Missing Out on Tourism Potential in Bangladesh

Abstract

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council Annual Economic Impact Report-2014, the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) was US$ 5.9 billion or 4.4 per cent of the GDP in 2013. The sector employed 2.846 million people, 3.8 per cent of the total employment. In India, the total contribution of the travel and tourism was US$ 113.2 billion or 6.2 per cent of the total GDP of the country in 2013. The sector employed 35.439 million people, 7.7 per cent of the total employment. From the statistics it is quite clear that the tourism sector in India is contributing more than that in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has almost similar historical background, cultural heritage, infrastructure facilities and tourist attractions as is in India. But we are making less contribution. Critics will argue that it is not correct that Bangladesh has same types of tourist attraction as India has. Because we know that India has incredibly diversified natural beauty, historic establishments with hundreds of royal palaces, hill stations, beaches, hill ranges, sandy deserts, the Arabian Sea etc. But we can compare some Indian tourist attractions with those in Bangladesh in terms of their facilities, maintenance and revenue generation. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is a big tourist attraction. It is located in the south-western part of Bangladesh with a part of it in India. It has diverse resources, including its flora, fauna and aqua fauna, in addition to the traditional forest products like timber, firewood, pulpwood honey, bee-wax, fish, crustacean and mollusc. We could learn how the Indian part of the Sundarbans was being managed by our counterparts.