Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Thursday sought foreign investment in the tourism sector to help grow the sector further with an increased employment generation.
“We need cooperation from neighbours to get more tourists…we also invite investments here,” he said.
The Tourism Minister made the call while addressing the inaugural session of a three-day tourism fair tiled ‘4th Asian Tourism Fair, 2015’ at Bashundhara International Convention City in the city as the chief guest.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) Chairman Dr Aparup Chowdhury, Bhutanese Ambassador in Dhaka Pema Choden, Nepalese Ambassador HK Shrestha, Philippine Ambassador Vicente Vivencio T Bandillo, Cultural Councilor, Chinese Ambassador Chen Shuang, ILO Senior Adviser Francis De Silva and Parjatan Bichitra Editor Mohiuddin Helal also spoke on the occasion.
‘Parjatan Bichitra’, a monthly magazine, in collaboration with the BPC, Bangladesh Tourism Board, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry is hosting the fair to promote tourism in Bangladesh.
The Tourism Minister said the tourism sector has huge potentials in Bangladesh and there is scope to boost employment generation and remove poverty through further development of the sector.
Recognising the importance of such an event, Menon said public relations and marketing are is very important for the development of the tourism industry.
The diplomats who spoke on the occasion laid emphasis on joint efforts to help each other in promoting tourism and culture within the region.
They also invited Bangladeshi tourists to visit their respective countries and explore historic sites and enjoy hospitalities.
Aparup Chowdhury said they are trying to come out from traditional ways of promoting tourism by focusing on community-based tourism, eco-tourism maintaining biodiversity.
He said the government is putting in its best efforts to have a sustainable development of the sector. The BPC Chairman invited the foreigners to visit Bangladesh more frequently.
Mohiuddin Helal said, “We truly believe that ATF-Dhaka is a mega showcase for regional tourism development by showcasing travel and tourism organizations.”
He announced that some 30 countries, 300 exhibitors and 400 booths will be there in the next year’s event.
The fair will remain open for the visitors from 10am to 9pm while per person entry fee is fixed at Tk 20.
Stalls of various tour operators, travel agents, airlines, hotels and other service providers from both private and public sectors from eight Asian countries are taking part in it.
The participating countries are showcasing their best offers and packages for different tourism destinations.
During the fair, there will be a number of diversified activities to promote tourism industry in Bangladesh including youth tourism skill competition, seminar on impact of sustainable tourism, community cultural program, children’s art competition on theme of “Beautiful Bangladesh” etc.
After the formal inauguration of the fair, a new partnership titled ‘CBT Partnership’ was launched among Bangladesh Tourism Board, BPC and USAID.
-UNB
