CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board tells The News Times
To revive the tourism sector hit hard by the corona pandemic, Bangladesh is emphasizing short-haul tourism than long haul tourism targeting regional countries.
Javed Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), has expressed this view while talking to The News Times at his office recently.
“United Nation World Tourism Organisation (UNWO) has addressed to the world to emphasize short-haul tourism than long-haul tourism. The organization also predicts that the recovery of the tourism industry will take two years that is why every country prioritize short haul tourism,” Javed Ahmed
“The facilitate short tourism, regional collaboration and integration is a crying need. That is why we are promoting regional tourism as well as short haul tourism” ,” Javed Ahmed mentioned.
Against this backdrop, policy-makers of the tourism sector as well as the international communities are urged to reschedule the conventional plan of implementing tourism as one of the important sources of revenue generation, he said
“In regard to Bangladesh in the context of short-haul tourism with neighboruing tourism destinations, Nepal will come second because it is one of the closest neighbouring countries of Bangladesh after India, “ the CEO said. Both Bangladesh and Nepal have huge potentials in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. Indeed, tourism can be highlighted as the most prospectus area of sub-regional cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal.
In the past years, there have been exchange of few numbers of tourists between the two countries but we want it in greater number. Both countries have attractive tourist destinations. Tourism circuit on the basis on the basis of tourism perspective like heritage tour, festival tours, shopping based activities, experiencing the greenery landscape and so on can be formed. In this circuit and tour operators from neighboured can arrange difference tour programme.
The tourism industry of Bangladesh had been growing steadily throughout the country with the significant contribution to the national economy until Covid-19 hit the world. The spread of the pandemic severely hit this sector of the country and the whole industry just halted, he told the Business Post.
Javed Ahmed also said that the Bangladesh Tourism Board is also working on preparing a master plan under the ‘Seventh Five-Year Plan’ to develop the sector in the next 25 years.
In 2019, a total of 323,295 international tourists visited Bangladesh. Out of that, the number of Indian tourists was 270,024, or 83.5% of the total tourists, according to the statistics of the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB).
In 2018, a total of 267,209 tourists visited Bangladesh. Out of that number, the number of Indian tourists was 213,947 or 80%.
“Besides promoting the local tourism, Bangladesh is eyeing South Asian tourists to give a boost to the tourism sector,” Assistant Director of Bangladesh Tourism Board Md Mazharul Islam said.
Akbaruddin Ahmad said Indian and Nepalese tourists will be interested to visit Bangladesh through the Padma Bridge. Even the government is planning to connect the southern-western part of the country with the capital through improved road and railway networks in phases.
The government is also upgrading the Mongla Port, making it an international port, with a view to easing the pressure on the Chattogram Port.
He also sees outbound tourism potentials in CIS countries by the Bangladeshi tourists.
Bangladesh has changed a lot in the last 50 years and the country has become a member of a middle-income country this year.
“With the emergence of the rising upper and middle class in the country in the last 15-20 years and construction of hundreds of cottages, hotels and motels, the local tourism has also got an uplift during the same period,” said Professor Akbar Uddin.
The government needs to develop a proper eco-tourism policy so as to develop this niche market and attract tourists before this initiative is taken up by regional countries with already developed tourist industries, according to the report of the Seventh-Five Plan on the tourism sector.
Despite having natural wonders like the world’s longest natural beach and the Sundarbans, Bangladesh seems unable to attract ample tourists and the government has only recently started to recognize the potential the industry holds if provided with necessary support, the plan also said.
The plan also suggested that the government has been actively looking to diversify the export basket.
The tourism sector can be a promising alternative, which in addition to the export sector also has a multitude of other positive economic implications such as employment generation, creation and expansion of backward and forward linked industries, and can widely contribute to long-term development goals such as women empowerment and poverty alleviation, it further said.
While the number of tourist arrivals grew by 6.8% on average between1995 and 2009, the number of tourist departures grew by more than double at an average rate of 14.8% over the same period.
The acts, the Bangladesh Tourism Board Act and Tourism Policy 2010, provide the legal backdrop of tourism rules and regulations, as well as expansion and regulation of the industry.
These also cover areas such as development, infrastructure improvements, human resource development, communication expansion, marketing and regulatory and legal oversight of private organizations and NGOs operating in the sector
However, the plan also suggested “Identification and modernization of tourists places across the country and expansion of existing attractions; Involvement of local government institutions in tourism activities; use of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for creating infrastructure and improving management of the industry; capacity building of the sector, with focus on human resource development through trainings courses and establishing tourism training centers.
Meanwhile, the tourism sector of Bangladesh suffered heavily as international tourist arrivals dropped 72% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the data prepared by the special branch of the Bangladesh Police.
A total of 168,201 tourists visited Bangladesh in 2020 as opposed to 591,503 tourists in 2019.
A total of 65,094 tourists visited in January of 2020, 56,702 in February, 23,777 in March, 15 in April, 78 in May, 208 in June, 1,328 in July, 1,518 in August, 2,435 in September, 4,088 in October, 5,364 in November and 7,594 in December.
Sources said that the BTB is willing to develop a software with the assistance of the police’s special branch to update the latest statistics of the tourist arrivals in the country, emulating the models of countries like India, The Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand
According to a UNWTO forecast, Bangladesh incurred a loss of $470 million (Tk4,000 crore) in the travel and tourism sector.
The pandemic hit most of the different small business sub-sectors of this industry including hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agencies and transport sector.
Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) estimated the loss of up to Tk6,000 crore and some 70% of the total 3 million workers in this sector losing their jobs.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the total contributor of travel and tourism to the GDP was 2.7% of GDP, that dropped to 1.7% of the GDP due to the pandemic, registering a 32% negative growth.
Employment of this sector out of total employment was 2.9%. that dropped to 2.3% in 2019.
Data prepared by Bangladesh Bank during fiscal year 2019-20 showed that in-bound travel earnings stood at $320.01 million that dropped to $218.50 million in FY2020-21.
Earlier, speaking to the Business Post , Md Rafeuzzaman, president of TOAB and governing body member of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, said: “Tourism is the third largest industry in the world. In Bangladesh, it added 4.7% to the GDP in 2019, amounting to Tk6,300 crore..”
About 4 million people involved in this industry are now living inhumane lives, he further said. “Many are frustrated and have been forced to move to other businesses.”
