Much has been written and continues to be written about Bangladesh's ambitious economic plans. We intend to become a high-income country by 2041, and in order to achieve such a goal, we will require every sector of our economy to step up.
To that end, news that Bangladesh Tourism Board is preparing a master plan on the country’s tourism sector in cooperation with IPE Global Limited is certainly very encouraging to hear about.
Much like our ambitious plans for 2041, we have set the very ambitious goal of attracting 10 million tourists and a revenue of $8 billion by 2041, and while these seem like incredible figures, nevertheless, it is good to see that there is thought being put into transforming what has essentially been a fledgling sector for too long now.
Indeed, it has been a severe lack of planning that has relegated our tourism sector as a mere afterthought in our ascent as an economy, but no longer can we afford to not pay attention to this sector. A proper plan to attract tourists from South Asia first, and eventually expand to the rest of the globe,is the need of the hour.
Furthermore, there exist too many barriers for tourists to feel welcome in Bangladesh. Whether that be the unnecessarily cumbersome visa process, to the safety within our borders, to providing the amenities and facilities conducive of a healthy environment for tourists, we have plenty of work to do before we are ready to be an attractive destination for foreign tourists.
Yet, Bangladesh Tourism Board’s master plan is an important first step, and we can hope that the next two decades will see Bangladesh's tourism industry realizing its full potential.
