Tourism in Bangladesh

After a couple of years since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the tourism industry around the world is slowly recovering. Bangladesh is no exception, and we, too, are finding our tourism industry’s momentum shift towards an assenting direction.

Despite having concerns about the new coronavirus variant Omicron, people are travelling to many parts of the country. Overtourism is a reality in Bangladesh. The ever-popular tourist destinations like Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf, Khagrachari, tea resorts in Sylhet, Sreemangal are jam-packed with tourists. There is even news that many cannot find accommodation in hotels in different hot tourist destinations, as they are booked in advance. Some tourists had to pay three times for booking a hotel room than they usually would do even in the busiest tourist season. A hotel room that typically costs around 2000 taka was on offer at 10000 taka, and even then, many were unable to book them. We ought to find solutions to such problems.

Currently, more than 4.5 million people are working in our tourism industry. Experts predict that this sector will continue to create more jobs in the coming years. Nowadays, many professional courses on hotel and hospitality management are available, and those are participating in such courses are opting to continue their career in this particular sector. 

Our tourism industry is estimated to contribute more than 4 per cent to our GDP. We admit that 4 per cent of the national GDP is in no measure a small figure. Despite having a long list of different drawbacks, it is pretty amazing that the Bangladesh tourism industry has enabled itself to this position today and showing signs of significant growth in the foreseeable future.

Government authorities have set a goal for the next ten years. They want to contribute more than 6 per cent to the GDP. They plan to do that by ensuring new tourist zones for the foreigners. For example, when traveling to Goa, a state in Western India, one will witness exclusive zones for foreign tourists. They have a Russian zone, for Russian tourists, a US zone for US tourists, and different other zones only dedicated to foreign travellers.

Many countries have turned their tourism industry into a lucrative source of earning foreign revenue and endorsing their countries at the same time. Before the pandemic started, about 0.3 to 0.35 million tourists from abroad used to visit our country annually. Now the concerned authorities want to double that number in the coming decade. According to Jabed Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), we need to ensure a friendly, cost-effective, secure travel environment. We need to make sure cheaper transportation opinions are available, especially when it comes to domestic air transportation. Bangladesh is building two tourist destinations for foreigners. One is Sabrang tourism park, the first exclusive tourism park in Cox’s Bazar district encompassing 1027 acres, and another is Sonadia eco-tourism park. These two parks will have all the facilities for foreigners. They will enjoy many travel facilities that they get to enjoy in some of the trendy tourist destinations in the world, starting from wine tasting to bathing in their swimming costumes. We need more competition and better service providers in this field.

Most of the professionals working in the tourism industry feel that it’s high time we pay attention to foreigners’ requirements. Many foreign businesses are investing in our country, which means more foreigners are visiting our country. We need to strike the right balance between our culture and their requirements.

Now let us focus on the main drawbacks holding our tourism sector back from expanding as it would like to? In the word of experts,’ quality services, including accommodation and transportation services, needs significant improvement. We should create a better travel-friendly environment. It is no secret that traveling in Bangladesh is still very costly; thus, we need to ensure the travel costs come down and remain within the grasp of everyday people.

We need to understand that while our domestic tourism continues to grow, the service providers in this field must find innovative ways to increase their capacities. Otherwise, it will be hard to create the same excitement among a particular group of tourists, especially among those who have traveled outside the country. We come across people who had experience traveling abroad talking about how they enjoyed different hospitality services abroad at a minimum cost.

Recently we have come across news of tourist harassment. Some rape charges cases have also been filed in the police stations. The role of the tourist police is vital. The tourist police should always be ready to provide security to the travellers and ensure law and order in the travel destinations.

There are primarily two types of travellers, leisure and expedition travellers. Both look for the best facilities and services at a reasonable price. We ought to find better solutions to their needs to develop our tourism industry. Recently the Bangladesh Tour Operators and Tour Guides (Registration and Operation) Bill, 2021’ was placed in Parliament, making it mandatory for tour operators and guides to register. It is prepared to bring the tour operators under the legal framework for ensuring the best services and thus boost the tourism sector. However, as per industry insiders, at the moment, concerned authorities are working with some of its rules and regulations associated with the law.

In January World International Tourism Trade Fair, Fitur will be held in Germany. It is saddening to learn no clear steps have been taken to participate in this fair. Regularly organising and participating in national and international tourism exhibitions is a must. It enables the people associated with the industry to learn, introduce innovation and subsequently bring more effective practical practices in the respected field.

A particular craze for traveling has developed in different social classes of our country. Bangladesh is blessed with plenty of naturally stunning travel destinations to explore, starting from coasts and beaches to other archaeological, historic locations, from religious sites to hills and jungles. To harness the best possible output from our tourist attractions, we need to ensure security and build awareness regarding tourism. We need to find new ways to educate our people to communicate and serve better when they encounter tourists. Some people frequently complain that we cannot portray or highlight our tourism industry, compared to our neighboring countries. In that, prospective people associated with the tourism industry must encourage the media and the youth to highlight our tourism attractions.

The writer is a journalist.