Tourism fair begins Thursday

A three-day international tourism fair, Dhaka Travel Mart 2010, is set to begin in Dhaka on Thursday, said a press statement.
GM Quader, civil aviation and tourism minister, is scheduled to inaugurate the fair to be held at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.
The Bangladesh Monitor, a travel and tourism publication, is organising the fair for a seventh time.
Mosharraf Hossain, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation and tourism, will be present as the special guest.
Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of The Bangladesh Monitor and chairman of DTM 2010 organising committee, announced the fair schedule from a press conference at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel yesterday.
“We have been arranging the fair regularly for the last seven years to promote travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation. The exhibition has been attracting more and more visitors every year, leading to increased business for participants,” Alam said.
“The sector is growing. New hotels and resorts and service organisations are coming up. People are travelling more and more.”
Taufiq Uddin Ahmed, president of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), Nazeem A Choudhury, head of marketing and cards, Khwaja Junaed, director (marketing), Shafiqur Rahman, general manager (marketing) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and Anowarul Azim, assistant manager (sales) of GMG Airlines, were also present.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines and Eastern Bank are the premium partners of DTM 2010.
A total of 45 organisations from seven countries — Malaysia, Nepal, UAE, Kuwait, India, China and Bangladesh — are joining the fair.
The fair will include national tourism organisations, airlines, tour operators, hotels, resorts, travel trade bodies, and financial and educational institutions.
Participating organisations will offer special discounts on airfare, tour packages and a host of other deals to visitors at the fair.
A roundtable on ‘Present Scenario of Bangladesh Tourism and the Role of Public and Private Sectors’ will also be held on March 13 at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, where government officials, tourism experts, journalists and private entrepreneurs will participate.
The fair will be open from 10 am to 8 pm with an entry fee of Tk 20.
A raffle draw will be held on the concluding day and prizes will include airline tickets and tour packages.

Courtesy of The Daily Star