Chapter-1:

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background:

Now-a-days, travel and tourism is one of the most significant phenomena of

the world. During the last three and half decade tourism has become the most important

factor contributing to the development from the economic, social, political and cultural

view. As a result, we have found that tourism development has become a vital important

factor to the Bangladesh’s national economy. Tourism offers employment to a

considerable number of people, and also use as a tool for a regional development. It has

great indirect benefit to agriculture, fisheries, the construction sector, the manufacturing

sector as well. The growing demand for more facilities, infrastructure and superstructure,

national tourism organisational Structure, Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation B. P .C

(2000) has to take necessary steps with the collaboration of private and voluntary sectors

to develop the area. With proper planning and full utilisation of its resources and by

preparing a well trained workforce to meet the future demand of tourism of both domestic

and international. In Bangladesh, the supply of raw materials for constructions and food

and beverage one plentiful and in very cheap rate. So, we could see that there is a great

potentiality for Bangladesh to earn foreign currency in this particular field and achieve its

objectives to become a major tourism destination. What we need to do now is full

utilisation of our resources by appropriate planning process which could be earn not

necessarily to promote mass tourism but with the promotion and development of

sustainable tourism which really cares about the local communities tradition and cultural

1

heritage. We would like to introduce such tourism in Bangladesh. For its convenient

location in the

central part of south Asia where more than one billion people lives, Bangladesh has great

potentiality to attract more business travellers and could become a regional business

centre. (BANGLADESH TOURIST HANDBOOK, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation,

National Tourism Organization, 2003).

For rapid development of the tourism sector, the government announced a

National Tourism Policy in 1992 and a National Tourism Council has been formed with

the Prime Minister as its Chairperson. The policy acts as a guideline for the overall

development of the tourism industry in the country. With the compliance of the

guidelines set out in the policy, it is expected that a congenial atmosphere for investment

in tourism will be created so that the public and private sectors could play their respective

roles for its promotion, earning of foreign exchange and creation of job opportunities.

A strategic Master Plan has also been formulated by the World Tourism

Organization with the assistance of UNDP for integrated development of tourism in the

country. Steps have been taken to develop tourism infrastructure in phases as per the

recommendations of the Master Plan which include creation of tourist facilities at various

places. Besides, a few other proposals have been sent to the government for inclusion in

the next Annual Development Program. (B.P.C.2003).

In order to take share in this expanding competitive market of tourism,

Bangladesh must take steps, which will enable it to become an attractive tourism

2

destination (“Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation (1999), “Bangladesh Tourist Hand Book”

Dhaka, Bangladesh”). Therefore, the prime purpose of this study is to formulate some

methods for developing country Bangladesh to become a major tourist destination. That’s

why in this project I have tried to identify the planning process for tourism development

in Bangladesh.

1.2. Hypothesis – Aim and Objectives:

The aim of this research is to gain the tourists attractions and find out the

tourists needs and wants to use in tourism development which will help to the hospitality

industry in Bangladesh. Through out the research, it has also been tried to assess the

problems of the hospitality industry in Bangladesh with respect to reach in its targets.

For the achievement of this research aim; the objectives are: --

H.1. The development of Tourism is becoming extremely important to the economic,

social and Cultural growth of Bangladesh.

The above hypothesis has been developed to discover the importance of

development of tourism for the country in relation to receive greater benefits on the

economy, improve social life of the country.

H.2. The improvement of tourist destinations, products and services of the Country has

extremely large opportunity to increase tourists to the country.

The above hypothesises have been developed to identify the importance and the

best way of developing tourist products, that can help country to seize its tourism and

also support to survive while competing with the other nearest tourist destinations.

3

Aim and Objectives: -- Based on those two hypotheses; the objectives of this project

are: --

To analyze the current situation of the tourism industry in Bangladesh.

To ascertain whether Bangladesh has the potential and whether may not the

necessary characteristics to attract tourist in the country.

To identify the importance of improve destinations, tourist products in order to

increase country’s tourism.

To suggest the action plan to improve the tourism industry.

A comparative analysis of secondary data relating to trekking tourism in this

region is used to draw out the issues that are important to sustainable development in

Bangladesh’s mountain, coastal and resort regions. These issues are put together to form

the terms of reference for the primary research.

The findings of the primary research are based on a series of in-depth

interviews with four individuals who are involved in the development of tourism in

Upper Mustang (Internet).

1.3. Limitation of the study:

The limitation of the research is that the author will follow the secondary data

collection methods. As a secondary data are books related to Bangladesh tourism

industry, culture and sites of attractions. Bangladesh tourism organization, annual reports

on number of tourist’s arrival, their spending, recent development and further

development process will be included. Another limitation is that the author needs to visit

4

Bangladesh once to finish the project but it’s not possible to go Bangladesh because the

project will take place to finish in Cyprus. In this situation the author will collect

information from Internet. Distance and lack of time is also the limitation for this project.

Moreover, the statistical data’s are obtained from the Bangladesh Tourism Corporation

(B.T.C) which is very old and was not containing sufficient necessary information of the

particular aspect that I intend to analyze in this research.

1.4. Target Group:

This research mainly targets the Bangladesh Porjotan Corporation (B.P.C) and

the Government of the Peoples republic of Bangladesh.

First, this research has targeted different levels of College and Universities students who

need to plan to develop tourism industry for any country. They will learn how to set up

the things to attract the travelers who come to a country for their holidays. By this

research they will be able to know how the tourism industry is playing an important role

for any countries economy. By this research, may be the Bangladesh tourism board can

take some strategic plan to develop their tourism industry.

Second, “Sustainable tourism development. Therefore, it must be based on the rational

use of natural resources so as not to destroy the environment which is sought after by the

tourists (destruction that is often caused by mass tourism). Tourism cooperatives, whether

cooperatively-owned travel agencies, developers, or tour operators, aim to provide

adequate low cost tourist opportunities to cooperative members. However, tourism

cooperatives can be influenced by members to make sustainable development and the

high priorities of the environmental issues", (Cooperative Agenda-21, ICA).

5

Social and economic development of target communities and members of the

cooperatives is our focus, Promoting environmentally safe tourism, Involving members in

tourist activities, Promoting Eco-tourism in the target area, Collaborating with

International and local level NGOS in the sustainable tourism development.

Chapter-2

6

LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature review is a summary of past research that is related to the main

concept of this thesis. In this part, a detailed literature review will be presented. We

researched many books, reports, periodicals, and researches related to the hypothesis of

the project and selected carefully several articles based on which our research will be

done. The following are these articles:

(A) “Definition of Tourism” (Bangladesh Porjaton Corporation; BPC).

(B) “Lack of Distinctiveness---Image” (BTO. Development of a Ling Term Strategy for

Bangladesh tourism —Final Report)

(C) “Transportation” (Copper, Fletcher, Gilbert, Shepherd, and Wanhill. “Tourism

Principles and practice”)

Tourism is often difficult to be defined, because it is a complex concept. And it

is often defined by one perspective rather than an array of viewpoints. In the article

‘Definition of Tourism’, it is said that Tourism is often defined in terms of a travel

experience rather than by the nature of the activity of tourism itself’. Here, “travel

experience’ is emphasized in terms of tourism. It is necessary to consider a tourist as a

consumer. For a consumer, visiting a destination is an experience. Once he or she decides

to visit a destination, that means he or she buys a product that is intangible. The quality of

such a product becomes very important. It will directly influence the satisfaction degree

of a consumer’s experience. (http://www.Statistic /bangladesh tourism.com . )

The intangible product we mentioned here is the tourism product, which can

be defined as the resource and creative facilities of a destination combined to produce an

7

amalgam of activities and functions. Tourism products are delivered to tourists through

the sensations of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. When tourists come to Bangladesh,

they will experience the different sensations, which will form perceptions of tourists. By

these perceptions, tourists can judge if their expectations are met. If they are satisfied

with the product that they bought, they will possibly buy it again and again; in that case,

repeat visits or business will occur. How to make a tourist satisfied? Improving the

quality of tourism products become very important.

