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International cruise ship arrives in Cox’s Bazar

Hmmm.. Sarcasm aside.. As someone mentioned Sunderbans can made in to a attraction, And maybe develop places like Cox's Bazar as exclusive tourist zones, Somewhat like Sharm El Sheik in Egypt, With special jurisdiction regarding alcohol, Dress codes etc.. ??
Hmmm... Coxs Bazar right? Right beside islamist stronghold Chittagong.... NOPE.

And we don't even have the bigger part of Sundarbans. It's in India iirc.
 
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Bangladesh's one million dream: a vision impossible?
Rohit Kaul
Bangladesh dreams of one million arrivals by 2018. It needs all the willpower.

02FEB-24-Dekha-shutterstock_122234191%281%29.jpg


The travel and tourism industry of Bangladesh is trying hard to bounce back from last July’s terrorist attack in the capital city Dhaka.

On its part the government is planning a host of initiatives to boost tourism in the country. A masterplan, and the development of beach destination Cox’s Bazar for tourism, are integral to its strategy of attracting one million international arrivals by the end of 2018, from around 600,000 in 2015.


Last year’s attack, the worst in the history of Bangladesh, decimated the industry.

“We lost about 90 per cent of inbound business after the terrorist attack,” said Taufiq Rahman, chief executive, Journey Plus.

“Our overseas associates stopped communicating with us. A company that we were working with since 2002 removed Bangladesh from its website and brochures. Travel advisories issued by markets like Japan, the UK and Germany added to the woes.”

Rahman said business started to look up from November and his company recently handled a few tourist groups from markets like the UK and Poland.

Japan, the UK, the US, China, Spain and France are the major international source markets for Bangladesh. But a section of tour operators said the tourism industry has been ailing for a long time in the absence of world-class infrastructure, adequate marketing budget and awareness about its tourism attractions.

Said Syed Qadir, managing director, Wonder Ways: “The government of Bangladesh has been trying to promote tourism but there is no long-term planning. Bangladesh is also not ready as a destination in infrastructure. Majority of the hotels that are opening are in Dhaka while the other destinations lack accommodation options.

“Dhaka, being the business hub, attracts a lot of international tourists but there is a need to develop tourism activities in other parts of the country.”

International hotel chains including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group have recently entered the market but most of the hotels are in Dhaka. Some hoteliers in the region agreed that supply in the capital city has surpassed the demand.

“The hospitality market in Dhaka is saturated,” said Nasser Rahman, chairman & managing director, Dusai Hotel & Resorts.


“Before 2007 there were only two five-star properties in Dhaka. But over the years many international chains have opened their hotels in the city. Four Points by Sheraton has just opened and JW Marriott is soon entering the market. These hotels largely cater to the business segment.

“Beyond Dhaka, the demand for five- star properties is limited,” he pointed out, observing that the five-star resorts catering to leisure tourists that have opened in other parts of the country like Cox’s Bazaar are facing a tough time.


The middle and upper-middle class is limited in Bangladesh. Moreover, the local market is very price sensitive so most resorts are finding it difficult to make money, he said.

“We desperately need to attract high-end international leisure tourists. But we have yet to brand our country as a tourist destination internationally,” said Rahman.

Of late, however, the government has started to show interest in raising awareness of the country as a tourist destination. It hosted the PATA New Tourism Frontiers Forum 2016 recently and will also host the UNWTO Joint Commission Meeting in May.

PATA CEO Mario Hardy said: “Bangladesh has potential but there is work to be done in infrastructure. The first step is to create confidence among locals that they have something to offer and at the same time the government has to put in money to make the destination ready to welcome more tourists. It is not going to happen overnight and will need a series of activities to make it possible.”

According to Bangladesh tourism minister, Rashed Khan Menon, a national policy for tourism was declared in 2010 with the objective of promoting Bangladesh in the overseas markets. However, the political turmoil that ensued in the country had made it difficult to achieve the vision.

Nevertheless, the government is building infrastructure for tourism, said Menon.

Initiatives
“We are expanding the airport in the world’s longest unbroken beach, Cox’s Bazar, for international operations, which is likely to come up by the end of 2017. We are also developing a railway line that will connect Chittagong to Gundum, on the border with Myanmar.

“Bangladesh is home to important Buddhist destinations like Paharpur, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and this a market we are looking to tap,” said Menon.

International airlines like China Eastern have expressed interest to operate flights to the airport, he added. Bangladesh is looking to achieve a target of one million international tourist arrivals by the end of 2018, he said.

