Tourism industry entrepreneurs have sought reduction in the existing 10 per cent advance income tax on tour operators, and VAT imposed on residential hotels, in a bid to further develop and expand this sector.
To attract more overseas tourists, the industry insiders also urged the government to introduce an easier visa system, provide special benefits in air fares, duty exemptions for machinery and vehicles imports, and curbing harassment in the name of government requisition.
These recommendations came on Wednesday afternoon in a meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI) Standing Committee on tour, travel and hospitality industry.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam said, “Tourism is a very promising sector, but the contribution of this sector to our GDP is only 3.3 per cent, which should be at least 10 per cent. So, to ensure sustainability, specific action plans need to be adopted.”
Moreover, he suggested developing newer facilities for the development of the tourism sector including community tourism, eco-tourism, and religious tourism. He urged entrepreneurs to find out and resolve existing problems of the sector.
Mahbubul said FBCCI will work to develop tourism-friendly policies by analysing proposals of stakeholders.
The Committee Chairman and former president of the Tour Operators Association (TOAB) Md Rafiuzzaman said, “Most of the time, the quality of our country’s tourism services get compared to the other countries such as India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
“But we are not getting the policy support that those nations usually get for development.”
He then mentioned, “During tourist season, our hotel, resort, boat-houses and other hospitality services are being forcibly occupied in the name of government requisition. These issues need to be addressed quickly.”
TOAB President Shiblul Azam Qureshi suggested inviting international travel bloggers to showcase Bangladesh globally, while appointing commercial councillors in various high commissions can be useful.
He emphasised organising B2B sessions with tour operators from different countries. FBCCI directors, co-chairmen of standing committee, other members, and business leaders were present at the meeting.