The article ‘Lack of Distinctiveness-Image’, it is pointed out ‘with respect to

developing distinctiveness in the Bangladesh product we believe that history and culture

provide the means by which a clear and separate identity can be established’. When

Bangladesh as a tourist destination is talked about, ‘sun and sea’ will appear in most

foreigners’ mind. This means the image of Bangladesh is only limited in a very narrow

range. The cultural dimension of tourism is inseparably associated with Bangladesh.

However, the impression persists that this fundamental resource is not being treated

appropriately, with particular reference to its intrinsic and unique historic cultural

heritage. Bangladesh has rich enclaves of cultural vitality, past and present, which could

benefit from the dialogue generated by tourism, in terms of improvement and diffusion. It

is important to realize that culture tourism is not limited to the historical-artistic heritage,

but also includes popular cultures, artistic production and some contemporary

architecture.

Culture is an important core the theme in the development of the tourist

product. It includes the ‘human’ factor, as well, upon which the identity and uniqueness

of the destination is dependant. The culture of Bangladesh is reflected in the music, art,

8

theatre, literature, history, architecture, archaeology, museums, monuments, festivals,

exhibitions, and interpretative facilities of Bangladesh. Culture makes a destination

different and interesting. It is clear that Bangladesh has the capacity to provide a

rewarding and satisfying cultural experience for a wide range of tourists, at present, this

potential is not being realized, largely because of a failure in presentation. The

presentation of the culture must be approached by tourism planners with the greatest

sensitivity. (www.discovery bangladesh.com.)

Transportation for tourism is an essential element of the tourist product.

Increasingly, when transport is viewed as part of leisure, the journey is at least as

important as the destination itself. The article “Transportation” indicates that ‘Tourism is

about being elsewhere and, in consequence, the relationship between transportation and

tourism development has traditionally been regarded as ‘chicken and egg’. Adequate

transportation infrastructure and access to generating markets is one of the most

important prerequisites for the development of any destination’. (Cooper, Fletcher,

Gilbert, Shepherd, and Wanhill .1998. ‘Tourism Principles and Practice’).

2.1. Sustainable Tourism in Bangladesh.

Many tourists visit Bangladesh for its unique natural and cultural resources. In

2003 over 363000 tourists visited the country, they spent more than 117 mill. US$ from

which half was generated by trekking tourists. But less then 1% of the tourism generated

revenue reaches to the rural areas where tourism belongs. More than 90% people and

most of the tourists attractions are in rural areas of Bangladesh .Therefore tourism can be

of help to rural people benefiting them economically and socially.

9

WTO defines "sustainable tourism development meets the needs of the present

tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is

envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social

and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential

ecological processes, biological diversity and life support system."(World tourism

Organisation (1996), “World Travel Guide” Columbia press, U.S.A.).

Sustainable tourism is based on the unique characters of natural, cultural and

social environments and interests of certain groups of tourists in these environments. The

activities initiated in natural environment in the project area. Planners of sustainable

tourism development should aim for improving the environmental situations of the

project areas and minimizing negative impacts on natural, cultural and social

environments.

At the moment Bangladesh capacity to benefit fully from the socio-economic

opportunities of tourism is optimum. To promote the sustainable tourism the distribution

of tourism earnings within tourism sites in the country must not be neglected.

After the establishment of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) as a National Tourism

Organization is promoting and networking different non-governmental (Local &

International) and private sector organizations which are working for sustainable tourism

development. For example IUCN-World Conservation Union, SNV-Netherlands

Development Organization, WWF and ICIMOD- International Center for Integrated

10

Mountain Development are deeply involved in the development of sustainable tourism in

the different part of the country.

At present two networks namely "Sustainable Tourism Network" STN; and "Eco-

tourism in Protected Areas Network" ETPAN are promoting sustainable tourism in

Bangladesh. Under these networks- there we around 50 enterprises are active in their

mission

2.2. A framework for successful tourism in Bangladesh.

The comparison of the relative success and failures of tourism and environmental

management in Dhaka National Park and the Annapurna Conservation Area Project has

demonstrated that tourism, development and conservation can have a symbiotic

relationship. However, this can only be achieved if there is a holistic approach that

recognizes the joint needs of all stakeholders.

From the preceding discussion of the management of tourism and the

environment in the Dhaka and the Annapurna regions, it is suggested that there are a

number of key considerations that together comprise the holistic approach to tourism

development and environmental management that is needed in Bangladesh s mountain

regions. These considerations are:

2.3 Planning for tourism:

Tourism development in fragile environments must be part of a planned

strategy for overall development. According to the WTO, "planning tourism at all

11

levels is essential for achieving successful tourism development and management,"

(WTO, 1994, p.3). Furthermore, the importance of tourism planning as a conservation

and sustainable development technique was expressed in a World Tourism

Organization.

Participatory and local needs:

As part of this development strategy, the needs of local people must be

addressed first and they must be involved from the outset. It is generally believed that

participation helps local people to identify problems and become involved in decision

making and implementation of projects that affect their way of life, all of which

contribute to sustainable development (Nelson and Wright, 1995; Slocum and

Thomas-Slayter, 1995, cited in France, 1997; Inskeep, 1991).

Definition of stakeholder roles:

There must be a clear understanding from the outset about the roles and

responsibilities of all stakeholders and co-ordination between them.

A tourism infrastructure:

If tourism is to be part of a local development plan, an appropriate infrastructure

must be installed that will benefit tourists and locals alike.

12

Sustainable use of resources: -

Tourism should not increase pressure on local resources. In addition, alternative

sources of energy should ideally be used to supply the energy needs of the local

community.

Education and training:

Education for the resident population is fundamental to the success or failure of

tourism development and conservation. Ceballos-Lascurain (1996) suggests that

education and training in relation to tourism and the environment can be used to improve

skills, develop understanding, increase motivation and teach the effective use and

management of resources. Sharma (2003) suggests that training and manpower

development forms a major contribution towards realizing the benefits of tourism and

serves to build bridges and instill confidence among communities and development

organizations

2.4 Funding for development and conservation:

An appropriate level of tourism receipts must be made available to finance

environmental management and conservation at the same time as ensuring an overall

improvement in the living standards of the local community.

2.3. Agro Tourism.

13

The Development of Agro tourism in Bangladesh. A new chapter in Bangladesh

Tourism is the Program for the Development of Agro tourism/Rural tourism in

Bangladesh. This Program, as designed and launched by the Bangladesh Tourism

Organization, encourages the conversion of traditional houses in the picturesque villages

of the hinterland, for tourist use (accommodation establishments, tavern’s, restaurants,

cultural centers, handicraft centers etc). A significant number of traditional houses have

already been converted into accommodation establishments in accordance with the

relevant Regulations under the Hotels Law further to Town and Planning approval and

Building Permit and received their classification and operation license from the (B.T.O).

River tourism:

River tourism will capitalize on many rivers and waterways and can provide

good access to various points of interests. River cruising on big steamers, ferries can be

an arranged big river, which has very beautiful scenery by the river sides. In several

important cities along the river side food and lodging facilities must be developed up to

international standard where tourists can stay and eat if the cruise is more than one day.

2.4. Implementing Strategy.

The successful bid for hospitality contracts at the racecourse has implications for

effective management strategies to be in place to support the new operations. Tourism

development in fragile environments must be part of a planned strategy for overall

14

development. According to the planning of tourism at all levels is essential for achieving

successful tourism.

(a) An overview of the implications of the new initiative for marketing, human resource

management, financial control and the use of new technology to support operations.

(b) A plan for two of these areas, showing what they would need to put in place to

successfully support the introduction of the new contract catering business for hospitality

tents.

(c) A monitoring plan for each of these two areas to show how the success of each can be

evaluated and what further developments or improvements could be introduced in the

future.

