Three-Month Tourism Carnival to Be Held in Cox’s Bazar for the First Time

A three-month-long “Cox’s Bazar Tourism Carnival 2026” will be held for the first time at the world’s longest uninterrupted sea beach. The event will begin on November 1 and continue until January 31, 2027.
The carnival will feature various entertainment, sports, cultural and creative programmes for local and foreign tourists during both the day and night. The event aims to encourage tourists to stay longer in Cox’s Bazar and, in particular, increase the number of foreign visitors.

The information was announced at a press conference held at the Tourism Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation organised the event, where its Chairman Md Shamimuzzaman was the chief guest.

Shamimuzzaman said the international-standard carnival is being organised to present Cox’s Bazar to foreign tourists in a new and different way and increase the number of international visitors. He said the event would create new experiences in Cox’s Bazar during the holiday season, when the destination attracts large numbers of tourists.

He said the carnival will be organised by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation and managed by Spellbound Communications Limited at the expansive beachside area and adjacent jhau forest of Hotel Shaibal. The tourism sector is a major driver of Cox’s Bazar’s local economy. According to tourism-related businesses, around 6 million to 8 million tourists visit Cox’s Bazar every year. Officials of the Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry said tourism-related businesses across 17 sectors generate thousands of crores of taka in annual turnover.

During the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday in 2025, tourism businesses estimated that the sector could generate around Tk 700 crore in a week. At the time, more than 500 hotels, resorts and guesthouses in Cox’s Bazar had a combined daily capacity of over 150,000 tourists.

Local business leaders and chamber officials had earlier estimated that around 1.6 million tourists visited Cox’s Bazar during the 15-day tourism season in December 2024, generating around Tk 1,600 crore in tourism-related business. Of this, hotels, motels and other accommodation facilities generated around Tk 210 crore, while nearly 500 restaurants generated Tk 75 crore, according to tourism-related organisations.

The tourism sector also contributes significantly to government revenue. According to local hotel owners, residential hotels paid Tk 25.8 crore in revenue in the 2020-21 fiscal year, Tk 35.7 crore in 2021-22 and Tk 14.7 crore during the first four months of the following fiscal year. The restaurant sector also paid Tk 2.6 crore in revenue in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

There are currently more than 500 hotels, resorts and guesthouses in Cox’s Bazar town and along the beach. A 2026 report estimated that these accommodation facilities have a combined daily capacity of around 168,000 tourists.

There are also around 500 restaurants in Cox’s Bazar, according to tourism-related businesses. The tourism economy extends beyond hotels and restaurants to beach-based services, kitkots, transport, Burmese markets, dried fish, shell and pearl businesses, beach bikes, horse rides, photography, jet skis and various small businesses.

The chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation said Cox’s Bazar is one of Bangladesh’s major tourist destinations. Although there is significant potential to increase the number of foreign visitors alongside domestic tourists, international arrivals have not increased at the expected rate.

One of the major complaints from tourists is the lack of sufficient entertainment options after evening, despite spending the day enjoying the sea beach and its scenery. Taking this into consideration, the three-month carnival has been planned with a range of programmes running throughout the day and night.