Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation will hold a three-month tourism carnival in Cox's Bazar for the first time, from 1 November to 31 January 2027.

The "Cox's Bazar Tourism Carnival 2026" will be held on the premises of Hotel Shaibal, set against the beach and a pine grove. Spellbound Communications Limited will run the event.

Parjatan Corporation Chairman Md Samimuzzaman announced the plan at a media briefing at Paryatan Bhaban in Agargaon today.

The corporation said Cox's Bazar is the country's main tourist destination and has seen a rise in domestic visitors throughout the year in recent years. The number of foreign tourists, however, has not grown much.

Many domestic and foreign tourists have complained that there is little to do in Cox's Bazar after enjoying the sea and have asked for evening entertainment. The carnival has been planned with these concerns in mind, the corporation said.

The carnival will have day and night programmes, including:

A food zone with local and international dishes, live food stalls, barbecue, an ice cream parlor, and a juice corner.

A market zone and craft village selling clothing, jewellery, pottery, and handicrafts made by local artisans.

A wellness zone with exercise and meditation at sunrise.

A kids' zone with art, safe rides, and games.

A camping zone with night-stay camping, an open-sky library, a self-barbecue, hammocks, a campfire, and stargazing through telescopes.

The programme will also feature a live art and photo gallery, an open-sky movie theatre, a VR zone, a circus tent, kayaking, live busking, go-karting, beach football, handball, volleyball and kabaddi, badminton and sand sculpture. Special events are planned for Victory Day, New Year and Christmas.

An open-air beachfront music event called "Wave of Music" will also be held.

Chairman Samimuzzaman said the carnival aims to present the country's main tourist spot to domestic and foreign visitors in a more diverse and attractive way. He said the international-standard event mainly aims to increase foreign arrivals.

He said he hoped tourists would be able to join sports and entertainment programmes during the day and at night alongside enjoying the sea. He also expected it to create local jobs and improve the local economy.

He added that the carnival aims to rebrand Cox's Bazar as a lively, diverse, safe, sustainable, and internationally competitive tourist destination.

Parjatan Corporation Director (additional secretary rank), Md Gani Ul Azam, chaired the briefing. He said the civil aviation and tourism minister, ministers and secretaries from other ministries, and members of parliament from greater Cox's Bazar are expected to attend various events.

"We don't just want to organise a carnival. We want to add a new dimension to the tourism experience in Cox's Bazar," he said.

Spellbound Communications Chief Executive Officer Md Sadequl Arefin outlined the event in a PowerPoint presentation.

Directors, general managers, and other officials of Parjatan Corporation and representatives of Spellbound Communications were also present.