With abundant natural resources and a rich cultural heritage, Bangladesh has the potential to become an attractive tourist attraction. It is a shame, therefore, that the tourism industry has yet to realize its full potential.
Despite the natural resources at hand, Bangladesh suffers from a number of severe issues -- like deforestation, water-logging, and pollution -- which may have been a hindrance on our path to building a strong tourism industry.
On top of that, Covid-19 put the already neglected sector on pause for two years, and we are just now beginning to recover from the losses incurred.
The country's first ever master plan for the development of the tourism industry was set to be completed last year, but was halted due to the pandemic. However, it is extremely encouraging that, as per the state minister’s announcement last Thursday, the master plan is scheduled to be completed in December.
The plan takes into account the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for tourism, and is expected to advance us in our efforts to make our vision for 2041 a reality. As part of the planning process, various prospective tourism spots across the country are being assessed, in order to identify and improve on problem areas for a more refined tourism industry.
Although the plan to attract 10 million tourists and bring in a revenue of $8 billion by 2041 seems ambitious, the sustainable nature of the plans makes it a promising opportunity to bank on.
This is the kind of pro-active thinking this sector desperately needs.
We have relied largely on the RMG sector for far too long, leaving other promising industries underutilized. But the tourism industry finally receiving the attention it deserves will not only boost our economy, but will also assist in creating a better image of Bangladesh globally.
We are finally headed in the right direction. We must not stop now.
