The recent political turmoil, travel warnings by most western countries, South Asia and Southeast counties, continuous provocative statements by some top Indian politicians and negative propaganda by the Indian media  and plundering of the state wealth by some politicians, bureaucrats and  businessmen stand in the way of promoting tourism sector in Bangladesh, said policy makers, business leaders and stakeholders.

Chief Executive Officer (Additional Secretary) of Bangladesh Tourism Board Abu Tahir Muhammad Zaber said that the government will work with the stakeholders concerned and Bangladesh missions abroad to lift the travel ban….

The number of inbound tourists during the last July-September period suffered heavily as the country experienced political turmoil during July-August period.

After the corona pandemic that hit the world in 2020 and 2021, the travel and tourism sector of Bangladesh has suffered heavily during recent political turmoil and is unlikely to regain shortly as most western and even some South Asian countries  are still imposing travel warnings against Bangladesh.

With 15-year plus rule of Sheikh Hasina, the brutal dictator and former Prime of Bangladesh, ended on August 5, 2024, leaving the economy of the country  in total disarray.

Unless travel warnings are lifted and sound law and order situation restored, the international tourists have a second thought before visiting Bangladesh, said a member of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

The November-February period is the peak season of tourism in Bangladesh and a conducive environment must be ensured, said the TOAB member…………

President of Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA)  and Chief Executive Officer of Hotel Agrabad Hotel Hakim Ali while talking to The Dazzling Dawn said inbound tourists have cancelled their bookings against the backdrop of political unrest in Bangladesh.  He said that some business establishments have been damaged in recent times  that also gave negative signals to local and international entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, the interim government has a major task to ensure sound law and order situation as the past Awami League government transformed the country’s law enforcement agencies into ‘monsters’ over the last 15 years

The interim government should ensure sound law and order situation and protect business establishments and businessmen to revive the economy, as Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Prime Minister and brutal dictator, left the country in derailed conditions, said leaders of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI), International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB), Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

Meanwhile, the World Tourism Day was celebrated in the country on Friday as elsewhere in the world with the call for greater cooperation between public and private sectors to seize the vast potential of Bangladesh’s tourism industry.

The celebration was started through bringing out a colorful procession in the capital's Agargaon area by Civil Aviation and Tourism ministry along with its line organizations, tourist police, tourism related private bodies and trade associations.

The Day was celebrated with the United Nations' theme for this year: 'Tourism and Peace' which was translated into Bengali as ‘Porjoton Shantir Sopaan’ (Tourism: A Step Towards Peace).

Secretary to the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Nasreen Jahan inaugurated the procession.

Later, an engaging seminar was held at the 'Shail Propat' hall at the Parjatan Bhaban highlighting the significance of the day.

Senior Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration Dr. Md. Mokhlesur Rahman presented the keynote speech highlighted Bangladesh's immense potential in the tourism sector.

He said despite huge opportunities, Bangladesh as a country has yet to fully capitalize on its untapped potential of the tourism sector.

He called for an integrated approach and heightened efforts to promote both domestic and international tourism.

He also stressed the need for skilled human resources to support the industry’s growth.

Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary Jahan in her speech as the chief guest underscored the crucial role tourism plays in economic development, poverty alleviation, job creation and improving the country's global image.

She urged private entrepreneurs to join forces with the government to make Bangladesh one of Asia's premier tourist destinations.

Presided over by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Chairman AKM Aftab Hossain Pramanik, the seminar was also addressed by Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh chairman Air Vice-Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, Bangladesh Tourism Board CEO Abu Taher Muhammad Jaber and  Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Tourist Police Md Abu Kalam Siddique, among others.

Meanwhile, President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Chief Advisor Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus have issued separate messages on the eve of the day yesterday while special supplements were published in national dailies.

Special discounts are also announced by hotels, motels, and restaurants on this occasion while Biman Bangladesh Airlines offered Special tickets with discounted fare.

The Bangladesh Tourism Corporation organized a live cooking show.

Painting and essay competitions were arranged for children at tourism centers in each district to raise awareness about tourism.

Since 1980, the UN's tourism body has proclaimed this day, which has been celebrated with due reverence in member countries worldwide.

With Indians constituting some 50 per cent of total inbound tourists and expats in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia are also major stakeholders of the tourists, Bangladesh is going to experience a setback in the sector, sources in the sector said. 

This correspondent talked to representatives of a number of posh hotels and motels and said that the businesses are going through a very bad patch nowadays after the corona pandemic.   

In the last 20 years Bangladesh has witnessed opening of pose hotels including Five-Star hotels like Radisson Blu Water Hotel at Chittagong, Holiday Inn at Tejgaon, DuSai Resort & Spa in Maulvi Bazar, The Peninsula Chittagong, Amari Dhaka, Long Beach Suites Dhaka, Le Meridien Dhaka, Six Seasons Hotel in Dhaka, Four Points by Sheraton in Dhaka, Rose View Hotel, Hotel Valley Garden and Nazimgarh Garden Resort in Sylhet, Long Beach Hotel at Cox Bazar, Grand Sultan Tea Resort & Golfin at Maulvi Bazar showing that Bangladesh is becoming a success story in the hospitably industry. During this time, The Westin, Radisson Blu Water Garden, Amari, Six Season, Four Points Sheraton, Le Meridien, Sarina and Regency have been opened for the guests. Sources said that most of the posh hotels and resorts are going through a deep recession mood.

