Like other countries in the world, World Tourism Day is being celebrated in Bangladesh through various programs. The aim of the day is to spread social, cultural, political, and economic benefits worldwide, including raising public awareness about the role of tourism. The day has been observed on September 26, 1980, under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
This year the theme of the day is 'Tourism for Inclusive Growth'. Like every year, Bangladesh Tourism Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board have organized various events on the occasion of the day. President on the occasion of the day. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have given separate statements.
Tourism has begun to cut through the epidemic. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has put forward the theme of 'Tourism in Inclusive Growth' to ensure the participation of people from all walks of life in this sector. How much of a role can Bangladesh's tourism sector play in inclusive growth? State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali has spoken openly about all such questions and contemporary issues of tourism.
State Minister Mahbub Ali said a tourist can create employment for 10 people. Tourism is the single largest employment-oriented service industry in the world. Again the tourism industry does not discriminate between urban and rural. Therefore, the development of this industry is playing a role in creating employment for all classes of people in the country. In 2019, the tourism industry has provided employment to 33 crore people in the world. About 4 million people in Bangladesh are also involved with it. In 2019, there were about one crore domestic tourists in Bangladesh. It will reach two crores by the end of 2021. In the year before Covid 19, the contribution of tourism industry to the GDP of Bangladesh was 95,060 crore rupees (4.30 percent). It is hoped that with the increase in the number of domestic and foreign tourists in the future, the contribution of the tourism industry to the national economy will also increase.
He also said that Bangladesh Tourism Board has taken various activities to increase the participation of locals in the tourism industry and to increase vacation destination possibilities. Notable among these are taking the views of the locals in the tourism development plan, organizing workshops with the local people, public representatives, government officials, and tourism partners, imparting training to the concerned local and small businessmen to include the locals, and enhance their skills.
Mahbub Ali mentioned that now the tourist spot has been opened in compliance with the hygiene rules to reduce the Kovid-19 infection. Domestic tourists are going to different spots with interest. Due to this, the tourism of the country is slowly turning around.
He thinks that the Hon'ble Prime Minister has so far announced an incentive of Tk. The Bangladesh Tourism Board, under the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, is providing all kinds of policy assistance to the tourism industry businessmen to get this incentive from the bank.
Mahbub Ali further said that various activities have been taken to develop the tourism industry. For example, the formation of a Crisis Management Committee to identify and address the damage to the tourism industry, prepare and distribute guidelines for the revival of the Corona tourism industry, train the tourism industry partners, prepare a tourism recovery plan, and provide assistance to the affected entrepreneurs in the industry. Communication and coordination with the concerned ministry or office and giving the letter to the concerned ministry to increase the coverage of on-arrival visa etc.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali said the procurement proposal for the preparation of Bangladesh's tourism master plan was approved by the cabinet committee on November 20, 2019. The Hon'ble Prime Minister approved it on 26 November. On 10 December, the Bangladesh Tourism Board signed an agreement with IPE Global Limited, an international consulting firm. According to the agreement, the master plan was to be completed by June 2021.
The master plan is targeted to be formulated in three phases in 18 (eighteen) months. With this in mind, the work of formulating the tourism master plan started on 19 January 2020. However, since March 2020, due to the epidemic, the staff of foreign experts and consulting firms have left Dhaka and the preparation of the master plan has stopped. Later, if the situation improves, the consulting firm approves the revised work plan, work method, and stuffing schedule with some amendments.
Work is currently underway according to the new work plan. The work of formulating the tourism master plan will be completed in December 2022 under the new action plan. The contract price including VAT and IT is around Tk 28 crore 7 lakh.
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