Kamrul Hasan: The government has undertaken plans to establish specialized health centers for tourists in sea beach areas in a bid to make the country’s tourism industry safer, more modern, and internationally competitive.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism considers this initiative highly significant, particularly to ensure emergency medical care and rescue services for tourists at the world’s longest sea beach in Cox’s Bazar and the promising tourism region of Patuakhali.

These remarks were made by Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroz Khanam, MP, during a discussion meeting held on Thursday morning at the conference room of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism with the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), which operates the SeaSafe lifeguard service in Cox’s Bazar, and the UK-based donor organization Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

The minister said the present government views the tourism sector not merely as a recreation-based industry, but as one of the most promising sectors for economic growth, employment generation, and foreign currency earnings. For this reason, special emphasis is being placed on improving safety measures and public service infrastructure at tourist destinations.

She stated, “Every year, a large number of local and foreign tourists visit the sea beaches. However, in many cases, the lack of adequate healthcare and rescue facilities leaves room for accident risks. Therefore, revising the existing policies to ensure the safety of tourists’ lives has become extremely important.”

The minister further announced that initiatives will be taken to establish modern health centers for tourists at the sea beaches of Cox’s Bazar and Patuakhali. To this end, the Deputy Commissioners of Cox’s Bazar and Patuakhali have been instructed to send the necessary proposals to the ministry as quickly as possible.

The meeting also discussed increasing the number of Tourist Police personnel to strengthen tourism security. At the same time, importance was placed on increasing the number of lifeguards and enhancing their training and technological capabilities.

The minister said, “To make the lifeguard service more effective and sustainable, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds will initially be collected. At the same time, the government will work on developing permanent infrastructure considering future needs.”

Analysts believe that the current government’s initiative will add a new dimension to safety management in the country’s tourism industry.
Safe sea beaches, emergency healthcare services, and rapid rescue systems are extremely important for attracting international tourists. As many popular sea beach destinations around the world operate integrated lifeguard, medical support, and tourism security systems, Bangladesh is gradually moving toward adopting a similar model.

Among those present at the meeting were State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M. Rashiduzzaman Millat, MP, Secretary of the Ministry Fahmida Akhtar (NDC), the Chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, and senior officials from the ministry, CIPRB, and RNLI.

It is noteworthy that with financial support from the UK-based donor organization Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) has been operating lifeguard services at Cox’s Bazar sea beach since 2012. For more than a decade, the organization has been playing a significant role in preventing accidents and saving lives at the beach.