to the submarine cable network as a member of the SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium, as Cox's Bazar was selected as the landing station of the submarine cable.

Geography and climate

Cox's Bazar town with an area of 6.85 km², is located at 21°35′0″N 92°01′0″E / 21.58333°N 92.01667°E / 21.58333; 92.01667 and bounded by Bakkhali River on the north and East, Bay of Bengal in the West, and Jhilwanj Union in the south.

The climate of Bangladesh is mostly determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, often-excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. The reversal of the wind circulation between summer and winter is another important feature of the climate of the country.[12] The climate of Cox's bazar is mostly similar to the rest of the country. It is further characterized by the location in the coastal area. The annual average temperature in Cox's Bazar remains at about a maximum of 34.8 °C and a minimum of 16.1 °C. The average amount of rainfall remains at 4,285 mm.

Economy and development

As a most beautiful and famous tourist spot of Bangladesh, the major source of economy of Cox's Bazar is tourism. Millions of foreigners and Bangladeshi natives visit this coastal city every year. Therefore, a number of hotel, guesthouse, and motel have been built in the city and coastal region. Many people are involved in these hospitality and customer service type business. A number of people are also involved in fishing and collecting seafood and sea products for their livelihood. Out of several sea products various kinds of Oyster, Snail, Pearl and their ornaments are very popular to tourists in the seaside and city stores. A number of people are also involved in the transportation business for tourists. Cox's Bazar is also one of the few major spots for aquaculture in Bangladesh. Along with Khulna, it is considered as a major source of foreign exchange earning of the country from this sector. Besides, a mix of small-scale agriculture, marine and inland fishing and salt production are other industrial sources from this region that plays important role in the national economy.

Risks and Hazards

The coastal areas of Cox's Bazar are prone to devastating cyclones and landslides on a yearly basis. The areas near the Cox’s Bazar town are located directly in the high-risk area for surge water heights above 1 meter as well as landslides. There was a 70% casualty rate near the town area during the 1991 cyclone. Another hazard of the Cox's Bazar area is the high natural background radiation, which has been found to be above global average. There have been reported incidents of human casualty due to actions of wild elephants in the locality. The threat of mosquito borne diseases like Malaria also may be higher in the area. However, all these hazards mainly affect long term residents of the area and visiting tourists should be able to guard against these risks with appropriate precautions.

Tourists and accommodation

Cox's Bazar, arguably the best tourist spot in Bangladesh, is visited by a large number of tourist from Britain, America, Korea, Japan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and many more countries each year. Though there is no specific record in Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation (BPC) on how many people usually visit Cox's Bazar each year but an AFP report says that during the winter 10,000 available rooms in the beach area hotels usually remain occupied almost seven days a week. Accommodation near the beach varies from an expensive range to a reasonable price. Many private hotels, BPC Motels and two Five Star hotels are located near the beach.

Places of interest along the beach

Cox’s Bazar, mostly famous for its beautiful sea beach and the sunset, has several other attractions, including:

Himchari: It is about 32 km. South of Cox's Bazar along the beach, a nice place for picnic and shooting. The famous "Broken Hills" and waterfalls here are rare sights.

Laboni Beach: This is the main beach of Cox's Bazar and is considered the main beach due to the fact that it is closest to the town. Close to the beach, there are hundreds of small shops selling souvenirs and beach accessories to the tourists.

Himchari: Located about 18 km south of Cox’s Bazar along the sea beach, is a nice place for the picnic and film shooting. This picnic spot is famous for its waterfalls. The road to Himchari runs by the open sea on one side and hills on the other which makes the journey to Himchari very attractive. Its another attraction is the Christmas tree.

Enani Beach: Located 35 km south of Cox’s Bazar, this white sandy beach is located within Ukhia Thana. This beach is famous for its golden sand and clean shark free water which is ideal for sea bathing. Most tourists prefer to come down here for relaxing because it is free from the crowd of tourists that is usually seen at the Laboni beach.