The government is also coming up with a masterplan that will focus on investment opportunities to develop tourism across the country, which is a first for Bangladesh.

The masterplan will also advise the tourism ministry about the new tourism destinations and attractions in the country that can be promoted domestically as well as internationally.


As well, it will detail the economic and employment benefits that can be drawn through tourism.

One of the plans is to develop an exclusive tourist zone in Cox’s Bazar that will be spread over an area of more than 440 hectares.

The tourist zone will have hotels, restaurants and an amusement park. The government is presently trying to attract potential investors to invest in the project.


“We will provide land to the interested entities on a long-term lease basis,” said Akhtaruz Zaman Khan Kabir, CEO, Bangladesh Tourism Board.

“All the clearances, including environment clearances, will be provided by the government. We expect that within two years after finalising who the investors are, a major part of the tourist zone will be ready.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia February 2017 issue.
http://ttgasia.com/article.php?article_id=28822
 
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Bangladesh's one million dream: a vision impossible?
Rohit Kaul
Bangladesh dreams of one million arrivals by 2018. It needs all the willpower.

Should be a period....not a question mark :P

Try focusing more on hitting those Walton export projections next time...they have a better chance of it if you become more realistic and focused.

Make your tourism targets more pragmatic and achievable too. That would be the best first step.

Also investigate why such a big drop from the peak achieved in 2008 if capacity/promotion argument is to be taken seriously (given capacity and promotion was way worse back then I would imagine):

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?locations=BD
 
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Increasing from 5-6 lakh to 10 lakh is not impossible with effort.

Should be a period....not a question mark :P

Try focusing more on hitting those Walton export projections next time...they have a better chance of it if you become more realistic and focused.

Make your tourism targets more pragmatic and achievable too. That would be the best first step.

Also investigate why such a big drop from the peak achieved in 2008 if capacity/promotion argument is to be taken seriously (given capacity and promotion was way worse back then I would imagine):

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?locations=BD
 
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You are saying its 5 - 6 lakh right now? Then yes that is very achievable. I will wait for the world bank statistics however.

Majority of those 5 lakh "tourists" are Bangladeshis with foreign citizenship and Indians( Again Bangladeshis who have acquired Indian citizenship through legal and illegal means).

There are very few actual tourists who visit Bangladesh for tourism, the number is probably less than 10000 a year.
 
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You are saying its 5 - 6 lakh right now? Then yes that is very achievable. I will wait for the world bank statistics however.
It was 6 lakh in 2015,which is mentioned in this article..It dipped in 2016 due to Gulshan attack.May be rising by now.

Majority of those 5 lakh "tourists" are Bangladeshis with foreign citizenship and Indians( Again Bangladeshis who have acquired Indian citizenship through legal and illegal means).

There are very few actual tourists who visit Bangladesh for tourism, the number is probably less than 10000 a year.
This is also the case with India.Subtract vast Indian diaspora visiting relatives,medical tourism,businessmen,you will be left with 6-7 lakh genuine tourist rather than 6-7 million.
 
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Or nudists zone.:P

Joke aside people's comes not for wondering wearing bikinis or to drink alcohol. If we can provide them other facilities which don't compromise our social religious valuable culture we can be a tourists attraction.
then why bahrain dubai have more tourists in a week then BD have in a year ? facilities land marks alcohol nudity freedom and everything matters sir
 
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This is also the case with India.Subtract vast Indian diaspora visiting relatives,medical tourism,businessmen,you will left 6-7 lakh genuine tourist rather than 6-7 million.

Nope, not the case with India. Indian expats get OCI and PIO cards, they don't need visas to visit India, and are therefore not counted as tourists. That is not the case with Bangladesh.

There are separate medical visa and business visas. You can not conduct business on a tourist visa, Bangladesh is much more lenient.
 
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Can you prove it?

Can I prove what? Do Bangladeshi origin people holding a foreign passport need a visa to visit Bangladesh or not?

You need to get a No-Visa-Required stamped on your foreign passport if you are of Bangladeshi origin, but you still carry your foreign passport at the point of entry and you are counted as a foreigner who doesn't require a visa.

In the case of India you carry your Overseas Citizen of India card and you enter India on the basis of your OCI card, which is just like a passport issued to Indians who hold a foreign passport.
 
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In the case of India you carry your Overseas Citizen of India card and you enter India on the basis of your OCI card, which is just like a passport issued to Indians who hold a foreign passport.
So India consider anyone with Indian background an 'overseas citizen of India' even if they renounce Indian citizenship and acquire other's?Is there any time period for it?Is it applicable for the descendant?
 
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