About 1.32 billion people made international trips as tourists in 2017. Such trips included at least one night's stay in a foreign country during the year. The year 2016 also saw global tourism marking a 7 per cent rise. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) predicted further growth of tourism between four and five per cent for 2018. The UN has defined tourism as 'activities of persons traveling and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes'.
Regionally, Europe saw 8 per cent growth in international arrivals while Africa experienced similar 8 per cent growth. Tourism in the Asia-Pacific region grew by six per cent where there were 324 million travelers while the Middle East and the Americas saw five per cent and three per cent growth respectively. The UNWTO, giving an overview of last year, confirmed that '2017 was characterised by sustained growth in many destinations and the firm recovery in destinations which had declined in recent years'. The results were in part due to economic recovery, strong demand for many traditional and emerging markets, and recovery of tourist spending in Brazil and the Russian Federation after various years of decline.
The year 2017 saw especially high growth in the Mediterranean region with 13 per cent growth. Spain continued to see increasing popularity as a destination, replacing the United States as the second most visited destination in the world. New UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said, "As we continue to grow, we have to tighten our collaboration to assure these growth benefits to all the communities which receive visitors and that growth goes in hand with the UN objectives for sustainable development". Tourism can make contribution to welfare of the society and better environment, technology and development of employment opportunities.
UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, who will step down from his office this month, highlighted the key role of tourism in helping sustainable development. He said he thinks the most important thing that happened in the last 10 years is the recognition of tourism as an important and vital sector. He added that "ten years ago, if you had asked any public official or the public about tourism, nobody linked that to job creation, to economic growth, development, environmental or cultural preservation". Over the past 10 years, international tourist numbers climbed over the billion mark with a 7 per cent growth in 2017, taking international travelers to nearly 1.32 billion.
The past year had been declared as the Year of International Tourism for Development. It was the best thing that has ever happened because the UN and the international community recognise that tourism is a development tool. The benefits of tourism are that it can help lead to improved education as the sector needs more trained personnel in developing nations, which can also help empower women. Travelers from different cultures meet and share each other's cultures, which can help promote understanding among people and promote peace.
In South Asia, India is a major beneficiary of tourism. We witnessed Bangladeshi tourists' boom in India in 2017. The Indian Tourism Board said a total of over 2.15 million Bangladeshis, making over 60 per cent growth over the previous year 2016, visited India during January-December period of the last calendar year. Data from India's tourism ministry showed 1.37 million Bangladeshis visited India in 2016, up by 21 per cent over the number in the year 2015.
The rise of Bangladeshis in India's travel market has been quite rapid. From a mere 480,000 visitors in 2012, the number has now grown almost three-folds. Bangladesh accounted for 15.47 per cent of the total 8.89 million foreign tourists who visited India in 2016. The US and the UK formed 14.74 per cent and 9.51 per cent respectively.
Tourism is a big revenue and employment generator in India. CEO & Co Founder of Nirvana Excursions, Viren Batra, said, "In 2015, the travel and tourism industry contributed a total of 124.8 billion US dollars to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India, thereby, accounting for approximately six per cent of India's total GDP". The company offers pre-packaged and customised tours worldwide. He said, "While demonetisation did threaten to shake up the sector, the Union Budget 2017-2018 is expected to make sweeping changes to it".
Tourism nowadays is not a mere hobby or pastime. Rather it has flourished worldwide and is known as an industry. In this respect, Bangladesh is not an exception. But this industry is yet to emerge as a good contributor to our national economy. Bangladesh has some attractive tourist spots to draw overseas visitors and thus it can earn a lot of foreign currencies. Tourism could become a profitable source of income for the country.
The tourism industry has contributed a lot to economies of neighbouring countries like Nepal, India, and the Maldives. Tourism shares the lion's share of GDP of Nepal and the Maldives which is a very small country but known to the whole world only for its tourism industry. Bangladesh too is also gradually attracting attention of foreign tourists despite the July 1, 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan Dhaka but efforts need to be stepped up for focussing the country about its tourism potential.
The writer is a retired
Professor of Economics,
BCS General Education Cadre.
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