Developing tourism

Among the neighbouring and adjoining countries of Bangladesh, excepting Nepal, the amount of foreign exchange earned from tourism by India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. is few times more than our entire export earnings. The developed countries of the world such as United States, Canada, The United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, etc are emphasizing on the due importance of the development of tourism, as it is helpful in attaining diversified prosperity. For the growth of tourism of any country the most important factors are political stability, law and order, improved communications and transport infrastructure, which include advanced railways, roads and highways, navigable waterways and importantly, aviation system, as well as, positive government policies regarding tourism. There are two types of tourists, one is local tourist and the other is foreign tourist. Foreign tourists play a special role in the matter of foreign exchange earnings, while local tourists help to inject impetus and momentum into the economy by way of domestic expenditure. To facilitate the rapid growth of tourism the developed countries of the world do not usually maintain state ownership and maintenance of tourist accommodation services, such as hotels and rest houses. Consequently, in nearly each district town of advanced countries, there are modern hotels with good accommodation and other facilities. When any state guest goes to any developed country, the accommodation and bilateral meetings are arranged in a hotel, commensurate with the status and position of the state guest. In the same way, at present, in the developed countries of the world, no permanent training institute is in place for the training of officials of both public and private sectors. Cheap transportation is a prime prerequisite for development of the tourism industry. In the developed countries, other than the ministers, no government official gets the facility of transport with driver provided by the state. In our country, till today, well organised taxi cab service has neither been developed in Dhaka nor in any other district headquarters. The geographical location of Bangladesh as well as its environment and people’s sincerity are congenial towards development of the tourism industry. Some of the prime tourist attractions, or locations, which possess a tremendous degree of tourism potential are the longest stretch of sea beach at Cox’s Bazar, landscape enveloped by hills, vast haors (marshlands found in Bangladesh’s north eastern part), an oceanic island (Saint Martin), coastal forestry, ancient Buddhist monuments, different Hindu and Muslim shrines (many of which have historical significance) and different Moghul establishments of the middle century. In addition, Sundarban, the world’s largest mangrove forest, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, which would doubtlessly serve to add to the tourism value of Sundarban. Furthermore, as of present, Sundarban has been enlisted as one of the potential entries into the New Seven Wonders of Nature.