Sustainable Tourism

Tourism is an excellent way to promote one’s country. Our country is blessed with many beautiful places to visit, discover and enjoy. By travelling, one can forget about all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and find joy for a while. Through tourism, many countries of the world generate a great deal of revenue. Today, Bangladesh, too, has the potential to develop its tourism sector, which can ultimately contribute greatly to the national economy. Over the past few years, domestic tourism in our country has boomed.

To celebrate World Tourism Day on September 27, the government, different institutions and groups associated with tourism organised various events. This year, the theme of the day was ‘Sustainable Tourism - A Tool for Development’. The day had extra significance for us as Bangladesh was recently elected as the Chair of UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) for South Asia. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) and Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), along with other organisations involved in promoting tourism, arranged a weeklong tourism festival and held a three-day ‘6th Asian Tourism Fair’ on the occasion.

This week, Y&I spoke to some youths and organisations who are working to develop our tourism sector. They talked about the present state of our tourism industry, the challenges faced and how to overcome those, and the future of tourism in ‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal).

Sadia Sultana, mountaineer and a member of Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club (BMTC), said: “I worked in a travel agency for a while. From my perspective, sustainable tourism means not damaging the environment and nature while travelling. Our tourism sector still has a long way to go. There are many places in our country that are yet to be discovered.”

“We have many historical sites throughout our country, but how many of them do we recognise? Many of them are in Dhaka and in urgent need of restoration. If we do not take any action right now, only the ruins of such places will remain. Security is another issue we need to focus on. There is not enough information on the internet. The government departments and other institutions that work in tourism should look into this matter. Also, a clean environment, like an unpolluted Buriganga River, can attract many tourists. Mountaineers are taught to pick up their own litter (from the mountains). We do not leave anything behind. If we can overcome some of these issues, then our tourism sector will only get stronger.”

A few years ago, the government set up a special ‘Tourist Police’ unit under Bangladesh Police with the aim of developing our tourism industry by ensuring a pleasant and safe environment for both local and foreign tourists, as well as preserving the culture and heritage of Bangladesh. The unit is tasked with providing security to tourists and protecting all tourist spots of the country. The unit has two divisions, one in Chittagong and one in Dhaka, with 699 personnel. The unit’s official website, tourist.police.gov.bd, offers all kinds of advice and lists places of interest for tourists.

World Tourism Day was observed with much enthusiasm and various programmes in Dhaka. Aviation and Tourism Journalists Forum of Bangladesh, a platform of journalists covering aviation and tourism affairs, with support from Bangladesh Tourism Board organised ‘Tourism Fest 2017’ that included a cultural function and display stalls by tour organisers at Rabindra Sarobar in Dhanmondi. The programme started with Baul songs and traditional dances, speeches by distinguished guests, and concluded with a live concert by the popular band, Joler Gaan.

Kaimun Hossain, a recent graduate, was passing by Rabindra Sarobar when songs by Joler Gaan caught his attention. “I didn’t know such an event was going to take place here. I would have brought some of my friends along. It is great that we are celebrating World Tourism Day in a festive mood. I believe we all want our tourism sector to blossom.”     

Talking about this year’s theme, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, said: “Since morning, I have had a wonderful time. I am pleased that so many young people joined us throughout the day. When I first got the opportunity to work with tourism, I only had knowledge of what I had experienced from visiting other countries. I have come to learn a lot since then. Today, we do not have to tell people about our domestic tourism. The reason is our people love to travel and whenever they get a chance, they travel to different parts of the country. We are facing a Rohingya refugee situation, but I have information that the hotels in Cox’s Bazar are doing good business. If we develop our tourism sector, than it can bring in as much revenue as the readymade garment sector. A foreigner once asked me, ‘What is the best thing about your country?’ I replied, ‘It’s the smile of the people of my country.’ We are unfortunate that due to some recent terrorist attacks, people don’t want to visit our country. But we have proved that Bangladesh is safe to travel. I believe our tourism industry is on the verge of taking off. If we can follow the right path and take the right steps, we will be successful.”   

M Nassir Uddin, CEO, Bangladesh Tourism Board, told Y&I: “Our domestic tourism has expanded and there is no doubt about that. This year, we tried to celebrate tourism day in a bigger way. BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) helped us to send text messages publicising the day to 90 million people of the country. For years, we have not tried to brand our tourism sector, but from this year, we are doing so. From now on, whatever we build, we have to keep the tourism factor in mind. For example, the international airport at Cox’s Bazar is not big enough. And this goes for everything we construct, like roads, rail tracks, hotels, etc. In order to attract foreign tourists, we all have to work together on our pull factors.”   

Tanzim Anwar, General Secretary, Aviation and Tourism Journalists’ Forum of Bangladesh (ATJFB), told Y&I: “Every year, a rally and a seminar are organised to celebrate World Tourism Day. Travelling means fun and this year we wanted to celebrate the day with festivities. That is why we wanted to involve everyone, especially the youth of our country. This year’s theme ‘Sustainable Tourism - A Tool for Development’ means we have to understand about responsible tourism. Responsible tourism means not affecting the environment while travelling. We need to be aware about it and encourage the general people, youths and tourists. We want to target the backpacking tourists the most because they travel more and they spend a lot of money. Some of the tourist spots of our country are losing their natural beauty due to different manmade causes. St Martin’s Island, certain parts of the Sundarban mangrove forests, Katka, are some examples. At some spots in the Sundarbans, many tourists feed the deer and other animals bread and sweets, which is not suitable food for them. Now, the second perspective is how we will deal with foreign tourists, so that after receiving good service and support from us, they can refer our country to other visitors.”

M Ziaul Haque Howlader, Manager, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, told this reporter: “The government and other stakeholders associated with tourism organised different events to celebrate World Tourism Day. On September 19, we started the celebrations by cutting a cake and having a discussion, the topic of ‘Sustainable Tourism - A Tool for Development’ was one on the agenda. On September 23, we organised a food fest at Dhaka University, where various local dishes were put on display and the students there loved it. The idea behind this was to promote our local cuisines, which is also a part of tourism. On September 24, a seminar on ‘Electronic Tourism’, on how to make tourism more digital, was arranged at BPC’s Hotel Abakash. On September 25, another food fest was organised at Dhaka Residential Model College. On September 27, we celebrated World Tourism Day.”

“After that, Parjatan Bichitra organised the 6th Asian Tourism Fair in collaboration with BPC and BTB. The fair took place at International Convention City in Bashundhara from September 28 to 30. Many students and travel enthusiasts visited the fair. Many travel products from different companies were put on display. The fair was successful due to the participation of the young people,” Howlader added.

M Sazad Hossain, a student who worked as a volunteer at the Tourism Fest, said: “This is the first time I am working as a volunteer, and I am enjoying the work and the festival. I have travelled to some parts of our country, but after getting involved in such a festival, I certainly will travel more from now on.”

Saker Ahamed, Chairman, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Dhaka University, said: “On September 27, a rally was organised to start off World Tourism Day. Later, a cultural programme was held at the TSC auditorium where our students performed local dances and songs.”

Photos: Mahmud Zaman, file