Please change mindset about tourism

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Government high-ups and policy makers seem to have negative and hazy ideas about tourism. They firmly believe that to attract foreign tourists to Bangladesh, the country needs to have nightlife facilities, bars, massage parlours etc., as if these are the essence of tourism! One of our ex-state ministers for tourism said in a seminar that tourists would come to Bangladesh if the price of alcoholic beverages could be brought down. One ex-minister said in a meeting, "Tourist-ra kee Bangladeshe milad porte aibo?" (Will tourists come to Bangladesh to attend milad?). He was indicating the lack of western style nightlife in Bangladesh.
With this skewed, our policy-makers are bent on setting-up an exclusive tourist zone near Cox's Bazaar, with all nightlife facilities, where domestic tourists will not be allowed.
Our esteemed policy-makers need to know that at present the number of international eco-tourists is more than one hundred million; and they are not after the nightlife in any country they go to visit. These eco-tourists want only to experience nature, culture, and heritage of countries they visit.
The number of eco-tourists in the world has been increasing by more than ten percent a year. Initially, Bangladesh may set its target to attract a sizeable number of eco-tourists a year. To achieve that target, it will have to chalk out a down-to-earth tourism marketing strategy and go for aggressive marketing in countries which have most of the outbound tourists.
Munira Hossein
Baridhara, Dhaka.