Through producing billions of dollars, "sea tourism" can help beat Covid blues for a country that has the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans, the good old port of Chattogram, sandy beach Cox's Bazar, the stunning Teknaf peninsula, and eye-catching Saint Martin Island. 

An integrated effort to connect these popular destinations by marine terminals is all that is needed, experts say.

"In the sea tourism industry, Bangladesh has huge potential. We just need an integrated initiative to help the country generate robust economic growth," said Dr. Md Kawser Ahmed, Professor of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Dhaka. "If the Sundarbans, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Teknaf, and Saint Martin Island could be connected, we could earn billions of dollars by sea tourism."

Although sea tourism has the potential to help Bangladesh attain the 'developed country' status by 2041, according to Dr. Md Kawserer, at the same time, the government should take appropriate measures like fixing environmental taxes for travelers not just to generate income but also to protect the valuable resources of the country.

Source: The Financial Express