With the political change in Bangladesh, the number of Indian tourists is likely to drop this year as the Indian government, politicians, civil society and media are making a cautionary and conservative negative propaganda about Bangladesh.

Bangladesh attracted a record 6.5 lakh tourists in 2023 as expat Bangladeshis living in different parts of the world visited the country, sources said.

Out of 650,000 tourists, some 295,000 Indian tourists visited Bangladesh in 2023. However, mostly expats Bangladeshis living in different parts of the world contributed to the promotion of the tourism sector of Bangladesh.

However, some 110,000 expat Bangladeshis living in the USA, some 100,000 Bangladeshis living the UK, some 30,000 expat Bangladeshis living in Canada, 18,000 expat living in Italy, some 5,000 expat Bangladeshis living in Japan, some 5,000 expat living in Germany, some 4,000 expat Bangladeshi living in France and some 4,00 expat Bangladeshis living in Sweden contributed significantly to the tourism sector of Bangladesh in 2023, sources said.

However, the earnings of the inbound tourism sector stood at 439,231 US dollars in 2023, 382,732 US dollars in 2022, 227,962 US dollars in 2021, 178,240 US dollars in 2020, 322,058 US dollars in 2019 and 288,991 US dollar in 2018.

Bangladesh attracted some 529,000 tourists in 2022 and the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) has set a target of wooing some seven lakh tourists this year.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has set a target of attracting 10 million tourists and a revenue of 8.00 billion US dollars by 2041 as the government has set a vision of turning this country into a developed one.

Meanwhile, Bengamin Carey, a Scottish citizen and a former consultant of the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), said Bangladesh should target tourists of Seven Sister States of India —Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland.

He, however, said less integration and distrust are also barriers to promotion in the South Asia.

He has expressed the hope that the contribution of the tourism sector to the gross Domestic product (GDP) will be around 10 per cent which is now only 3 per cent of GDP.

Given tourism’s position as a top export sector and creator of employment, UNWTO advocates the need for responsible growth. Tourism has, therefore, a place at the heart of global development policies, and the opportunity to gain further political recognition and make a real impact as the Decade of Action gets underway, leaving just ten years to fulfill the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Bengamin Carey said tourism sector will be one of the important revenue generating sectors in Bangladesh.

He said the number of international tourists in South Asia is still low compared with the rest of the global tourists.

The tourism sector contributed 4% in the gross domestic product (GDP) and 1.78% in employment generation, said an economist.

The contribution of the travel and tourism sector of the country to its gross domestic product (GDP) has been estimated at 4.9%. It is set to increase in the coming years.

However, countries like the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and India have more contributions to the GDP of their respective countries, compared to Bangladesh.

For instance, in 2018, the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the GDP (as a percentage of total GDP) was about 66.4% in the Maldives, 12.5% in Sri Lanka, 9.2% in India, 7.9% in Nepal, and 7.1% in Pakistan.

During the same period, Bangladesh’s contribution to its GDP was 4.4%.

Former Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) Javed Ahmed while talking to this correspondent   said “The National Tourism Council (NTC), the apex body for tourism, has devised a master plan on the tourism sector. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Tourism Board has prepared a master plan on the country’s tourism sector in cooperation with IPE Global Limited.

IPE Global Limited is an Indian international development consulting group known for providing technical assistance and solutions for development and sustainable growth in developing countries.

Following this, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), the National Tourism Organization (NTO) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, was given the responsibility to prepare a Tourism Master Plan in the 7th Five Year Plan period. Pursuant to this, BTB proceeded to select a reputed international Tourism Consulting Firm to prepare a short-term, mid-term and long-term Tourism Master Plan.”

With this background an internationally reputed consultancy firm, IPE Global Ltd. was selected through a competitive technical bidding process and were mandated to develop the Tourism Master Plan for Bangladesh, the CEO of the Bangladesh Tourism Board said.

Former Chief Executive Officer of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) Javed Ahmed said that in 2019, the global tourism industry generated 330 million new jobs with earnings of $8.9 trillion. The total contribution of the tourism sector to the world GDP was 10%.

Ahmed also informed about the government's initiatives to construct three tourism parks — Sabrang Tourism Park, Naf Tourism Park and Sonadia Eco-Tourism Park — in Cox’s Bazar.

As the Padma Tail Link Bridge is expected to open soon, the travel time between Dhaka-Sundarbans and Dhaka-Kuakata beach will be reduced substantially, said the 11former  BTB CEO.

Prof Akbaruddin Ahmad, former Toab president, said that with the launching of Padma Bridge next year and the massive ongoing vaccination program in the South Asian countries, Bangladesh will see a boom in local and regional tourism in the coming days, according to experts involved in the travel and tourism sector.”

Bangladesh will see a boom in the arrival of tourists from other South Asian countries after the Padma Bridge is open for all, Ahmad said.

Connectivity with the southern part of the country with the capital will mark a significant improvement that will help boost local and international tourism, he added.