15

Chapter-3

Research methodologies: -

3.1 Introduction: -Research is the study and finding problems as well as solutions that

are generally an organic process, which is continuous and changing. The purpose of this

study is to produce an effective senior research project as part of the BA, in hospitality

management. The purpose of this study is also to identify the need for development of the

tourism and how does it effect in the Bangladesh hospitality industry. In addition, this

will promote strong future growth and diversification in the Bangladesh tourism industry.

The objectives of the research are --

To analyze the current situation of the tourism industry in Bangladesh.

To ascertain whether Bangladesh has the potential and necessary

characteristics to attract tourist to the country.

To identify the importance of improve destinations, tourist products in order

to increase country tourism.

To suggest action plan to improve the tourism industry.

A comparative analysis of secondary data relating to tricking tourism in these two

regions is used to draw out the issues that are important to tourism development and

sustainable development in Bangladesh.

16

3.2 Primary Research Methods and Data Collection:-

Although the secondary research method has been worked out through out the

research; Inspite the primary research did not worked out through this research but I am

going to discus a little bit about it.

Primary research (Qualitative research) involves the collection of original data

using an accepted research methodology. Primary data are data originated by the

researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the research problem (Malhotra, 1993).

The process of collecting primary data is individual tailored, the cost is high, and the

collecting time is long. Since the thesis sought to explore the current situation in Cyprus

in terms of tourism development, the primary information obtained was quantitative. The

quantitative approach to research involves statistical analysis. It relies on numerical

evidence to draw conclusions or to test hypotheses (Veal, 1992).

However, through this research, the primary research methods did not used. The reasons

for not using this kind of research methods are as follows --

Time consuming: Since I am student in the foreign life and I am doing this

research as to Bangladesh for which it has become impossible to collect all the in

the information, that’s why it could difficult to do the primary research for this

thesis research purposes.

Expensive: Doing primary research is usually cost effective and that’s why it has

also been become difficult for doing the primary research methods purposes.

17

Lack of seasonality: It could also become difficult to do the primary research

because of the lack of seasonality of tourists’ arrivals in Bangladesh.

Transportation’s unavailability: If I did the primary research then it could

become difficult to complete the research because of the lack of transportation in

Bangladesh.

3.3 Secondary Data Collection:-

As Churchill (1992) mentioned, first attempts at data collection should logically

focus on secondary data. Secondary data are statistics/information not gathered for the

immediate study at hand but for other purposes (Churchill, 1992; Malhorta, 1993).

Secondary data are easily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and quickly obtained (Clark

ET. Al. 1998; Veal, 1991). On the other hand, because secondary data have been collected

for other than the study at hand, their usefulness to the current situation may be limited in

many important ways, including relevancy and accuracy. Using secondary data could

help the researcher to explain primary data more insightfully (Bryman, 2001, Malhotra,

1993).

For this quantitative thesis purpose, secondary data such as the annual reports of

Bangladesh Tourism Organization (BTO), the strategic plan for tourism 2015, general

texts on tourism and marketing, tourism, hospitality and leisure journals, the Internet and

newspapers, book magazines and other publication, magazines, personal experience and

knowledge being a students of hospitality management and living in a tourist island to get

the necessary information which is more than other sources of information.

18

Taking interview or doing any other primary researches is costly and time

consuming. So we rule on secondary research. Although I know if I have done primary

research in Bangladesh this would help us to draw a perfect picture of Bangladesh

tourism. But we are living far from the country what made it impossible to do such a

research. For getting information we depended of different sources of Internet, books,

magazines and other publication.

3.6 Data Analysis Method:-

The mainly secondary data, I will use to analyze this research. The secondary information

for this research will be collected from the relevant books, journals, magazines, articles;

statistic data’s from the BTO etc. This information’s are very latest study on the tourism

and has been examined by many researchers and it is always contains different ideas of

development aspects.

19

Chapter-4

THE AREA OF MY STUDY:

4.1. Introduction: --

After undertaking enormous research activities and using available Internet

resources as well as existing publications related to the context of the project paper, it has

been found that few people and organizations has actually done many studies concerning

the development of Tourism industry in Bangladesh. However, there had been a number

of publications by several hospitality and travel-related magazines and journals with

some comments and recommendations for the travellers that are looking forward to visit

major Bangladeshi cities. While most of the reviewed periodicals were originally

published for informative purposes with the figures often related to the specific subject

(different hotel evaluations or news releases covering Tourism hospitality industry events

in Bangladesh), nevertheless, the information gathered from those sources was used to

support some ideas as well as to create a better illustration and impartial assessment of

hospitality environment and Tourism development activities.

It was found that few people and organizations had actually done many studies

concerning the development of Tourism industry market in Bangladesh. However, there

had been a number of publications by several hospitality and travel-related magazines

and journals with some comments and recommendations for the travellers that are

looking forward to visit the major cities in Bangladesh. We believe that history and

culture provide the means by which a clear and separate identity can be established, when

Bangladesh is a tourist destination imagine, Bangladesh Poet’s Golden Bengal. The

20

musical name evokes thoughts of meandering rivers, lush green countryside, world’s

longest unbroken sea beach, single largest tea garden in the world, colourful tribal life,

remains of ancient civilisations and world’s largest man grove forest - the home of Royal

Bengal Tiger. Tourism in Bangladesh is at a critical turning point of its development.

Thus far, Bangladesh has allowed mass tourism to develop with little regard to planning

and long term sustainable development. (SALEH, A. (2003), ‘The Daily Star’, September

27, Dhaka, Bangladesh.)

Beside those objectives, I would try to investigate the strength and weakness of

Bangladesh as tourist destination and we will use future trends and demands of tourists to

shape the region not only for a particular market segment but also for all kinds of tourist

markets. For example pleasure travellers, business travellers and special interest tourists.

Being a developing country, Bangladesh has its own attraction and has a great

potentiality like any other developing countries around a world to become a major tourist

destination. I believe that Bangladesh could offer and serve all kinds of services to its

potential guests for an enjoyable and memorable holiday and satisfying them by fulfilling

their deepest desire and needs. I will also investigate the economical, social, cultural and

environmental impact on the proposed destination and the role and responsibility of

public, private and voluntary sectors in the development process to improve the

infrastructure, superstructure and different facilities and services to serve those particular

market segments.

4.2. Bangladesh as a tourism destination: --

21

Bangladesh Poet’s Golden Bengal. The musical name evokes thoughts of

meandering rivers, lush green countryside, world’s longest unbroken silver sea beach,

single largest tea garden in the world, colourful tribal life, archaeological remains,

historical monument, folk love, cultural heritage and handicrafts, remains of ancient

civilisations and world’s largest man grove forest - the home of Royal Bengal Tiger.

Bangladesh is located in South Asia within the eastern part of India. The country contains

somewhat more than125 million people; most of them live in densely settled rural and

agricultural areas. The landscape of Bangladesh is dominated by the major river system

that flow through the Jamuna, Padma and Meghna rivers. Most of the land is flat with

some hills in the East and Northeast. The main city is the capital Dhaka in the central

area. There are numerous towns scattered throughout the country.

Tourism industry clearly involves a multidisciplinary approach. The attraction for

tourists related to both natural and cultural features. There are major beaches at Cox’s

Bazaar and the Teknaf Peninsula at Cox’s Bazaar. Cox's Bazaar itself has a lot to offer;

such as the silvery sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colorful

pagodas, Buddhist temples, variety of tribes, early morning fish market, etc.

(“Bangladesh, Community development journal, 33 (3) pp. 236 – 248”.)

The country’s historical heritage reflects various cultural influences. Dhaka

contains a number of buildings from the Mogal and British periods, and has national

museum. A major historic place in Dhaka has recently been restored and will be available

for tourist use. Near Dhaka, a major historic town heritage site has been developed. The

popular culture of Bengali songs and dances, religions festivals, rat’s crafts and cuisine

are all of considerable tourist interest.

