A tourism promotion and B2B exchange program, styled as ‘Sales Mission in Bangladesh’ and organized jointly by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), was held at Hotel Sarina, Dhaka on Tuesday, said a press release.
In addition to the organizers, Bangladesh Tourism Board and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation have played significant roles in making this event a success.
The event was organized with an aim to strengthen bilateral relations as far as developing the tourism relations between Bangladesh and Nepal is concerned. There were detailed discussions on cross-border and regional tourism prospects with a concentrated focus specifically on exchange of the potentials, experience, knowledge and challenges of the tourism sector. The discussants and participants underscored the necessity of mutual relationship and cooperation between the trade partners of both the countries, travel organizations, tour operators, travel agents and travel communities to be particular.
Representatives and high officials of Bangladesh Tourism Board, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh, Nepal Embassy in Bangladesh, Nepal Association of Tours & Travels agent, Biman Bangladesh Airlines and other related organizations were present at the event. Kumar Rai, Counsellor/Deputy Chief of Mission, Nepal Embassy Bangladesh; Ranjan Yadav, Second Secretary, Nepal Embassy Bangladesh; Jabed Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB); Md. Hannan Miah, Chairman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC); Md. Rafeuzzaman, President, Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB); Mohammad Iqbal Mahmood, President, Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Association (BOTOA); Rezaul Ekram, President, BD Inbound; Shahid Hamid, Chairman, PATA Bangladesh Chapter;; Syed Mahbubul Islams Bulu, President, Tourist Guide Association of Bangladesh (TGAB); Mohammed Salahuddin, General Manager (Marketing), Biman Bangladesh Airlines; Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor, The Bangladesh Monitor Editor; Shadath Hossain (Sagor), Chairman, GSA Himalaya Air; Faridul Haque, Former President of TOAB; Md. Taslim Amin (Shovon), Honorary Public Relation Representative (HPRR), Nepal Tourism Board and Achyut Guragain, President, Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA), graced the occasion with their presence.
Jabed Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), said, “Tourism has no frontier nowadays, so we need to explore more options. Bilateral relations can play significant role for promoting tourism.”
Md. Hannan Miah, Chairman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), shared, “Bangladesh is a great attraction for the tourists. In the same way, many Bangladeshi people go to other countries like Nepal for visiting tourist spots. We need to work together for maximizing these tourism prospects.”
“Cross-border and regional tourism have reached new heights in this age of globalization. We need to tap into the prospects as more and more people are leaning towards travelling to refresh themselves. Mutual cooperation between countries can significantly help leverage this situation”, said Faridul Haque, Former President of TOAB.
The event ended on a high note with the hope of better bilateral relations between these two countries and a promise to enable more cooperative initiatives to promote tourism. The main event was followed by a dinner for the invited guests.