Hotels, resorts, leisure parks see Eid holiday boom

Bangladesh's tourism and leisure industry has reported a significant increase in business during the extended Eid al-Adha holiday, with hotels, resorts, amusement parks and tourist attractions benefiting from a surge in domestic travel.

This year's Eid al-Adha was accompanied by a seven-day government holiday, while many educational institutions remain closed until the end of the week, encouraging families to take extended vacations across the country.

Industry experts said most major tourism destinations received strong advance bookings ahead of Eid, while many hotels and resorts continued to receive reservations even after the holiday began. As a result, tourism-related businesses expect high occupancy levels and visitor numbers to continue through the remainder of the week.

Tourism operators said the sector has been recovering gradually after facing challenges in recent years due to economic pressures that affected household spending on travel and recreation.

"Visitor response during both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha has been encouraging, indicating a gradual recovery in domestic tourism demand," said a tourism industry representative.

Strong turnout at amusement parks

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the holiday season was Fantasy Kingdom, a popular theme park in Ashulia on the outskirts of Dhaka, which recorded a sharp rise in visitor numbers.

The park, operated by Concord Entertainment, offered a range of promotional packages during Eid, with ticket prices ranging from Tk 500 to Tk 2,000 alongside several family and group packages.

According to the company, visitor numbers during this year's Eid al-Adha holiday were around 10% higher than during the corresponding holiday last year.

Fantasy Kingdom, which has a daily capacity of around 7,000 visitors, hosted between 5,000 and 6,000 guests per day during the Eid break.
Meanwhile, Foy's Lake, another Concord-operated leisure destination in Chattogram, attracted between 7,000 and 8,000 visitors daily throughout the holiday period.

Anup Kumar Sarkar, Chief Marketing Officer of Concord Entertainment, said the company had experienced a substantial increase in visitors.
"There was significant demand during the Eid holidays, and we worked to maintain service quality despite the increased number of guests," he said.

Not all leisure facilities experienced the same level of success, however Nandan Park, another popular amusement park in Ashulia, reported lower-than-expected attendance despite extensive preparations for the holiday season. Although the park can accommodate more than 10,000 visitors daily, attendance remained around 2,000 visitors per day during the Eid break, according to officials.

Zoo attracts huge crowds

The National Zoo in Dhaka also emerged as one of the most popular destinations during the holiday period.
Zoo authorities said daily visitor numbers exceeded 100,000 throughout the Eid holidays, generating more than Tk5 million in ticket sales each day.

A major attraction for visitors this year was the viral albino buffalo in social media, popularly nicknamed "Donald Trump", which drew considerable public interest.

Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Talukder, Director of the National Zoo, said attendance had remained exceptionally strong since the beginning of the holiday period.

Resorts report high occupancy

Luxury resorts and holiday retreats across Cox's Bazar, Gazipur and the Sylhet region also reported strong business performance.
Sohag Palli Resort in Gazipur said it had been operating at full occupancy since the day after Eid and expects bookings to remain full until at least Saturday.

"We have maintained full occupancy throughout the holiday period and expect the trend to continue for several more days," said Masud Alam, Manager of Sohag Palli Resort.

In the country's north-eastern tourism belt, several high-end resorts also reported robust demand.
DuSai Resort & Spa in Moulvibazar, one of Bangladesh's leading luxury resorts, reported occupancy exceeding 80 per cent through the end of the week, according to a resort official.

The Palace Luxury Resort in Bahubal, Habiganj, which offers accommodation packages ranging from Tk24,000 to Tk120,000, also reported strong demand.

A senior official at the resort said management was optimistic about matching or exceeding last year's Eid business performance.

Tourism sector's gradual recovery

Industry stakeholders said tourist arrivals remained strong in several major destinations, including Cox's Bazar, the Sundarbans and Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Although some destinations reported visitor numbers below expectations, overall tourism activity during the Eid holiday period remained positive, providing a welcome boost to businesses across the hospitality, transport and entertainment sectors.

Tourism operators believe the strong holiday performance reflects growing consumer confidence and a gradual recovery in domestic travel demand, helping support thousands of jobs and businesses linked to Bangladesh's tourism economy.