Power cuts hit Cox’s Bazar hotels, tourism
A power transformer failure in Cox’s Bazar caused 8–10 hours of daily load-shedding
ATT Correspondent 
Acute power outage in Cox's Bazar, forced around 30,000 tourists to cancel bookings or cut short their holidays during the Eid vacation period, dealing a major blow to the local tourism industry.
The disruption began on Eid day after a power transformer at the Kolatoli substation malfunctioned, triggering daily load-shedding of between eight and 10 hours across the resort town.
Tourism operators say the crisis has severely affected hotel services at a time when visitor numbers traditionally surge during the Eid holidays.
More than 500 hotels, motels, guesthouses, cottages and resorts in the Kolatoli hotel zone offer accommodation for nearly 186,000 tourists. However, frequent electricity disruptions have forced most establishments to rely heavily on generators, significantly increasing operating costs while reducing service quality.
Mukim Khan, general secretary of the Cox's Bazar Hotel and Resort Owners Association, said the ongoing power crisis has caused widespread dissatisfaction among visitors.
“Hotels and resorts have been experiencing eight to 10 hours of load-shedding daily. Despite running generators, it has become difficult to provide satisfactory services to guests. Around 30,000 tourists have cancelled bookings over the past week, while many others have left earlier than planned," he said.
Tourists have also reported considerable inconvenience due to the outages.
Mohammad Ibrahim, who travelled from Narayanganj with his family, said several members of his family became trapped inside a hotel lift following a sudden power failure and had to wait around 20 minutes before being rescued.
“Such disruptions are disappointing at an international-standard tourist destination. We never expected to face this situation in Cox's Bazar,” he said.
Another visitor, Abdus Samad from Dhaka, said tourists were unable to properly use air-conditioning or even electric fans after returning to hotels from outdoor activities.
The financial burden on hotel operators has also increased sharply.