Mineral content in beach sand

The sand at Cox's Bazar beach and surrounding areas is rich in heavy-metal mineral content. The heavy minerals of Cox's Bazar beach sands are dominated by hornblende, garnet, epidote, ilmenites (both unaltered and altered) with magnetite, rutile, pyrite and some hydroxides. Cox's Bazar beach alone is believed to have a deposit of 5.119 Mt of minerals, while nearby Enani beach is expected to have another deposit of 0.729 Mt. of minerals. Surrounding islands of Maheshkhali, Kutubdia and Nijhum Deep as well as mainland beach in Teknaf area are also believed to have similar large deposits. The total deposit in these locations is about 20.5 million tons of raw sand, which contains 4.4 million tons of heavy minerals.

Other tourist attractions near Cox's Bazar

Maheshkhali is a small island (268 square kilometres) off the Cox’s Bazar coast. The island offers panoramic scenic beauty and is covered by a range of low hills, about 300 feet (91 m) high, streatches through the center of the island and along its eastern coastline. The coasts of the island on the west and north form a low-lying tract that is fringed by the mangrove forests. Adinath Temple, a temple of Shiva, and a Buddhist pagoda are also located on this island.

Sonadia Island, a small crescent shaped island of only 9 square kilometers, it is 7-km north-west of Cox's Bazar. The western side of the island is sandy and different kinds of shells are found on the beach. Off the northern part of the island, there are beds of window pane oysters. During winter, fisherman set up temporary camps on the island and dry their catches of sea fish. Sonadia Island supports the last remaining part of mangrove forest in southeast Bangladesh. Sonadia's mangroves are distinct from the well-known sunderbans, due to their development in a coastal lagoon setting rather than in a delta. Another attraction of this island is the sight of game birds migrating here in great numbers during the winter seasons.

Teknaf, a place situated by the side of Naf river is the southernmost part of mainland Bangladesh. This also marks the end point of Cox's Bazar beach. Tourists usually come here to have a river cruise along beautiful Naf river, which flows between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

St. Martin's Island, a small island in the northeast part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula. It is the only coral island in Bangladesh. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar at the mouth of the Naf River. The local name of the island is "Narical Gingira", also spelled "Narikel Janjina/Jinjera", translated from Bangla, meaning 'Coconut Island'. St. Martin's Island has become a popular tourist spot. Three shipping liners run daily trips to the island. They are Kutubdia, Sea-Truck and Keary-Sindbad. Tourists can book their trip either from Chittagong or from Cox's Bazar. The surrounding coral reef of the island has an extension named Chera Dwip. The island is home to several endagered species of turtles, as well as the corals, some of which are found only on this island.

Chakaria: One of most large area in Cox's Bazar.

Bandarban: Bandarban lies three hours away from Cox's Bazaar by bus. The Buddha Dhatu Jadi, the largest Buddhist temple in Bangladesh, located in Balaghata, 4 km from the town, is an excellent place to visit. This Theravada Buddhist temple is made completely in the style of South-East Asia and houses the second largest statue of Buddha in Bangladesh. The waterfall named Shoilo Propat at Milanchari is also an excellent site. In addition, the numerous Buddhist temples, known as kyang in local tongue, and vihars in the town include the highly notable the Rajvihar (royal vihar) at Jadipara and the Ujanipara Vihar. Bawm villages around Chimbuk, and Mru villages a little further off, are also lies within a day's journey from the town. Prantik Lake, Jibannagar and Kyachlong Lake are some more places of interest. And, a boat ride on the river Sangu is also an excellent proposition.

Rangamati: One can reach Rangamati from Cox's Bazar either via Chittagong or Bandarban. Rangamati offers several attractions including local tribal museum, Buddhist temple, tribal markets, hanging bridge and even the palace of traibal kings. The major attraction of the district is Kaptai Lake. It is a man-made lake in the Kaptai upazila of Rangamati District. The lake was created as a result of building the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli River, as part of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric project. The beautiful view of surrounding green hills has turned the lake into a wonderful spot for boating and cruising.