22

4.3. Potential of Bangladesh tourism: -

Increasing population and disposable income, changing lifestyle and growing

demand for leisure and recreational facilities for the local residents and domestic and

international tourists make it feasible that Bangladesh needs more attention in the aspects

of infrastructure and superstructure and other facilities in excess of which it is currently

offering to make the country as an ideal tourist destination. According to WTO statistics

India holds pride place among international tourism destinations in south Asia with 2.3

million arrivals in 1996 almost 60% arrivals in this region(Ref: World tourism

organization & Parjotan corporation, BPJC) . It is followed by Nepal, which recorded

one-sixth of the arrivals in India. Pakistan comes third with 369 thousand arrivals with a

double-digit growth followed by Maldives and Srilanka. Where as, Bangladesh received

only 116 thousand arrivals among the total arrivals 3873 thousand in south Asian region

and holds sixth position out of seven countries. International tourist arrivals Bangladesh

receive most of its visitors from Asia and the pacific.

Tourism is becoming a globally growing affluence and on increasing leisure to

the Population of Bangladesh. It has led to the introduction of transport network;

comfortable.

23

(Map-1, Bangladesh Tourist Map)

Source: Bangladesh tourism organization (BPC)

Statistics query result for Bangladesh tourism year (1993-2002)

Ten years statistics

0

50000

100000

150000

2000001

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

use H.bed

Arrival

Source; sesrtcic databases, national statistical publication and international statistical

sources.

24

4.4. Environmental Scanning of Bangladesh (PESTE analysis):

Analysis of the specific environment enables the organization to identify its

strengths and weakness, exploit opportunities and take action to minimize the impact of

threats. There are number of technique that can be used in conjunction with

environmental analysis.

4.4.1 Political Dimension:

The country is officially known as parliamentary form government. The

President is the head of the state. The government is headed by the Prime Minister -

Bangladesh maintains diplomatic relation with most developed and developing countries.

4.4.2 Economic Dimension:

Economic prospects can be determined by reviewing a range of key indicators.

Bangladesh is an agricultural country. Major agricultural products are rice, jute, wheat,

potatoes, sugarcane, tea, and tobacco. The country is the biggest exporter in the world of

jute and jute goods. Tea is also one of the major foreign exchange earners. There has also

been a rapid growth in manufacturing industries, which offer a wide range of exportable

goods such as leather goods and ready-made garments.

(A) Gross Domestic product (G.D.P): The rate of growth of Bangladesh is US $ 000.

(B)Foreign exchange rate: Taka (TK) is the unit of currency. The take is equal to 100

paisa. 1 US$ = 58 TK.

(C) Labour market: One of the cheap labour markets in the world. For this reason the

ready made garments factories are getting order from foreign countries and they are

doing very well in this industries.

4.4.3 Socio-cultural Dimension:

25

In Bangladesh the total population is more then 125 million in 2003. Bangladesh

is simple, polite and courteous. They are very friendly and hospitable towards visitors.

The state language and mother tongue is Bangle. English is also spoken and understood.

English is a second language. Bangladesh is a land of religious freedom and tolerance.

People of all caste, creed and religious live here in perfect harmony. (Bangladesh,

Community development journal, 33 (3) pp. 267 – 288.).

For entertainment there are many cinemas and theatres all over the country.

Cultural shows are quiet frequently performed at several venues. Fairs and festivals have

always played a significant role in the life of citizens. Classical forms of the sub-

continent predominant in Bangladesh dance and music.

.

4.4.4 Technological Dimension:

Technological advancement, innovation and application to hospitality and

tourism operation are notable in the areas of communication, transportation, safety and

security, food and nutrition, computer software and electronic and packaging.

Comparatively Bangladesh is doing very well communication with the other countries.

Communications with other countries internationally and domestically in Bangladesh one

place to another place are by air, rail, ship, bus/coach service, rivers, post, telephone, fax

and telegraph and internet and available everywhere including big hotels.

4.4.5 Ecological Dimension:

Bangladesh has a rich culture heritage which is evident from the vast number of

ancient monuments and sites, castles and forts around the country. All of these have

significant contribution to increase the tourism industry. The people of Bangladesh are

not very aware of recycling, conservation and the quality of water and air. The

26

government has to be more-strict about that and also make them alertness. All the

industries are established and regulated according to the constitution by the government.

4.5 Some barriers of Bangladesh tourism development:

1. Political problem:

Bangladesh is not politically stable. So anti government party always make problem with

government in order to get power of the country and some time they call stick as a result

transportation is closed and people have to move one place to other place by foot only.

2. Food and drinks:-

Limited availability of western food although the best hotels and restaurant

have continental dishes and Dhaka has many good international restaurants. There are

many local specialities, usually server with rice and based on chicken and lamb.

Seafood is also recommending particularly prawns.

3. Drinks:-

Alcoholic drink is expensive and strict Muslim customs severely limit availability and

drinking items, although there are so many legal bar, pub, leading hotels have bar which

will serve alcohol; soft drinks and tea available.

4. Night life:-

There are few club & disco in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshai etc

Leading hotels have bars, but Western-style night club do not exist. Displays of local

dance and music are occasionally to be seen, particularly during religious festival.

5. Social conventions:

Woman should not be specially photographed unless it is certain that there will

be no objection. Woman should wear trousers or long skirts; revealing cloths should be

27

avoided, particularly when visiting religious places. Dress is generally informal for man.

There are certain changes in modern era.

6. Photography:

In rural areas people are becoming more used to tourists; however permission should be

requested before photographs are taken to of individuals. Military instructions are starkly

forbidden to be taken photograph. Tipping: Most services expect a tip hotel; give 10% for

restaurant stuff and 5% for taxi drivers.

7. Medical Facilities:

Medical facilities in Bangladesh do not approach U.S standards, even in tourist areas.

Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. U.S

medical insurance is not always valid out sides the United States. Supplemental of the

health insurance that specially covers oversees treatment and medical evacuation

insurance that covers the high cost of emergency air evacuation to another country with

better medical facilities may prove useful. Additional information on health problems can

be obtained from the Centres for Disease control and prevention’s information traveller’s.

8. Problem on crime:

Crime rates in Bangladesh have traditionally been low compared to those in others areas

of the world. However crime in Dhaka and Chittagong is increasing, as are reports of

crime involving weapons. Foreigners have not been especially targeted but could be scare

for tourists.

9. Traffic safety and road Conditions:

The Bangladesh road network is in generally poor condition, in part, due to the

difficulty of building and maintaining a transportation infrastructure across a vast river

28

delta. The streets of Dhaka are congested, with hundreds of thousands of bicycle

rickshaws competing with three wheeled taxis, cars, bus and trucks for limited road

space. Because indicate roads are narrows and in poor condition, driving outside urban

areas at night may be dangerous. http://”www.bdonline.com.tourism.htm.”

10. Natural problems:

Bangladesh has some natural problem which are the problem for developing it as

a tourist country and this kind of natural problems are included too much rain in season,

floods, cyclone, and tornado etc.

Chapter-5

FINDING AND DATA ANALYSIS

In this pert, I have analysis the main of objectives and the findings of the research.

29

5.1 To analyze the Current situation of Tourism industry in Bangladesh: --

Bangladesh is located in South Asia within the close touch of the eastern part of

India. The country contains somewhat more than130.3 million people B.P.C (1999), most

of them live in densely settled rural and agricultural areas. The landscape of Bangladesh

is dominated by the major river system that flow through the Jamuna, Padma and

Meghna rivers. Most of the land is flat with some hills in the East and Northeast. The

main city is the capital Dhaka in the central area. There are numerous towns scattered

throughout the country.

