UNWTO to provide all possible support for tourism

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will provide all possible support for flourishing tourism in Bangladesh as the country can use tourism as one of its major tools to cut poverty, reports BSS. "UNWTO secretary-general assured me that his organisation would take every possible measure to promote Bangladesh tourism worldwide as we could use this potential sector in poverty reduction," Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism GM Quader told the news agency Sunday. The UNWTO assurance came when the tourism minister took part in the special tourism event at the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul last week. The event, 'Promoting Tourism for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction', has set the scene for a new international framework to find ways to foster tourism for development and create mechanisms for LDCs as they seek to combat poverty, diversify their economies and pursue growth strategies. Quader said the secretary-general of the UNWTO would visit Bangladesh in September this year to participate in one of the celebration programmes as part of the ministry's 'Visit Bangladesh' campaign. After his visit, the UNWTO will come up with an action plan on how the UN tourism organisation would provide assistance to Bangladesh in flourishing its tourism.