Better infrastructure, security needed to boost tourism sector

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Speakers at a discussion meet held in the city Saturday said better infrastructure, an open mindset and proper security could tap potentiality of the tourism industry, reports UNB.
They said the government should give up single minded business attitude in the investment-hungry sector and that a public-private partnership could yield better results in wooing foreign tourists.
The good news is that the government has started moving from its long-practised attitude, they said.
"The government is changing its strategy now. We have already decided to hand over the duty-free shops to the private sector," Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) Chairman Shafiq Alam Mehedi told the discussion meeting.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Wonders' Promotion Association (BWPA) jointly organised the discussion on 'The Role of Businessmen in the Growth of Tourism Sector'.
The BPC Chairman said a total of 14 institutions of the BPC, including motels and bars, have already gone in the hands of the private sector. Another 22 such institutions will be privatised soon, he said.
FBCCI president Annisul Huq chaired the discussion while its director M A Rouf Choudhury, First Vice President Abul Kashem Ahmed, Director Mahbub Islam Runu and BWPA convener Masud Sarowar spoke on the occasion.
Rouf Choudhury said the government and the private sector could jointly work to improve the infrastructure and ensure security at tourist spots across the country, which is rich in natural tourist attractions like the world's longest beach and the world's largest mangrove forest.
The country is crisscrossed by more than 230 rivers while its three hilly districts, known as Chittagong Hill Tracts, are rich in bio-diversity and tribal culture.
Rouf Choudhury said too much conservative attitude should go to attract foreign tourists.
"Foreign tourists particularly westerners can be the main source of revenue in this burgeoning sector. So we have to construct adequate facilities that go with them," he said.
Mahbub Islam appreciated the government's decision of giving 33 percent subsidy to improve tourism infrastructure in the northern region.
He also urged the government to ease the visa procedures for foreign tourists.
The speakers called on the people to vote for Cox's Bazar and the Sundarbans to put them atop the Seven Wonders' of the world chart.