Tourism industry clearly involves a multidisciplinary approach. The attraction

for tourists related to both natural and cultural features. There are major beaches at Cox’s

Bazaar and the Teknaf Peninsula at Cox’s Bazaar. Cox's Bazar along has many thing to

offer for tourism; such as the silvery sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch

shells, colorful pagodas, Buddhist temples, variety of tribes, early morning fish market,

etc. There also the old wooden Buddhist temples at Ramu. Only five kilometres distance,

Teknaf, which is the southernmost tip of the mainland of Bangladesh, is a memorable

journey either Moheshkhali or Sonadia, the deltaic islands nestled among the gentle

waves of the Bay of Bengal, will also be really interesting. (Internet search-1)

The St. Martins Island is the only place in Bangladesh where people can observe living

coral. The Rangamati and Chittagong hill Tracts, also in the East, offer scenic landscapes,

indigenous tribal life and Lake Recreation. Also sylhet, Rajshai, Dinajpur, Khulna (where

people can see sunrise and sunshine), million of tourist attraction and unpredictable

beauties existed. Recently a park has established in Ashulia which has named “fantasy

30

world” it also called “Disney land” of Asia B.P.C (1998). The attractions are confined in

the area where people will find the ancient touch and natural beauty. Some interesting

forests, tea plantations and bird’s life lie in the Sylhet district in the Northeast. The

Sunder bans in the South contain vast mangrove and tidal forest with ample wildlife

including the Bengal tigers and crocodiles. More generally, the extensive river system

offers opportunities for developing reverie tourism. (Abbey J. R. (1996), “Hospitality

Sales & Advertising” second edition, U.S.A).

According to Leak, A and Yeoman I (1999).The country’s historical heritage

reflects various cultural influences. Dhaka contains a number of buildings from the

Mongol and British periods, and has national museum. A major historic palace in Dhaka

has recently been restored and will be available for tourist use. Near Dhaka, a major

historic town heritage site has been developed. The popular culture of Bengali songs and

dances, religions festivals, rat’s crafts and cuisine are all of considerable tourist interest.

Increasing population and also there disposable income, changing lifestyle and growing

demand for leisure and recreational facilities for the local residents and domestic and

international tourists make it feasible that Bangladesh needs more attention in the aspects

of infrastructure and superstructure and other facilities in excess of which it is currently

offering to make the country as an ideal tourist destination. According to WTO statistics;

India holds pride place among international tourism destinations in south Asia with 2.3

million arrivals in 1996 almost 60% arrivals in this region (Ref: World tourism

organization & Parjotan corporation, B.P.C (2000). It is followed by Nepal, which

recorded one-sixth of the arrivals in India. Pakistan comes third with 369 thousand

arrivals with a double-digit growth followed by Maldives and Srilanka. Where as,

31

Bangladesh received only 116 thousand arrivals among the total arrivals 3873 thousand

in south Asian region and holds sixth position out of seven countries. As for arrivals,

India takes the lion’s share of tourism receipts in region recording US$ 3 billion receipts

in 1996 or over 80 percent of the total south Asia. Maldives is second highest tourism

earning destination in the region with US$ 265 million. Srilanka comes in the third

position, followed by Pakistan and Nepal. Where as Bangladesh receipts only US$ 32

million and confirmed sixth position with only 1% of total market share among the south

Asian countries. International tourist arrivals Bangladesh receive most of its visitors from

Asia and the pacific. Nearly 40% of visitors are from India alone, with the rest of the

Asian and Pacific countries. Accounting for an additional 22% of the visitors of countries

outside the Asian and Pacific realm, the U.K. contributes the most visitors 5.09%. From

all the visitors, some are pleasure travellers. Some are business travellers and others come

to visit friends and relatives. Dhaka is the main destination for business tourists and some

other kinds of tourists. In recent statistic 1999 Tourism increased in most countries in this

region, resulting in an increase of 8.3 per cent over the previous year’s results. India

registered an increase of 5.2 percent, while arrivals in the Islamic Republic of Iran rose

by 16.5 per cent, in Sri Lanka by14.4 per cent, in Maldives by 8.6 per cent and

Bangladesh 10.3 per cent increased, in the year 2000 Bangladesh showed a record high

performance in international tourist’s receipts. According to B.P.C (2002) reports,

Bangladesh received 200,000 which represent an increase of 15.6 per cent over 1999 with

an average annual growth between 1995 and 2000 of 5.1 per cent. From this statistic, it is

easily forecasted that tourist arrivals will increase in Bangladesh dramatically in the near

future because South Asia region is the second fasted growing tourism region of the

32

world 60th for tourist’s arrivals and tourist receipts. So, Bangladesh as a destination can

be success on tourism business with the world. Tourism is becoming a globally growing

affluence and on increasing leisure to the population of Bangladesh. It has led to the

introduction of transport network; comfortable and comparatively cheap air transport

systems, the use of automobiles and the development of other means of transport and

infrastructure facilities are primarily linked for the increase in the tourist trade. According

to B.P.C (1998) the transportations and the superstructures of the country increased in

greater portion and there main emphasize is given on the tourism increase of the country.

( http://www.Statistic /bangladesh tourism.com . )

5.2. Ascertain whether Bangladesh has the potential and necessary

characteristics to attract tourist to the country: --

In Bangladesh the total population is about 130.3 million in 2001. Bangladesh

is simple, polite and courteous. People of Bangladesh are very friendly and hospitable

towards visitors. The state language is Bangla. English is also spoken and understood.

English is a second language. Bangladesh is a land of religious freedom and tolerance.

People of all caste, creed and religious live here in perfect harmony. For entertainment

there are many cinemas and theatres all over the country. Cultural shows are quiet

frequently performed at several venues. Fairs and festivals have always played a

significant role in the life of citizens. Classical forms of the sub-continent predominant in

Bangladesh dance and music. Among from all the population 39% are in 0-14 years, 58%

are in 15-64 years and 3% are 65 and above. By occupation 70% are farmer or related

and the rest are in different service industries, government jobs and business people. The

nationality of Bangladesh is called Bangladeshi. Most of the people are belongs to lower

33

class and 30% are middle class and a very few percentage is in upper class. 83% of the

whole nation is literate. Though there are lots of university and colleges still there is hard

competition for admission.

Technological advancement, innovation and application to hospitality and

tourism operation are notable in the areas of communication, transportation, safety and

security, food and nutrition, computer software and electronic and packaging.

Comparatively Bangladesh is doing very well communication with the other countries.

Communications with other countries internationally and domestically in Bangladesh one

place to another place are by air, rail, ship, bus/coach service, rivers, post, telephone, fax

and telegraph and internet and available everywhere including big hotels. Bangladesh has

a rich culture heritage which is evident from the vast number of ancient monuments and

sites, castles and forts around the country. All of these have significant contribution to

increase the tourism industry. The people of Bangladesh are not very aware of recycling,

conservation and the quality of water and air. The government has to be more-strict about

that and also make them alertness. All the industries are established and regulated

according to the constitution by the government (Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation;

(1999). “Bangladesh Tourist Hand Book”, Dhaka, Bangladesh).

There is limited availability of western foods, although the best hotels and

restaurant have continental dishes and Dhaka has many good international restaurants.

There are many local specialities, usually server with rice and based on chicken and

lamb. Seafood is also recommending particularly prawns. Kebabs are widely available

sweets include khera, Misti, Dodhi, zorda, sandesh.

34

Alcoholic drink is expensive and strict for the Muslim as there custom. There

is limit on availability of all drinking items; although there are so many legal bars, pub.

The leading hotels have bar which will serve alcohol; soft drinks and tea available. There

are few club & disco in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshai etc. The leading hotels have

bars, but Western-style night club do not exist. Displays of local dance and music are

occasionally to be seen, particularly during religious festival.

Woman should not be specially photographed unless it is certain that there will

be no objection. Woman should wear trousers or long skirts; revealing cloths should be

avoided, particularly when visiting religious places. Dress is generally informal for man.

There are certain changes in modern era. In rural areas people are becoming more used to

tourists; however permission should be requested before photographs are taken to of

individuals. Military instructions are slickly forbidden to be taken photograph. Tipping:

Most services expect a tip hotel; give 10% for restaurant stuff and 5% for taxi drivers. It

is customary.

Medical facilities in Bangladesh do not approach U.S standards, even in

tourist areas. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health

services. U.S medical insurance is not always valid out sides the United States.

Supplemental of the health insurance that specially covers oversees treatment and

medical evacuation insurance that covers the high cost of emergency air evacuation to

another country with better medical facilities may prove useful. Additional information

on health problems can be obtained from the Centres for Disease control and prevention’s

information traveller’s.

