KL envoy for better infrastructure to rope in more foreign tourists

Bangladesh should develop infrastructure and participate in tourism fairs abroad to give boost to the country's tourism sector, Malaysian High Commissioner in Dhaka Norlin Othman said Sunday.

"Foreign tourists aren't aware about the beauty of Bangladesh. Only tourism fairs abroad and promotional activities will help attract increased number of overseas tourists," the envoy said. "You organise tourism fairs within the country, but you need to increase the number of fairs abroad."

The Malaysian High Commissioner's suggestion came at a press conference ahead of the 3rd Asian Tourism Fair to be held in the city.

"Infrastructure development is very important for expanding the tourism sector. Different countries offer tour packages like three days and four nights and others but we hardly see any offer from Bangladesh," Ms Othman said.

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) Aparup Chowdhury said an exclusive tourist zone will be set up in the country copying Gangtok or Malaysia.

Around 300,000 people are directly and another 2.9 million are indirectly involved in this sector, he said, adding the participation of women in this sector should be enhanced for the development of the sector.  

Referring to the central bank data, the organisers said the number of tourist arrival in Bangladesh almost halved to 278,780 last year, from 588,193 in 2012.

In 2013, the sector generated $121.95 million in revenue. Tourism contributes 7.7 per cent to GDP. The total investment of this sector is Tk 41.87 billion.

The 3rd Asian Tourism Fair (ATF) will begin on Thursday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon is expected to inaugurate the fair as chief guest.

Monthly travel magazine Parjatan Bichitra will organise the three-day long tourism fair in cooperation with Bangladesh Tourism Board and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.

There will be 120 stalls in the fair, which will remain open from 11 am to 8 pm every day. The entry fee will be Tk 20 per person.

Apart from Bangladesh, tour operators, travel agents and other service providers from several Asian countries, such as Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, China and Philippines are expected to precipitate in the fair.