Sayeda Akter
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country grew significantly in 2008, thanks to a relatively stable political situation, said industry people.
According to statistics of civil aviation and tourism ministry, a total of 3.50 lakh foreign tourists visited Bangladesh until October 2008, which was a sharp rise from 2.65 lakh in 2007, 2 lakh in 2006 and 2.07 lakh in 2005.
“Both the increase in number of foreign tourists’ arrival and good business made by local tour operators pushed the growth of local tourism industry last year,” said Kazi Wahid Ul Alam, a tourism expert and editor of The Bangladesh Monitor, a fortnightly travel journal.
“Apart from business tourists, the flow of regular tourists was also higher than the previous years’, which was an outcome of political stability during the last two years, and a campaign to vote for Cox’s Bazar for New 7 Wonders of Nature,” he said.
“This growth will ultimately benefit the national economy,” he added.
However, among these numbers of total tourists, the exact number of real tourists could not be estimated due to a lack of official mechanism of the related ministry and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC).
A big number of foreign tourists were garments and telecom investors who came to Bangladesh for business purposes, said industry people.
Alam said better infrastructure including accommodation facilities and developed aviation sector that is operating regular flights to major local tourist spots, such as Cox’s Bazar, also helped grow the industry.
BPC Chairman Shafique Alam Mehedi said the corporation is currently working to make a database to estimate both the local and foreign tourists’ numbers separately and take measures to develop better communication, accommodation and entertainment facilities to boost the industry.
“We are trying hard to avert any ’system loss’ in different units of BPC and reform the entire organisation, so the industry can run smoothly and add value to our national economy,” he said.
In the last fiscal year, BPC recorded an operating profit of Tk 2.5 crore, driven by cuts in ’systems loss’ and increased domestic tourism, said the chairman.
The profit has trebled against the previous year’s, thanks to a strict drive to reduce ‘waste of resources’ at commercial units of BPC. In fiscal 2006-07, BPC made an operating profit of Tk 84 lakh.
The BPC chairman expects a further rise in number of foreign tourists this year, as he thinks the newly elected political government would attract new local and foreign investments to the industry.
However, Wahid Ul Alam urged the government to ensure political stability and further develop the communication system in different non-traditional tourist spots such as Dinajpur, Comilla and Chittagong Hill Tracts.
He also said more public and private investments are needed to accelerate the growth of the tourism industry.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