35

Crime rates in Bangladesh have traditionally been low compared to those in

others areas of the world. However crime in Dhaka and Chittagong is increasing, as are

reports of crime involving weapons. Foreigners have not been especially targeted but

could be scare for tourists.

The Bangladesh road network is in generally poor condition, in part, due to the

difficulty of building and maintaining a transportation infrastructure across a vast river

delta. The streets of Dhaka are congested, with hundreds of thousands of bicycle

rickshaws competing with three wheeled taxis, cars, bus and trucks for limited road

space. Because indicate roads are narrows and in poor condition, driving outside urban

areas at night may be dangerous.

Bangladesh has some natural problem which are the problem for developing it

as a tourist country and this kind of natural problems are included too much rain in

season, floods, cyclone, and tornado etc.

5.3. Identify the importance of developing Tourist destinations and

products in order to increase Tourism: --

As we concern that the Sustainable Development is a precondition for the

development of tourism. Without the integration of sustainable development with tourism

in the context of its spatial location and environments, it can hardly flourish as a

profitable venture with reference to socio- economic, cultural and natural settings (Harris

R, Griffin T and William P, (2002). Therefore, basically let us see how we can relate the

sustainable development in the context of tourism in Bangladesh. The conservation of

physical capital, particularly natural resources, was the original aim of sustainable

36

development. WCED and Pezzoli (1997) state, it has rapidly become apparent that local

environmental sustainability requires a commitment to local care. This in turn assumes a

certain level of awareness and empowerment amongst communities by linking

environmental objectives with social, political and economic development. However,

Drakakis – Smiths (1995) argued that sustainability should not be confounded with

sustained development. So, we nevertheless suggest that sustainability can only be

measured as sustained change. It is thus important to note that the frugal management of

bio-physical resources must be seen as part of a broader process of sustainable

development and that we need - development which addresses present needs without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs WCED, (1987).

Therefore, in turn, we define sustainable development as the ability acquired and held by

communities over time, to initiate and control development, thus enabling communities

to participate more effectively to their own destiny (World tourism Organisation (1996).

“World Travel Guide”, Columbia press. U.S.A).

The tourism development strategy that Bangladesh can follow is regionalist approach of

establishing tourism zone. Each zone is focusing on a cluster of attractions. The unique

tourism appropriate for different zones is stated below.

River tourism: --

River tourism is expected to capitalise on many rivers and waterways and also

make to provide good access to various points of interests. River cruising on big

steamers, ferries can be an arranged big river, which has very beautiful scenery by the

37

river sides. In several important cities along the river side food and lodging facilities must

be developed up to international standard where tourists can stay and eat if the cruise is

more than one day.

Village tourism: --

In 1996, WTO carried out a mission for the formulation of an environmentally

acceptable and economically viable 10-year plan for the development of village tourism

in the Dhaka area. The project intended to draw up plans and policies in the form of a

Tourism Development Plan to outline a strategy for village tourism in the Dhaka area,

Together with Village Plans that provided detailed proposals for key attraction areas.

Those plans also provided guidance on the sensitive provision of facilities, design control

and environmental conservation, and the monitoring and management of visitor numbers,

as well as for the necessary public and private investment programmes for infrastructure

provision. Proposals were outlined for both the short-term (5 years) and long-term (10

years) scenarios (Bangladesh Community development journal, 33 (3) pp. 226 – 238).

Forest and wild life: --

The development of forest tourism is a good attraction for international tourists. The

largest mangrove forests in the world at the southern part of Bangladesh called

“sundarban”. Journey by small motorised boats will be very attractive and adventurous.

In response to a request by the Government of Bangladesh, WTO fielded in 1993 a

technical assistance mission to formulate an environmentally acceptable and

economically viable ten-year plan for tourism development in the Sunder bans area. This

mission followed the 1988 UNDP/WTO Strategic Master Plan for Tourism which

38

recognized Sunder bans as one of the potential areas for development for both domestic

and international tourism.

The Sunder bans area represents the largest mangrove forest in the world, two-thirds

of which is located in Bangladesh (some 6,000 sq. km) and the remainder in India. It

comprises a network of rivers and waterways, numerous islands, and extensive areas of

impenetrable forest and swamplands. This area is noted for its rich wildlife and

principally as the main habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger. The development objective of

the mission was to guide the potentially significant growth of tourism in the Sunder bans

area in such a way as to protect and minimize the impact upon wildlife and the

environment through effective conservation measures, to improve infrastructure and

accessibility to the area, and to generate improved job opportunities and income for the

local population.

Beach resorts: --

Enjoy miles of WHITE SANDY BEACHES at Cox's Bazaar and virginal Teknaaf on the

eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal unspoilt by tourist. Bangladesh has the longest

unbroken sandy beach in the world which is about 120 km long. This can be a good

attraction for the sun lovers.

5.5 To suggest action plan to improve the tourism industry: --

39

The promotion programme is prepared based on several considerations. The

marketing strategy; knowledge of marketing distribution channels; the promotion

techniques available; and the amount of the budget. This programme is usually designed

for a three to five year period. It specifies by year the types of promotion to be

undertaken and their estimated costs. Continuing costs, such as for maintenance of offices

in the market source countries and local tourist information offices, are usually included

in the promotion budget. The most commonly used promotional techniques on

Bangladesh tourism are as follows:

Preparing printed material such on Bangladesh tourism as brochures, posters, maps,

postcards and travel agent manuals, and distributing these to travel agents, tour operators

and the tourist consumers.

1. Preparing audio-visual material slide, film and video shows for use in travel seminars

and other types of presentations.

2. Advertising in newspapers, magazines, radio and television aimed at the tourist

consumers and travel publications aimed at tour operators.

3. Attending travel trade fairs, of which there one now many held annually in Europe,

North America and East Asia, in order to attract overseas tourists.

4. Undertaking special promotional trips to the market countries in order to contact

travel and tour operators.

5. Inviting and hosting visits by tour operators and travel writers and photographers.

6. Preparing and publishing guide and general information books about the areas, if

these are not available commercially. These books can be sold to recover the costs

involved.

40

5.6 Component of Tourism development: --Basic to understanding the planning of tourism is knowledge of the component of tourism

development and their interrelationship. Various categories of these components are

presented in literature on tourism, but the same basic types of component are always

included. For the purpose of planning approach used in this project, the component are

classified and described as follows:

Tourist attention and activities: - All those natural, cultural, and special features and

related activities of an area that attract tourist to visit it.

Accommodation: - Hotel and other type of facilities and their related services where

tourist stay overnight during there travels.

Other tourist facilities and services:- Other facilities and services necessary for tourism

development, including tour and travel operations (also called receptive services),

restaurant and other type of eating establishment, retail outlets for handicraft, souvenir,

speciality, and convenience goods, banks, money exchange, and other financial facilities

and services, tourist information offices, personal service such as barbers and beauticians,

medical facilities and services, public safety facilities and services of police and fire

protection, and entry and exist travel facilitation of customs and immigration.

Transportation facilities and services: - Transportation access into the country, region,

of development area, the internal transportation system linking the attractions and

development areas and transportation within the development areas, including all types of

facilities and services related to land, water, and air transportation.

41

Other infrastructure:- In addition to transportation, the other necessary infrastructure,

including water supply, electric power, sewage and solid waste disposal,

telecommunications of telephone, telegraph, internet(e-mail) telex and fax, sometimes

radio; at the development area level, drainage is also an important infrastructure

consideration.

Institutional elements:- The institutional elements necessary to develop and manage

tourism, including manpower planning and education and training programs, marketing

strategies and promotion programs, public and private sector tourism organisational

structures, tourism-related legislation and regulations, public and private sector

investment policies and economic, environmental and socio-cultural programs and impact

controls.

