Arrival of foreign tourists far below potential

Bangladesh is home to the world's longest sea beach as well as the world's largest mangrove forest alongside numerous places of outstanding natural beauty. But despite its potential, the country still could not explore the global markets and attract foreign holidaymakers.

Even 52 years after its independence, Bangladesh's tourism sector lags behind many South Asian countries.

According to Index Mundi, which measures the performance of countries in terms of foreign tourists, Bangladesh is ranked 141st out of 188 countries and 42nd out of 46 Asian countries.

Although the number of foreign tourists to Bangladesh increased last year, the nation has failed to utilise its potential to the fullest.

This is owing to a lack of properly planned promotions in the global markets and substandard domestic facilities, such as transportation, accommodation, cuisine, tour guides and entertainment options, according to industry insiders.

More than 5.29 lakh foreigners, including holidaymakers, visited Bangladesh in 2022, according to Immigration Police data provided by the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB).

Most of these visitors were from India, the United Kingdom, the US, the United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Russia and Japan, said BTB.

However, industry operators said the current trend of inbound visitors was yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019, the number of foreign tourists stood at about 6.21 lakh, indicating a year-on-year growth of around 12 percent, the BTB data shows.

But when the pandemic was at its peak in 2020, just 1.82 lakh tourists arrived from abroad, representing a staggering decline of about 71 percent compared to the previous year.

Around 30 lakh Bangladeshi tourists went abroad in the 2018-19 fiscal year, including 3.73 lakh for holiday and recreation, according to a report on "Tourism Satellite Accounts 2020" by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Of them, 60 percent went to India while 8.12 percent visited Saudi Arabia. 4.57 percent travelled to Malaysia and a substantial number visited Thailand, Dubai, Africa, Nepal and Turkey.

Bangladeshi tourists spent Tk 336.87 billion in foreign countries, according to the survey.

Sources said foreign tourists mostly visit sites in Cox's Bazar, the Sundarbans and Sylhet.

Masud Hossain, managing director of The Bengal Tours Limited, said the tourism industry was growing organically. He also blamed a lack of planned promotion.

"We don't lack products (tourist destinations and hotels) and many domestic tourists are available," he said.

"Now, Sri Lanka has arranged two months of road shows in Japan. They are vehemently trying to recover their tourism industry," added Masud.

Before the pandemic, Masud used to handle around 7,000-8,000 foreign tourists yearly. This year, he expects around 1,500 only.

"We seriously lack in terms of promoting our tourist destinations to foreigners in the global market," said Shiblul Azam Koreshi, president of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

He said they had to depend on the domestic market of 1.5 crore people.

"Although promotions are expensive, the government should move to promote destinations to the global market through media platforms like BBC and CNN."

"We also need to do country-specific promotion, especially in populous nations like India and China, which can be a game changer for Bangladesh as a tourist destination," Koreshi added.

Another issue is the implementation of electronic visas for tourists. Nationals of 61 countries presently have access to on-arrival visas, which should be expanded further.

"The facility to obtain a visa without hassle is a must to attract more and more tourists," said Koreshi.

However, Koreshi hoped that the numbers would continue to rebound.

Santus Kumar Deb, professor and chairman of tourism and hospitality management department at the University of Dhaka, suggested promotional development and the implementation of advanced technologies to ensure services such as transport for tourists.

There is no alternative to improving domestic facilities and ensuring promotion in the global market, he said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Abu Tahir Muhammad Zaber, chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), blamed a lack of funds.

"We need a huge amount of money to advertise on the global media like BBC and CNN to attract foreign tourists," he said.

Zaber said they had instead chosen alternative paths to explore global markets, especially European and Chinese markets.

"We have contracts with some Bangladeshi migrants/expatriates who are involved in tourism in those areas. They will promote Bangladeshi tourist spots and help bring foreign tourists," added Zaber.

The BTB has arranged a four-day "Bangladesh Festival", aiming to promote tourism in Bangladesh on the occasion of World Tourism Day today. The festival will begin today at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.