Local tourism industry hit hard by global recession
Monday, 7 September 2009
FHM Humayan Kabir
Local tourism and hospitality industry has been hard hit by the global economic meltdown as many foreign tourists have cancelled their visits to Bangladesh ahead of peak-season, industry insiders said Saturday.
Tour operators said their business during the current peak season (September-April) will slump as many foreign tourists have already cancelled their bookings.
Taufiq Rahman of Journey Plus, a local tour operator, said five British tourist groups, totaling 80 persons, have cancelled their bookings.
They were to visit Bangladesh during September-November period this year, he said.
Besides, booking from different European countries is also very poor this season, Mr. Rahman, who handled about 1,400 European tourists annually, told the FE.
Communications coordinator of the Westin Hotel in Dhaka Abrar Razzak said their occupancy rate has declined this year because of the impact of the global economic recession.
"We have guests who are mostly foreign businessmen. But the flow of both the businessmen and tourists in this peak-season has dropped," he told the FE.
He said the country's tourism might recover from the affect of the global recession if the government promotes Bangladesh's unexplored naturally attractive spots.
Despite being home to the world's longest sea beach and the biggest mangrove forest, Bangladesh lags far behind its neighbouring countries in attracting local and foreign tourists.
The state-run tourism promoter, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), said some 435,000 tourists visited the country last year, which is a fraction compared to more than 20 million in Nepal.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Bangladesh's tourism industry is still in a nascent stage as its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is only 3.9 per cent, with domestic hospitality industry accounts for the lion's share.
Another leading tour operator M Masud of the Bengal Tour Operators Ltd. said if the recession had not hit the global economy, the growth of tourists in Bangladesh would have been higher.
"Usually, Bangladesh has very poor inbound tourists. It has been further affected by the recession," he told the FE.
Mr. Taufiq Rahman of Journey Plus said the country had six to seven per cent tourist growth last year, which would fall drastically this year.
Like global airlines, the local aviation industry has also been affected by the economic recession, which has caused a slump in air traffic flow.
Carriers like Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Thai Airways, have slashed ticket prices and undertaken promotional activities to weather the impact of the recession.
According to a reliable source, Biman, the state-owned carrier, is also considering a fare cut to hold on to its market share. Each week, an estimated 10,000 passengers fly between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur, but that number dropped almost by a half in September last year as Malaysia froze new recruitment of foreign workers.
He said the local aviation industry was growing by 7.5 to 8.0 per cent until last year, which would be impossible to maintain this year.
Local tourism and hospitality industry has been hard hit by the global economic meltdown as many foreign tourists have cancelled their visits to Bangladesh ahead of peak-season, industry insiders said Saturday.
Tour operators said their business during the current peak season (September-April) will slump as many foreign tourists have already cancelled their bookings.
Taufiq Rahman of Journey Plus, a local tour operator, said five British tourist groups, totaling 80 persons, have cancelled their bookings.
They were to visit Bangladesh during September-November period this year, he said.
Besides, booking from different European countries is also very poor this season, Mr. Rahman, who handled about 1,400 European tourists annually, told the FE.
Communications coordinator of the Westin Hotel in Dhaka Abrar Razzak said their occupancy rate has declined this year because of the impact of the global economic recession.
"We have guests who are mostly foreign businessmen. But the flow of both the businessmen and tourists in this peak-season has dropped," he told the FE.
He said the country's tourism might recover from the affect of the global recession if the government promotes Bangladesh's unexplored naturally attractive spots.
Despite being home to the world's longest sea beach and the biggest mangrove forest, Bangladesh lags far behind its neighbouring countries in attracting local and foreign tourists.
The state-run tourism promoter, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), said some 435,000 tourists visited the country last year, which is a fraction compared to more than 20 million in Nepal.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Bangladesh's tourism industry is still in a nascent stage as its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is only 3.9 per cent, with domestic hospitality industry accounts for the lion's share.
Another leading tour operator M Masud of the Bengal Tour Operators Ltd. said if the recession had not hit the global economy, the growth of tourists in Bangladesh would have been higher.
"Usually, Bangladesh has very poor inbound tourists. It has been further affected by the recession," he told the FE.
Mr. Taufiq Rahman of Journey Plus said the country had six to seven per cent tourist growth last year, which would fall drastically this year.
Like global airlines, the local aviation industry has also been affected by the economic recession, which has caused a slump in air traffic flow.
Carriers like Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and Thai Airways, have slashed ticket prices and undertaken promotional activities to weather the impact of the recession.
According to a reliable source, Biman, the state-owned carrier, is also considering a fare cut to hold on to its market share. Each week, an estimated 10,000 passengers fly between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur, but that number dropped almost by a half in September last year as Malaysia froze new recruitment of foreign workers.
He said the local aviation industry was growing by 7.5 to 8.0 per cent until last year, which would be impossible to maintain this year.