Secondary data represented fast and inexpensive research information. In addition

secondary data rarely provide a complete solution to a research problem. The statistics

those I enclose in order for presenting for this project analysis purposes. The source was

mainly from the Bangladesh tourism organization (BPC). This senior research project’s

objective is to identifying the real surrounding situation of the Bangladesh tourism in the

hospitality industry. The secondary data were obtained mainly from BPC (Bangladesh

Parjaton Corporation). Tourism in Bangladesh is at a critical turning point of its economy

development. Thus far, Bangladesh has allowed tourism to develop with little regard to

planning and long-term sustainable development (Ten Years Strategic Marketing Plan).

In the year 2000, Bangladesh showed record high performances in year 2000 both in

international tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts. Bangladesh receive

200,000 tourists in 2000, which is represents in increase of 15.6 percent over 1999, with

42

an average annual growth for same period in international tourist receipts reached 20.7

per cent. B.P.C (2002).

One of key issues was the dependence of the rapid growth of tourism in Bangladesh

on a single tourist market. From the table no – 1, it is found that European & Eastern

Europe visitors accounted for about 55 percent of all arrivals to Bangladesh. Due to the

fact that the European market has reached zenith levels in the Bangladesh tourism

industry, this presents an over dependency on it. It becomes necessary to change the

strategic marketing for BPC to attract more European tourists. From the view of BPC,

according to its “Development of a Long Term Strategy for Bangladesh Tourism, the

tourist authorities are aware of the increased risks associated with having a narrow source

of origin for tourism and they are working towards diversifying the market.

By evaluating the report “Sustainable Tourism and Competitiveness in the Asian

tourism”, another important point arose was that Bangladesh operates primarily in the

mass tourist market where price competition is intense and as a consequence, profit

margins are being squeezed. This clearly relates to Gilbert’s “status area” versus

“commodity status”, in which he recommends that it’s better to be unique and cost more

than to be cheap and forgettable. He also recommends that differentiation the tourism

market gets better results rather than over extending the already stretched mass tourist

one.

Table1:

Tourist Arrivals By Country

Country Year 2000Percentage %

United Kingdom 18600 9.3%

43

Germany 9800 4.9%Switzerland 2200 1.1%France 2600 1.3%Holland 1740 0.87%Belgium/Luxembourg 2400 1.2%Austria 6600 3.3%Italy 9200 4.6%Ireland 2600 1.3%Greece 7800 3.9%Nordic countries 24000 12%Russia + Other CIS 10000 5%Countries in Eastern Europe 22460 11.23%Australia & New eland 18000 9%Arab Countries 10000 5%America, Canada, Mexico, 12000 6%Asian 32000 16%Other Countries 18000 9%All Countries 100.00%

Source: BPC 2000.page 07 line 5-9.

As we can compare the new development tourist destination with Bangladesh, we

have to do lot of development to be a good/similar destination like others Asian tourists’

destination, as follows LDC, S Statistics: http://www.Statistic Bangladesh tourism.com

Table -2:

44

The tourism resources of Bangladesh are not unilateral. Bangladesh has historical

sites, museums with a large collection of antiquities and treasures, themed routes, nature

trails, and many other interest products, which are dispersed, in the different areas of the

country attracting tourists to visit different areas of Bangladesh. The following chart

shows the length of tourist stay to the different destination of the country;

Chart1:

45

Tourists length of Stay

10%

17%

6%

25%

15%27%

Dhaka

chittagong

Shylet

cox's bazar

Hill tract

Around chittagong

Source: BPC 2003

According to the chart above it can be notice that greater portion of tourist visitors choose

to stay at the coxes bazer which is 27% percent of total arrival and the 25% is in

Cittagong city. The reason can be deem that it is a tourist spot with many attraction and

the large see beach where people enjoy sun and see. In addition the rest of the

destinations are receiving relatively low arrival like Dhaka 10% and hill tract 15% which

is comparatively lower than Cittangong and coxes bazer. Possible reason that can be

mention for this is the less opportunity of tourist accessibility to this places and the

population gathering.

The strength of the appeal of a destination to tourists is critically linked to the

type and quality of ‘activities’ it offers. It is the activities that Bangladesh offers that will

stimulate an interest in visiting the country. More reasons should be given to potential

visitors to come to Bangladesh. One extremely important way of achieving this is to

develop a wide range of special interest tourism products. This is important because it not

only targets those who pursue a special interest and therefore, opens up new market

potential but it also attracts individual with a more generalist holiday in mind. “Strategic

46

Plan for Tourism 2008” regarding Special Interest Products, focuses on the creation of

products that can project the uniqueness of Bangladesh as a destination.

The Special Interest Products will act as attractors to the destination, which of the same

time they will offer opportunities for activities and entertainment. In this case it does not

generate new business but it does lead to a higher level of satisfaction. For example, a

person may seek a resort-based holiday but also be attracted by the additional prospect of

walking in the Chittagong hill tract & Rangamati. It is an additional incentive and can

result in providing that extra reason to choose one destination from another. As shown

chart 1, that from the research most of the tourists are stay in around the Chittagong,

Cox’s Bazar, and Chittagong hill tracts. Few of them are stay in Dhaka and others city.

Chart2:

Source: World tourism organization (WTO)

As shown chart 2, Data from the World Tourism Organization (WTO) for 1998

indicate that developing countries, including the LDCs, account for approximately 61%

of international tourist arrivals but only 53% of international tourism receipts. Receipts

per arrival averaged US$609 for developing countries, as compared with US$827 for

developed market economies. For LDCs, the average receipts per arrival were US$502.

47

Of the LDCs, only Tanzania is a significant tourism destination generating US$ 570

million in visitor expenditure. Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda are the only other countries

to generate more than US$ 100 million. Zambia ranks along side these countries in terms

of visitor numbers but its receipts per arrival are much lower as it attracts high numbers

of day visitors to Victoria Falls. In terms of the proportion of exports represented by

tourism receipts, the highest for the LDCs is again Tanzania with nearly 35%, followed

by Vanuatu (33%) and the Gambia (24%). For countries such as Guinea, Malawi,

Bangladesh, Djibouti and even Ethiopia, tourism receipts represent a very small

proportion of export earnings. In contrast, tourism represents over 100% of the export

revenues of many Caribbean countries. Of the 20 LDCs sampled, eight have above

average earnings from tourism.

Chart 3:

Last ten years statistics

Arrival

Year

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

years

Arr

ival

Year Arrival

As shown chart 4, last ten years statistics of tourist arrivals in Bangladesh, as we have

seen that from 1991 to year’s 2000 big difference of tourists’ arrivals. Bangladesh is a

48

great tourist destination; it can be the best destination in Asia, if BPC have superior and

development of some tourism sector. (http://www.Statistic Bangladesh tourism.com)

The data furnished below has been collected by Bangladesh Tourism Corporation

through a primary research (sustainable tourism in Bangladesh). I have encoded those

data’s from 2000 publication of Bangladesh Parjaton Corporation publications and Asian

tourism magazine as well. So these data’s are consider as secondary data for us. As it is

given below:

Chart4:

Shown as Table 5, a big percentage of tourists, who is 48%, considered that the rates of

While compared with other similar tourist destinations, this is an important and big

weakness in the drastic competition today, also only few percent of tourists says that rate

is high and most of them say that fair. As they should realize that only low rate doesn’t

49

1% 5% 5%

41%48%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

very high high very low low fairly

How about price in Bangladesh tourist industry.

make the improvement and tourist increasing. BPC have to make increase of rate and

improvement of service and increasing facilities

Chart5:

Shown as chart 5, there are 31% tourists choosing Scenery, 30% culture and customs and

29% historical heritage but only 5% on safety. From here, we can find that safety is still

No. 1 problem in tourists’ mind. Also it is proved that Bangladesh is not tourist

destination. Safety is its one of the most important disadvantages. From here, we can find

50

5%5%

31%30%29%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Historicalheritage

Cultureand

Customs

Scenery Others

I like Bangladesh because of.....

that the historical heritage and culture of Bangladesh are very important attractive points

for tourists.

Chart6:

18%

49%

5%

23%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

stronglyagree

agree stranglydisagree

disagree others,pleasespecify

Most local people treat tourists friendly and hospitable.

