Bangladesh’s tourism potentials yet to be even partially explored

Bangladesh still largely resides in the backwater of international tourism despite it can boast a host of highly interesting and enjoyable travel destinations that attract thousands of domestic tourists every year.

But to earn foreign revenue from the tourism industry Bangladesh needs to project itself as a lucrative tourist destination to the world in a smarter way.

Tourism experts put the lower number of foreign tourists in the country down to the weak marketing of Bangladeshi tourism products and inadequate infrastructural facilities as well.

Although Bangladesh introduced on-arrival visa for some foreign countries mainly to attract tourists, only the absence of proper help desks at two international airports thwarted Bangladesh travelers from accessing the service.

E-visa services should be introduced to facilitate online visas for tourists.

Airlines, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, tourist vessels, travel agents, and tour operators will attend the festival with stalls offering discount packages for interested tourists.

We cannot promote our attractive spots to foreign tourists for lack of proper branding and ineffective campaign.

Countries that have flourished their tourism industry have succeeded to do so by attracting foreign nationals through vibrant presentation of their travel destinations at international tourism fairs.

We also took part in those events but with poor branding, we couldn’t market our products.

Bangladesh Tourism Board data shows that in 2022, around 529,000 foreigners visited the country on tourist visas.

Tourism experts say that Bangladesh’s prospect as a tourist destination has much improved lately with the opening of the Padma Bridge Road and rail connectivity, metro rail and elevated expressway in the capital, and the Payra Bridge on the Barishal-Patuakhali Highway providing comfortable journey to the Kuakata sea beach and other spots.

The beauty of democracy is diversity and diversity is beauty, where everyone enjoys freedom.

The tourist attraction, particularly foreign tourists, highly depends on law and order and overall rules of law, which Bangladesh has been down-warding for a decade.

Surely, a democratic government will rebrand the country as an attractive tourist destination.