The tourism industry in Cox's Bazar, which attracts thousands of tourists on each New Year's Eve, suffered a blow from the hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami for Wednesday and Thursday.

Industry insiders spoke of feared losses, just like the ones caused by political instability last year, ahead of the January 5 national elections.

They said thousands of tourists that had come or were planning to come to Cox's Bazar to celebrate the New Year, cancelled their plans fearing violence during the hartals.

"Around 50 percent of rooms booked for December 30 to January 1, in more than 100 hotels, have been cancelled, "said Mohammad Omar Sultan, president of the Cox's Bazar Hotel, Motel and Guest House Owners Association.

Businesses in Cox's Bazar consider the period from November to March as the peak

season, and made considerable investment ahead of expected good earnings.

Many hotel operators said thousands of tourists left Cox's Bazar on Tuesday night, curtailing their tour schedule ahead of the hartals.

There was a rush of tourists here last week but the markets became vacant suddenly as they left Cox's Bazar after the call for hartal, said Aung Aung Ching, president of the Burmese Market Owners Association.

"We had to go through a very hard time last year, and were hoping to recover some of the losses this year. But the sudden hartal has created some anxiety over possibilities of renewed political instability," said Habibur Rahman, a businessman of Laboni Jhinuk Market.

Abdul Kashem Sikder, general secretary of Cox's Bazar Hotel, Motel and Guest House Owners Association, spoke for all the tourist cities, when he urged the political parties to keep Cox's Bazar free from hartal.