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Call for more investments in tourism industry

January 13, 2018 00:00:00


Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Shahjahan Kamal has said tourism industry needs more investments and he will request the Prime Minister to allocate more fund for further development of the sector.

"I will request Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to allocate more fund for further development of the tourism sector," he said.

He made the pledge while inaugurating a workshop in the city on Thursday, reports BSS.

The minister said he would also request the Bangladesh Bank to take initiatives for tourism development under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes of different banks.

Bangladesh Tourism Board with the support from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and Guangong Chimelong Group of China organised the workshop for public officials on wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism in Bangladesh at its conference room in Dhaka.

Terming 2017 one of the successful years of the country's tourism, the minister said Bangladesh tourism industry was advancing for different initiatives taken by the present government.

He said Bangladesh hosted the first ever UNWTO event in Chittagong and organised beach carnival for the first time at Kuakata last year. Bangladesh was elected as the chairman of commission for South Asia (CSA) for UNWTO in 2017, he said.

Last year, he said for the first time the Bangladesh Bank included tourism sector in its CSR scheme.

The minister said that there is a growing concern on wildlife conservation and development, as it is an integral part of sustainable tourism development.

Referring to the UNWTO declaration of 2017 to be the "International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development," the minister expressed the hope that the recommendations from the workshop will help in advancing responsible tourism in Bangladesh by preserving biodiversity and wildlife.

Presided over by CEO of BTB M Nasir Uddin, the inaugural session was also addressed by Additional Secretary of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry M Imran and BTB Director Nikhil Ranjon Roy.

Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management Department of Dhaka University M Afjal Hossain presented the keynote paper while BTB Deputy Manager Akhtar Ahmed conducted the session.

In his keynote paper, Professor Afjal said the tourism industry must recognise its responsibility for the wildlife conservation as well as the overall environment of the earth to ensure the achievement of sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) through sustainable tourism development.

As per the UNWTO data, tourism and travel generates 10 per cent of world GDP whereas it generates 2.1 per cent of GDP of Bangladesh.


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