Tourism planning

The Government has recognized the importance of the

tourism industry and declared the National Tourism Policy
of Bangladesh in February 1992. The Policy declared that
it is possible to change the socio-economic 13 condition
of the country through the development of its tourism
resources. In addition, tourism shall be considered as an
industry of due priority and this will be appropriately
reflected in the annual five-year plans and development
partners shall be apprised of this accordingly. Tourism
planning has remained largely a state-sector responsibility.
The development planning of the country is done by
annual development programmes (ADP) within a broader
Five-Year-Development-Plan (FYP).

The national development planning process

The national development planning process has a Planning Commission at its

head. Development projects are initiated at the level of agencies, divisions,
departments, local government bodies. They are then channeled upward through
the relevant ministries and sections of the Planning Commission.The
administrative ministries concerned are authorized to approve (under
recommendation to the Plan Commission) projects involving costs at a
designated level. Projects involving costs beyond that level are recommended to
the Planning Commission for consideration, approval and allocation.
Monitoring implementation of individual projects is also the responsibility of an
organ of the Planning Commission, while concerned ministries oversee matters
mainly through monthly ADP review meetings.
Tourism development planning conforms to the national planning process. The
nature of development planning in this sector, however, means that various
agencies and several ministries may be involved. For example, infrastructure
development like roads and highways may come within the purview of the
National Department of Roads and Highways, while in certain cases such
responsibility may devolve to a local body, a district authority or even a local
government institution.

Coxs Bazar at a glance

Ancient Names
Ruled by

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Area
Population
Highest temperature
Lowest temperature
Islands

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Main Rivers
Ramkot

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Aggamedha Kyang
Light House
Lampara Buddha Vihar

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Palanki Pengwa Coxs Bazar

Arakan Kings from 9th Century
Portuguese & British afterwards
2491.86 sq. km.
2.2 million
Avg. 39.5c in summer
Avg. 11.8c in winter
Moheshkhali, Kutubdia,MatharbariDolghata, Sonadia &St.Martin.
Bakkhali, Matamuhuri, Reju, Naf ,Kohalia
15 km. from CXB Buddha Bihara Siva
temple built in 1790.
Buddhist monastery of Rakhine Community.
56 km away, famous for ancient structure.
At Ramu was built in 1800.11 feet & 9 feet
bronze image of Lord Buddha.A Large 3900

Prospects and Challenges of Coxs Bazar

Prospects:
Longest sea beach of the world.
Combination of sand, sea and green chain of hills.
Scope to become a sun & beach destination for east ward & northern countries like
Eastern China, Nepal, Bhutan & north eastern part of India.
Rich indigenous culture, textile & colorful life style.
Versatile attraction like beach, isolated island, forest, coral island, Buddhist &
Hindu religious attractions,Salt processing, sea fishing, hand woven textile of local
Rakhaine community.
Scope to develop various tourist activities like back water cruising at Reju Khal
near Inane, surfing, Scuba diving, kitting, hand gliding, water sports, sea fishing,
golf, beach sports like beach football, volleyball, cricket & waterskiing, hiking,
trekking, trailing, sea cruising, sightseeing, drive to Teknaf through 120 km long
beach drive.

Scope to establish exclusive tourist zone (ETZ)

Increasing interest of foreign local investors to invest at Coxs
Bazar to establish 5-star hotel, golf course, theme park, world class
shopping mall, studio apartment, holiday resort.
5 Star Hotel by Raddisson Group, Starwood at Inani , 5 Star Resort
with Spa
Formulation of investors friendly tourism investment policy
offering attractive package benefit for the investors.
Construction of Marine Drive by which visiting tourists can enjoy
a combined view of chain of hills at one end and blue water of Bay
of Bengal on the other driving through the unbroken 120 Km. long
beach from Coxs Bazar to Teknaf within less than 2 hours time.
Beach facilities like observation tower, rescue team, beach lighting
is already been established by beach development committee.
An Investment of 1200 crore taka from private sector is already
been made to develop hotels, motels, restaurants and guest houses.

Challenges:
1.Environmental effect due to global climate change.
Unplanned development in seashore areas.
2.Lack of skilled manpower.
3.Privacy problem in beach areas especially for foreigners.
4.Lack of commitment to develop tourism.
5.No water and sewerage system.
6.Frequent load shading.
7.No gas line.
8.Communication problems: Narrow roads, too much traffic, no
railway lines, flights are limited and irregular.

9.Excess influx of tourist exceeding the capacity.

