Towards Sustainable Tourism in the CHT: Lessons from the Mro Community in Bandarban District

Authors

  • Md Sazzadul Kabir The Daily Sun, Bangladesh Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65496/jssme.2025.45

Keywords:

Mro community, CHT, Tourism, Ethnic group, Eco system

Abstract

Bangladesh is endowed with an abundance of natural tourist destinations. Hill/mountain tourism is an important feature of Bangladesh's tourism industry. CHT regions are renowned for its distinguishing traits, such as hills, forests, waterfalls, rivers, and its flora and fauna. Also, the presence of many indigenous ethnic groups with distinct cultures made the region more attractive to tourists. Bandarban is one of the CHT regions' districts with the most tourist attractions. Many visitors visit the area for hiking and travel because of its natural scenery and relaxing environment. Tourism, on the other hand, has a lot of bad effects that are often missed or ignored. For instance, environmental degradation, land encroachment, the demolition of ethnic group houses and significant spaces, and ecosystem disruption. Mro are a minority group that has lived in CHT regions for generations. They face a great deal of adversity as a result of numerous development projects and over-tourism, which also goes unnoticed. The aim of this paper is to analyze the negative effects of tourism in Mro's region. Findings of the study suggest that Mro people have been struggling to cope with recent tourism development interventions that are on the verge of destroying their homes, significant infrastructure, encroaching on their property, and disrupting their livelihood. To minimize the negative effects of tourism in the Bandarban district, a proper tourism plan focused on community participation and mitigating environmental effects is needed.

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Published

2025-09-17

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025)

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 MD SAZZADUL KABIR (Author)

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How to Cite

Kabir, M. S. (2025). Towards Sustainable Tourism in the CHT: Lessons from the Mro Community in Bandarban District. Journal of Social Science and Multidisciplinary Enquiry, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.65496/jssme.2025.45