A three-day international tourism fair, titled "Bangladesh International Travel and Tourism Expo (BITTE)", will be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), Dhaka, from Thursday to Saturday to attract foreign tourists with a view to boosting Bangladesh's tourism sector.
The fair is being co-organized by Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, and two independent airlines, Air Astra and US-Bangla Airlines.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali is likely to be the chief guest at the expo's opening ceremony, accompanying State Minister for Religious Affairs Ministry Md Faridul Haque Khan and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman.
ATAB President Manzoor Morshed and Secretary General Abdus Salam Aref said Bangladesh is a very important travel hub in the Southeast Asian region and we need to establish wider air connectivity to attract more tourists.
They emphasized drawing global tourists' attention in Bangladesh as the tourism industry of a country cannot solely rely on domestic tourists.
The two also hoped that a major commercial opportunity would be generated between travel agencies and tour operators by participating in the fair.
Different airlines, hospitals and tourism boards from more than 15 countries, including India, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be participating in the fair.
Besides, travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, resorts, cruise liners, destination management companies, and other travel and tourism sector service providers have confirmed participation in the expo as exhibitors.
Three different seminars – "Investment Opportunity in Bangladesh Tourism Sector", "Aviation and Tourism Opportunity: Connecting Bangladesh to the World" and "The Impact of Fourth Industrial Revolution in Tourism Industry" – are scheduled to be held during the fair.