10.The capacity of hotel, motel & guest houses are 84,000 at
present but during holidays total arrival is more than 100
thousand.
11.Establishment of hatchery and dry fish plant in beach area
which is polluting the environment.
12.Scarcity of cylinder gas, high price of food items and
exploitation.
13.Normal lives of local people are disturbed due to excess
tourist arrival during season.
14.Rohinga crisis in Teknaf area, especially they become a threat
for the locality and environment as they are violent in nature
and destroying the forest for firewood.
15.Due to high cost of cylinder gas not only local people but also
moderate hotel, motel, restaurant are using firewood to save
the cost of cooking which is a threat for the environment.

Tourist Spots in Coxs Bazar

Inani Beach
Lovesome patches of beaches perched
between the sea and the hills
behind, some 30 km. down south
along the sea-front from Coxs
Bazar, Inani is a quiet tourist
hideout set out in the exuberance of
nature.
Himchhari
A beauty spot in the solitude of the
sea and the hills. About 4 and a half
km. south-east from Coxs Bazar
along the beach. Part of the way on
donkey or elephant back and the
remainder afoot would be a
rewarding memory.

Tourist Spots in Coxs Bazar

Ramu
A small buddhist village Ramu is
15 km. from Coxs Bazar.
Attraction
include
ancient
Buddhist tample, rubber gardens,
Buddhist locality Red Chin
Khyang, white Chin Khyang, etc.
Moheskhali
An island in the Bay in the north
wetern direction off Coxs Bazar.
The island is dotted here and there
with forested hills with the ancient
Adinath Temple in its midst
Fishermens villages and the
Rakhyne villages are great
attractions of the island.

Tourist Spots in Coxs Bazar

Sonadia Dip
This is a maiden island off
Coxs Bazar across the Bay.
Under the wide open blue sky
fishing community, dry fish
processing and colonies of
the red sea crabs are
attractions of the island.

BangladeshParjatanCorporationasNationalTourist
Organization(NTO)
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) was established in 1972
through a Presidential Order no 143, and placed it under the
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. It has been entrusted with
dual responsibility - promotion of tourism in the country as well as
creation of facilities on commercial basis. Since its inception, BPC
has been developing and creating various tourist facilities across
the country. Till to date, it has created 42 tourism units (hotels.
motels, restaurants, tourism centre, picnic spots, duty free shops,
drinks corner, etc.) at different places of tourist attractions of the
country in order to offer facilities to the tourists. It also runs a
National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI), which to
date, produced more than 24,000 trained manpower. As per the
privatization policy of Bangladesh government, BPC has leased
out as many as 11 commercial units to private sector on
commercial basis.

PolicyRecommendations
1. Budget tourism aimed at all age groups, particularly the young generation of
backpackers needs to be developed, with economy travel, easing of visa
formalities, dissemination of information and low-cost but comfortable
accommodations, etc.
2. For learning lessons from other more successful groupings, visits of groups
comprising of tourist officials, private sector entrepreneurs and journalists
should be arranged.
3. Investment opportunities with liberal incentives need to be communicated to
both national and international investors.
4. Eco-tourism and Buddhist Circuit tourisms should be grounded on the premise
of poverty reduction of local communities. Tourist facilities and products need
to be developed with minimum ecological impact. Also, opportunities for
employment generation and income earning for the local communities are to
be created.

PolicyRecommendations
5. Human resource development for tourism through formal and
informal education, training and exchange visits is of utmost
importance for Bangladesh.
6. The ministry of Tourism and National Tourism Organizations of the
Bangladesh needs to be strengthened.
7. Quality of service needs to be improved. For the purpose, training
at different levels from top management down to door boys
should be initiated at national and regional levels.
8. In the area of environmental management, an integrated approach
needs to be taken for ensuring sustainability. The good practices
within Bangladesh in different areas, such as community-based
resource management, energy efficiency and conservation, pollution
management, disaster mitigation, etc. need to be disseminated.

Action Plan

A Training Center at Coxs Bazar

Establishment of ETZ .
Development of environmental friendly tourist facilities
Construction of rest house, snack bar near the Buddhist Temple at Ramu.
Establishment of National Park at Himchori and wild life conservation
center at Teknaf.
Creation of tourist facilities in Kutubdia and Moheshkhali Island and
procurement of water vessel for the tourist and water sports amenities for the
islands of southern areas.
Organization responsible :Central Govt.,Local Govt., NGOs, Local
Organizations.
Timeline for completion: 3 5 years
Potential funding sources:ADP,International Donors, FDI etc.

Implementation and Evaluation

National Tourism Database shall be formed and put in function.
Throughout the process of monitoring , the outcomes of updates
measured according to predefined indicators will be subject to
regular comparative analyses and modification.
The National Tourism Database Service will organize the data
transmitted then submit its conclusions with opinions to
Ministry of Tourism and National Tourism Council. Later, the
council will set measures required to making necessary
amendments in the strategy accordingly.

THANK YOU