COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — It’s not Hawaii, and it’s not St.-Tropez. But Cox’s Bazar is an up-and-coming beach resort, with lush vegetation and soaring property prices to match.
Located in southeastern Bangladesh, Cox’s Bazar is miles away — physically and metaphorically — from the long-developed beaches of Thailand or Vietnam. There is no alcohol — at least, none is openly served — and bathers splash about while fully dressed.
But a visit here brings home the fact that Bangladesh, much like its flashier neighbors, is enjoying rapid economic growth. And even though millions of Bangladeshis live in abject poverty, many others have the cash to pay for some beachside relaxation.
Most visitors to Cox’s Bazar are Bangladeshis: The country sees few foreign tourists, and business travelers mostly journey only to Dhaka, or perhaps the port city of Chittagong. Still, a visit here also shows that Bangladesh is slowly appearing on the radar screen of international investors.
To be sure, for investors to really come flocking, Bangladesh will need to get its act together on a lot of things — power cuts and traffic gridlock, for example, along with the immigration queue at the airport, which is the slowest I have ever experienced.
Still, as I report in more detail in this article, some analysts now flag Bangladesh’s potential as the “next China,” or at least the “next Indonesia.”
“The country is doing more than just keeping its head above water in terms of growth,” said Herald van der Linde, an equities analyst at HSBC in Hong Kong, who, like me, thought the country deserved a closer look, and visited recently. “Bangladesh is an open, dynamic market, with plenty of room to grow.”
Hotel companies clearly agree.
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group opened a Radisson in Dhaka in 2006. It is planning to open two more in Cox’s Bazar and another in Chittagong. Starwood, which already operates a Westin in Dhaka, is planning to add a Sheraton and a Le Méridien.
Accor of France is exploring several options for its entry into Bangladesh, including properties in Dhaka and in Chittagong.
In the town of Cox’s Bazar, the flow of Bangladeshi tourists has brought untold riches and job opportunities, and seems to have made many people happy — for the moment.
However, there also are controversies over land allotments, as reported last month in The Daily Star. And concerns about the environmental impact of development were reported in the Daily Sun earlier this month.
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