The Sundarbans, the world’s largest natural mangrove forest, braces for footfalls of greater number of visitors owing to the newly opened Padma Bridge that has brought the famed tourist destination in the south-western region closer to the rest of the country. Travel to the region will be smooth and fast, according to tour operators and forest officials. The forest department is already gearing up to welcome the rush of tourists by opening four new ecotourism centers close to the forest, which is shared by Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. Read: Special cattle train on C'ganj-Dhaka route ahead of Eid Tourists will now have direct road access to the forest and its adjoining areas  Mongla in Bagerhat. Md Belayet Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO-east) of the Sundarbans said, “The new tourism centres will be built at Andharmanik in Chandpai range, Ali Banda in Sarankhola range, Sheikher Tek at Satkhira range and Kalabogi under the Sundarban Ecotourism Project at the cost of Tk 25 crore. The four new ecotourism centres will be added to the existing seven at Koromjol Herbaria, Kotka , Kochikhali, Dubla of Chandpai range on the eastern part and Hiran point  and Kalagachia of west division.” In these centres, gazebos, foot trailers, public toilets, watch towers and walkways will be built for tourists, he added.

Tourism-based business in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, are bracing for losses after the authorities moved to boost revenue by making visit to the region more expensive. The government has recently launched steps to increase the revenue income from tourists in Sundarbans. This is being done by doubling the tour-related tariffs and taxes imposed on visitors to attractive tourist destination in the Bay of Bengal. The higher visiting cost is driving many tourists away, according to tour operators. The operators are trying to recover some of its losses caused by Covid-19 but the increased taxes may push the tourism business to uncertainty. Hit hard by the Covid pandemic the fishermen, wood-collectors and honey collectors in the Sundarbans are also facing losses as the forest authorities have steeply raised the target of revenue collection from them.  

The government will launch a pilot project in December next, aiming to bring tourism management in the Sundarbans under automation with a smart app. Using the app, ‘Sundarbans’, one can get all the travel formalities done sitting at home. This will not only save the time of travellers but also ensure hassle-free booking process and make things easier for the forest department to provide better services to tourists. According to the Forest Department, this automation programme on Sundarbans travel management is being implemented under the Skill Development Project of Mobile Games and Applications by the Department of Information and Communication Technology. Read: Sundarbans set to reopen for tourists on Sep 1 - Mihir Kumar Dey, the forest conservator of Khulna region, said, “The Sundarbans tourism management is being automated as part of building a Digital Bangladesh. It’s being implemented under the A2I programme of the Prime Minister's Office.”

The Sundarbans, a Unesco World Heritage Site, reopened its door to tourists on Sunday after a seven-month closure because of the ongoing pandemic.

Hit hard by coronavirus fallouts, tourism-based businesses in the Sundarbans are eagerly waiting for reopening of tourism in the world's largest mangrove forest for their survival as they suffered huge losses over the past five months.