Bangladesh opens door to foreign tourists after Covid

The ban on foreign tourists coming to Bangladesh has been officially lifted from September 26 which was stopped for a long time due to the corona pandemic.

This decision was made at a meeting of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali.

“We are working to simplify visa and travel visa policies, but the foreign tourists have to maintain the law and health guideline of Bangladesh,” he said at a press conference organised on the occasion of World Tourism Day at Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) office at Agargaon in the capital on Monday.

At the briefing, BTB Chief Executive Officer Abu Tahir Muhammad Zaber said more than 3,00,000 foreign tourists had visited Bangladesh in 2019. The flow of foreign tourists in our country decreased due to the pandemic. Now, they have started coming again.

“More than 150 foreign tourists will come to Moulvibazar’s Kamalganj upazila on Tuesday for community based tourism. On Monday, around 37 tourists are coming to Cox’s Bazar through Chattogram from Agartala,” he said.

Tourists are coming from Europe and America also. It has not increased like in 2019, but its flow is increasing, he added.

Zaber said, “Now, we are opening our border officially for foreign tourists. Informing the decision, we have already asked our embassies and high commissions to promote tourism.”

The state minister said the tourists come for their entertainment. There is a gap between their achievement and the facilities we have here. When we would be able to create an environment that suits the needs of foreign tourists, the number will increase.

Mahbub Ali said a team is working to prepare a master plan for the development of the country’s tourism sector. Hopefully, it will be finalised by December. We will take all kinds measures to implement the master plan.

“Tourism is always promoted by the private sector in the world. The government can support them building infrastructure. We are also working to facilitate tourism by building various infrastructures like Padma Bridge, Dhaka airport terminal, expressway and metro rail,” he said.

“The investors from many countries are expressing their desire to invest in the country’s tourism sector. We are working on the issue,” the state minister said.

World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27 September every year since 1980 by United Nations World Tourism Organisation. “World Tourism Day 2022” is going to be celebrated with due dignity in Bangladesh like other countries of the world.

The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day is “Rethinking Tourism”.