Creating tourist-friendly environment

The recent physical and sexual harassment and looting that four local tourists -- two boys and two girls -- suffered at scenic Kuakata in Patuakhali district must be an eye-opener to the organisers of road shows in Agartala as to why foreign and regional tourists will not be interested to visit Bangladesh as the former expect them to do. Such incidents also occur in India, Pakistan and other regional countries but then deterrent punishment of the culprits there quickly helps restore tourists' confidence. Several tour operators with the help of the state-run Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) had held the road shows in which many Indians reportedly showed their keen interest to visit tourist spots  in Bangladesh.

The tour operators held a seminar in Dhaka on Sunday stressing the need for setting up special tourist zones in the country. Familiar as they are with what enabling conditions for tourists mean, the organisers must search their souls as to why they could savour without any worries beauty and grandeur of tourism spots abroad while they were tourists. Did they confront any security risks while they visited hills and mountains of Nepal or made trips to serene beaches and lakes elsewhere? Didn't they find cheaper and safer hotels and restaurants in every nook and cranny there? Were they menaced by any beggars in the wayside restaurants where they tasted local delicacies? Couldn't they find cheaper and safer modes of transportation? The road-show organisers need to answer all these questions before they further undertake such shows that cost huge money but without any positive result.

Inviting tourists, either local or foreign, to locations of great tourism interest without arranging tourist-friendly facilities will be like putting the horse before the cart. In tourism sector, such a mismatch has always been witnessed. Doubtlessly, Bangladesh is immensely rich in tourism products but then those who are assigned to make journeys of tourists worry-free have failed to hit the right chord. The formation of the BTB, despite having an inefficient Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) is a prosaic pointer to this. Why should another organisation be created is not understandable. The demand of the road-show organisers for setting up special zones for tourists is also not practical as tourists would never like to be accommodated in one special zone. They must also have the freedom to move around to visit places of their choice. They must find their hard-earned money worth spending while enjoying tourism delights. The road-show organisers told the seminar that some 120,000 Bangladeshi tourists visited Malaysia as of November, 2014 showing an increasing trend of out-bound tourists. But could they explain why many more from Bangladesh, leaving behind spots at home, also visit Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and other Southeast Asian countries? It is against this backdrop that the government, in close collaboration with the private sector, should draw up realistic programmes to create tourist-friendly environment at home including safety and security, low-cost hotels and restaurants, cheaper transportation and beggar-free movement before they go for further road shows. Advertisements like road-shows are in fact double-edged razors: these can cut both ways. Once a tourist is attracted to Bangladesh to see his/her dreams shattered, s/he will never visit the country even after a thousand road shows. Ads can cheat one only for once. What can be done is to arrange package guided tours of tourists before they are invited to visit Bangladesh on their own.