As it has shown on Chart 6, although most tourists are satisfied with the attitudes of local

people to them, they’re over 5% of tourists express their strong dissatisfactions and 23%

of tourists also disagree. The impressions of tourists on local people directly affect

tourists’ repeat visit to Bangladesh. In addition, tourists will tell their friends their

experiences in Bangladesh. So on the research demonstrated that BPC have to improve

their approach and at least hospitality associated people.

51

Chart7:

Chart7:

According to the above chart, nearly 85% of tourists consider that the public

transportation of Bangladesh is not convenient. It means big problem with public

transportation problems include limited time, limited lines, limited number of times, etc.

Some tourists have very bad impression about Driver. One of them said that the traffic of

Bangladesh is too dangerous; some drivers were not good at driving at all! Also the

transportation has no vacancy most of the time, no special tourist’s service transportation.

52

1%

10%

65%

20%

4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

stronglyagree

agree stranglydisagree

disagree others,pleasespecify

Transportation of Bangladesh is convenience for Tourist

CHAPTER 6

Conclusions & Recommendations

6.1 Conclusion Regarding Hypothesis 1:

I accept my Research Hypothesis 1 because of the following reasons --

6.1.1 After analyzing the research hypothesis number 1, the hospitality industry is able to

attract tourists for the total entertainments of many attractions of this country have to

offer. Many tourist returns to Bangladesh for their holidays because of the weather, the

clean beaches and the nightlife of Dhaka. The service to the guests receive from the

hotels must be sufficient and obviously high standard are kept for the endurances of the

guests needs.

6.1.2 Greatly positive support of tourism development is consisted. Such as

environmental support of warm weather, sunning sandy beaches, the diverse cultural

identity and the inland tropical facilities are existed.

6.1.3 In Bangladesh the total population is about 130.3 million in 2001. Bangladesh is

simple, polite and courteous. They are very friendly and hospitable towards visitors. The

state language and mother tongue is Bangle. English is also spoken and understood.

English is a second language. Bangladesh is a land of religious freedom and tolerance.

People of all caste, creed and religious live here in perfect harmony.

For entertainment there are many cinemas and theatres all over the country. Cultural

shows are quiet frequently performed at several venues. Fairs and festivals have always

53

played a significant role in the life of citizens. Classical forms of the sub-continent

predominant in Bangladesh dance and music.

Among from all the population 39% are in 0-14 years, 58% are in 15-64 years and

3% are 65 and above. By occupation 70% are farmer or related and the rest are in

different service industries, government jobs and business people. The nationality of

Bangladesh is called Bangladeshi. Most of the people are belongs to lower class and 30%

are middle class and a very few percentage is in upper class. 83% of the whole nation is

literate. Though there are lots of university and colleges still there is hard competition for

admission.

6.2 Conclusion Regarding Hypothesis 2:

I accept my Research Hypothesis 2 because of the following reasons --

6.2.1 Cox's Bazaar is the tourist capital of Bangladesh. Having the world's longest

unbroken (120 km) sandy beach sloping gently down to the blue waters of the Bay of

Bengal against the picturesque background of a chain of hill covered with deep green

forests. Cox's Bazaar is one of the most attractive tourist spots in the world. Miles of

golden sands, towering cliffs surfing waves, rare conch shells, colourful pagodas,

Buddhist temples and tribes, delightful seafood - these are specialties of Cox's Bazaar.  

The beach is good and obvious flexible for bathing, sunbathing and swimming. The

breath-taking beauty of the sun-setting behind the waves of the sea is captivating.

Attractive local variety of cigars and handloom products of the Rakhyne tribal

54

families are good buys. Their unique customs and costumes attract visitors. Cox's

Bazar is connected both by air and road from Dhaka and Chittagong. Visits to the

fascinating picnic spot at Himchari, Teknaf, Buddhist temple at Ramu and nearby

island of Sonadia, St. Martin and Mohaskhali are memorable experience of one's

lifetime. 

6.2.2 Institution Building and Participatory Planning.

Experience in the Cox's Bazaar  area shows the importance of

participatory institution Building at the local level in linking tourism

with environmental conservation, and Economic and cultural

development. There is a clear need to nurture and promote such

Institutions to deal with tourism impacts on environment and culture as

well as facilitate a more equitable sharing of tourism benefits. Broad

representation, local leadership, transparency in decision-making and

sustaining resource base are essential for the Development of such

institutions.

6.2.3 Promoting Tourism as a Package.

In order to enhance the linkages of tourism with the local

economy, tourism promotion has to be conceived as a coordinated

package of location and region-specific programmes that would include

forest protection, conservation education, environmental monitoring

System, alternative energy technology, promotion of local crafts,

resource management,

55

and support for appropriate agricultural, horticultural and livestock

development and

processing activities among others.

6.3 Recommendation: --

A national tourism policy should be brimmed and debarred immediately. Private

sectors should be given due priority sufficient incentives like tax holiday, bank loans,

should be accorded to the private entrepreneurs for establishment of tourists installations.

Department of Forests has its own development plus which should be co-ordinate any

synchronised with the tourism master plan.

Low and order situation should be given due attention for safety and security of the

tourists in different tourist spots. A tourist police cadre may be raised as available in

many countries of the world. Tourists’ spots may be locally developed by District

Council, Upazilla Councils and similar agencies, such schemes may be adopted in

consultation with Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation. Adequate entertainment facilities

should be developed for the foreign tourists in different areas of the country.

Measures should be taken to organise package tours from abroad to and through

Bangladesh in collaboration with Biman-Bangladesh Airlines and town tour operators of

the East and the West.

Tourism should be declared as an “Industry”. Development of domestic tourism

should consider a pre-requisite for international tourism, because domestic tourism is the

backbone of international tourism and it helps to develop the country’s infrastructure and

superstructure. “Village Tourism” should be developed depicting the country’s heritage,

tradition and culture by selecting some village and raising those as much.

56

Bangladesh missions abroad should play a more positive role in encouraging the

country of their accreditation to visit Bangladesh individually or in group or in

collaboration with the tour operators of that country. Bangladesh Porjotan Corporation

should open tourism office abroad especially in the tourist generating regions. If

necessary, it may be done in collaboration with Biman Bangladesh Airlines or in the

premises of Bangladesh Mission.

In order to develop regional tourism even SARRC countries should join together

and evolve suitable programs. Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation should open tourist

office abroad especially in the tourist generating regions. If necessary, it may be done in

collaboration with Biman Bangladesh Airlines or in the premises of Bangladesh

Missions. In order to develop international tourism Bangladesh frontier formalities

should be further simplified. The system of “Tourism Visa” should be included.

Government may offer confessional duty for importation of tourist vehicles to enable the

private sector to provide cheaper transport facility especially for the domestic tourists.

Soft bank loan facilities for financing tourist establishment may be considered by the

government. Government should allocate adequate funds for Bangladesh Porjatan

Corporation in the Revenue Budget every year for its promotional programmes.

The hotel and tourism training Institute of Bangladesh Porjatan Corporation should be

upgraded to introduce advanced level raining courses in various disciplines of the tourism

trade which will ultimately contribute towards more employment generation. An

integrated development of the transport system within the country by land, water, air and

rail should be made. Bangladesh can make many 5*, 4* and 3* hotels near the tourists

57

destinations. (Bangladesh tourist handbook, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, National

Tourism Organization, (2000).

Conservation and protection of wildlife and forest ordinances should be updated to

suit the needs of tourism development. A modern Aquarium may be build at Cox’s

Bazaar Sea Beach. Bangladesh has to avoid political problems to getting more tourists.

Protection of environment should be ensured and all possible steps should be taken

against pollution of the environment.

“Special Tourism Road Transports” should be allowed duty free by the

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation for easy movement of tourists within the country.

Bangladesh tourist season begin from October to March, off season tourism should be

developed by providing facilities for rowing, boating, swimming, water skiing, angling

for attracting more and more tourists

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