Infrastructural development to be made to attract tourists
May 27, 2009
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader said infrastructural development of the tourism sector will be made to attract tourists in Bangladesh as it has huge potentiality. “The industry needs to mount a campaign to attract tourists and to that end government is going to form a national tourism board thro-ugh public-private partnership soon,” the minister said. He said the government has taken a master plan to develop Cox’s Bazar sea beach as more attractive tourist spot and for this the work is going on in full swing.
He also said the Cox’s Bazar air port will be made international soon so that foreign tourists can easily come here as it is the longest sea beach in the world.
He said Bangladeshi foreign missions will be directed to provide information on our attractive tourist spots so that foreigners get interested to visit Bangladesh.
Replying to a query, he said radical change should be made in the management of Bangladesh Biman to provide better service to the passengers. He also said the national carrier will offload share soon to make it economically vibrant.
“To bring back the carrier’s credibility and passengers’ confidence, we are looking for an experienced CEO to help build up image and fame of the Bangladesh Biman ,” the minister said.
Responding to another query, he said the government is working to ease the visa system and cargo delivery at the airport to make it tourists-friendly.
He said this at a seminar as chief guest on “Develop-ment and Pote-ntials of Tourism Industry in Ban-gladesh” jointly organized by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) at the conference room of the DCCI in the capital on Sunday.
GM Quader said the government may allow undisclosed money in the upcoming budget to invest in this sector to promote the industry.
“If tourism industry is developed, job opportunities will be created for the local people, contributing to poverty alleviation. So, policy makers should emphasize on the development of the industry,” said DCCI president Zafar Osman.
Professor Dr Asraful Islam Chowdhury, founder chairman of the department of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Dhaka presented the key-note paper in the seminar. He said “Tourism industry is neglected due to lack of understanding of its prospects and the country is yet to take a comprehensive plan to exploit its tourism potentials.”
“We have to ensure marketing of our tourism sector and its potentiality. Besides, our infrastructure needs to be developed so that our domestic tourism could flourish,” he said.
He said tourism sites like Sundarbans, Paharpur and Bagerhat still lack basic infrastructures. With proper planning and promotional activities, Bangladesh can emerge as popular tourist destitution.
Muhaimin Saleh President of ATAB said the development of tourism industry in Bangladesh has been affected by non-allocation of development fund and low priority of the government. Apart from this, government failure to provide financial incentives to the private sector, lack of infrastructure and coordination among the relevant governmental organizations hamper the sector’s development.
DCCI president Zafar Osman presided over the seminar while DCCI Vice President Md. Sirajuddin Malik, Director R I Khan, Abul Kasem Khan, Past President M. A. Momen, Past Director Haider Ahmed Khan, Convenor Abdul Haque, Co- convenor Muktar Hossain Chowdhury also spoke on the open discussion.
Source: The Bangladesh Today
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