Tourism of Bangladesh Research Question: What factors can increase tourism in Bangladesh and as a result the economical benefits

tourism brings? Thesis: Improvement in the tourist sector in Bangladesh will have a substantial positive impact on the economy of the country. Tourism has become a very significant and spirited sector for mostly all the economies in the world and also in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a scenic country with lots of opportunities in the tourism market. The natural beauty, religious temples and shrines, ancient ruins, forts and palaces from the middle age and vividly colorful festivals makes Bangladesh an attractive tourist spot and a holiday haven. Although there are so many factors that can draw tourists to Bangladesh, the sector is not as developed as it should be to earn foreign currency or local currency. Lack of development of tourist sector, safety and security of tourists both local and foreign, lack of eco tourism is among the main reason for the sluggish growth of tourist industry in Bangladesh. Also with the government giving little or no importance to the tourist sector. Although tourism industry of Bangladesh has passed over forty years, but yet it is seen that the sector is in a developing position, compared to all the neighboring countries around Bangladesh for example India, Sri Lanka and many more. (Bangladesh Problems and Prospects) Even though Bangladesh has the full potential to prosper the tourism, no prominent steps are taken to improve this sector. Also according to the data in Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI), Bangladesh is not know amongst the international tourism market, as one of the top ranked tourist spots even though it has some of the most significant tour spots that cant be found

anywhere else in the world. In 2010, Bangladesh had three-hundred thousand foreign tourists, who mostly came for official purposes and business. (Cynthia Hatch). The role of the grossing from tourism is less than one percent of the countrys GDP. (Nabil Dabour). In 1999 the tourism sector got acknowledged as an industry, and it is developing in a very slow process, compared to all the other countries in the world and around Bangladesh. (S.M. Nazrul Islam) Also as said in the article Problems and Prospects of Tourism Industry of Bangladesh and Current State of Affairs, the government of Bangladesh is taking little or no interest in investing sufficiently in the tourism sector, and neglecting the idea of which would actually increase the countrys GDP and more tourist will be interested to come, if there are proper advertising techniques, safety for the tourists and also more organized system in the tourist places. The government of Bangladesh never paid attention to this lively and vigorous tourist industry, and never gave a great deal of effort on making it better and more appealing to the tourists or foreigners that visit Bangladesh, and the facilities are also very poor. Whereas many other countries for example Maldives, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos PDR have developed their tourism industry much faster than Bangladesh even though they started later. (Kshofiq) In 1998 Bangladesh received 171,961 tourists and Cambodia received only 96,000 tourists. After 11 years in 2009, Bangladesh could attract only 267,000 tourists and Cambodia more than 2 million tourists.(Ziaul Haque Howlader) After looking at this following comparison, it indicates the discrepancy in the degree of initiative by two different countries within a same span of time (Ziaul Haque Howlader) . The lack of development of the tourism industry of Bangladesh can be attributed to multiple reasons like less-prioritization of tourism by all previous governments, lack of budgetary allocation and scarcity of trained

people in the industry. (Nabil Dabour) Another factor is that there is an absence of marketing and publicity activities in this sector and they are also failing to provide newer attractions to tourists through advertising international print and electronic media, as the neighboring countries are doing. (Cynthia Hatch) Finding new ideas and concepts for enhancing the positive image of Bangladesh and also introducing paramount tourists by the extravagant vibrant culture are required to be taken into consideration. In regards to solving the problem, it should also be undertaken that there is a lack of sufficient budgetary allocation. (Ziaul Haque Howlader) A developed and effective brand for tourism is immediately needed to be developed and hence, that wouldnt only help the tourism but it will also encourage foreigners to invest in Bangladesh, and that will also benefit both the economy and also the GDP of the country. A recent tourism brand named Beautiful Bangladesh has also been established in the year 2011, during the ICC world cup season. Due to its failure to promote Bangladeshs tourist attraction the investors got demoralized. Bangladesh, as a nation needs to rebuild their brand, which would include positive aspects and would engage foreigners and local people to come to the many different attractions the nature, the tourism sector offers. Apart from the meager budgetary allocation of the government, appropriate plans and programs for tourism development short term, long term and medium term was absent before 90s, and have recently been overlooked but not in that big of a factor. (Ziaul Haque Howlader) Moreover, there were lots of discrepancies in the planning order, which the country has to overcome and conquer, so that it is in a better shape. Even though there is absence of accurate formation, organizational development complications; a small backing cannot possibly be accomplished and

many others interconnected factors that need to be greased upon to make the tourism sector, the GDP and economy in a better structure. To attract more foreign tourists to come visit Bangladesh, the tourism sector should come up with tricky and solid ideas to attract the person to visit the country immediately. For example, they can turn tourist attractions into tourism products, and sell different art and crafts that are famous in Bangladesh. What Bangladesh government have to realize is tourism will not only bring in foreign currency but will also help to protect our vivid culture. In conclusion, it is necessary to have a suitable infrastructure, structural development, and safety for the tourists so that Bangladesh reaps the benefits from the tourist sector.

Works Cited "Bangladesh PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System." Bangladesh PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. "Beautiful Bangladesh." Beautiful Bangladesh. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. Dabour, Nabil. "PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE OIC COUNTRIES: ECOTOURISM." Journal of Economic Cooperation 24, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. Hatch, Cynthia. "High 5." Faces (07491387) 24.2 (2007): 2. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. Islam, S.M. Nazrul. "Tourism Marketing in Developing Countries: A Study of Bangladesh." P.G. Researcher, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. Kshofiq. "Problems and Prospects of Tourism Industry of Bangladesh and Current State of Affairs." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. "Lubna Al Qasimi Meets With Bangladesh Minister Of Civil Aviation And Tourism." Arabia 2000 (2011): Newspaper Source. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. "Travel And Business Information." Background Notes On Countries Of The World: People's Republic Of Bangladesh (2005): 15. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 25 Sept. 2012