Ecotourism and Green Travel
Bipul K Debnath
Ecotourism and green travel have become popular types of tourism in Bangladesh. Such types of responsible tourism are now playing an important role in the development of the industry, while adding revenue to the national exchequer. Agencies involved in this sector are working to guide travellers and nature lovers, giving importance to preserving the environment and local cultures of the places visited.
Winter, a popular season for travelling in our country, has begun and ecotourism enthusiasts have started making plans for touring. This week, The Weekend Independent talked to some eco-travellers, tour guides and operators, as well as experts and officials about the challenges and future of ecotourism and green travel in Bangladesh.
Regarding ecotourism in our country, Ziaul Haque Howlader, an ecotourism expert and manager of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), a government agency promoting tourism in the country, said: Ecotourism means enjoying the natural beauty of forests and wildlife for the purpose of learning and relaxing, and helping to improve the lives of the local people. It encourages travellers to use recycled materials, biodegradable wastes and renewable sources of energy. It also regulates the behaviour of visitors to show respect to the local culture and customs. Besides, it also urges tourists not to harm trees and animals or pollute ecotourism sites. The most visited ecotourism zones in Bangladesh are situated in the Sundarbans (Khulna), Coxs Bazar, St Martins Island, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Chittagong and Sylhet, where tourists can experience the biodiversity of nature.
About the prospects of ecotourism, Nur Mohammad, an eco-traveller and member of Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club (BMTC), said, Ecotourism is suitable in our country. It is a good sign that the number of eco-travellers is increasing now and they are enjoying responsible tourism, which is a prerequisite of ecotourism. It is also mentionable that most of them are young and they are acquiring knowledge by sightseeing. They are presenting our ecotourism sites to the world by discovering new destinations. Besides boys, girls are also now travelling and contributing to promoting our ecotourism
According to the seasoned traveller, visitors must follow some rules for responsible and sustainable tourism. From his own travelling experience, Nur Mohammad shared: I have been travelling since 2000, and I have introduced many travellers to many new tourist destinations. I feel sad when I see nature being disturbed by various items discarded by tourists. A good traveller never damages the environment of the spot he or she visits. Enjoying the natural beauty of a place by keeping the nature undisturbed is the essential quality of an eco-traveller.
Giving importance to ensuring protection of the environment, he added: Eco-travellers must keep the spot clean as their own bedroom while visiting. See, nature is as pure as a newborn baby, so we have to take care of it very passionately. It is also the ethical responsibility of travellers to respect the natural elements.
Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, another ecotourism and green travel expert who is working to promote river tourism, an important part of ecotourism, said: Though everyone sees winter as a season for travelling, I do not believe tourism is seasonal. Tourists can travel any time of the year. The beauty of the rivers in Bangladesh is eye-catching and anyone would be pleased to see them. Of course, winter is the best time for those who want to travel in the hills and forest areas. But people can travel on the rivers any time around the year. We want our travellers to enjoy the rivers of Bangladesh.
We have over 700 rivers and they create a celestial beauty, which can be deemed as the worlds greatest water garden. We have haors, chars (shoals) and offshore islands with distinctive biodiversity. Those places offer immense opportunity for ecotourism through using our waterways. River tourism can be converted into major domestic and international tourist attraction as it is a safe and pleasant way to discover the wonders of nature. Being on the river itself is also exhilarating and good for ones health and relaxation of the soul, added Chowdhury, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of Tiger Tours Limited, a travel agency.
There are many specialised eco-tour operators in our country. Bangladesh Eco Adventure is one of them and they have been arranging eco-tours since 2015. Mahadi Hasan, CEO of the tour operator, said, Our country is blessed with beautiful natural sceneries and it is now our responsibility to realise their potential. We are working to promote our natural sites among foreign and domestic tourists in different ways.
We always try to do some new and exciting to offer tourists something they have never done before. All our eco-tours offer something unique and innovative which make the trip unforgettable. Our eco-travellers can enjoy photography in nature, adventure travel, and daylong trips on the Shitalakkha River with fishing, swimming, cooking on the boat and many more surprises. Foreign tourists usually want to visit the Sundarban mangrove forests _ which is a gold mine of ecotourism, our world heritage sites, the tea gardens, rivers, tribal areas, and the floating fruit markets in Barisal, and they also enjoy the hospitality and friendly behaviour of the local people, Hasan said.
About eco-tourism activities, Hasan added, We arrange different activities and adventures beyond the traditional touristic things, like allocating more time to enjoy nature, boating in Sangu River and cruising at Kaptai Lake, and the opportunity to eat and live like the locals in a tribal house at Bandarban or Rangamati. This year, we tried to promote ecotourism destinations in Rangamati, the lake city, as recent landslides affected the tourism industry. We successfully arranged several personal, family and corporate events there. We also have some upcoming eco-tours planned this season. We are committed to promoting ecotourism and helping eco-travellers through green tourism.
Eco-tour operators are now offering village home-stay packages where visitors can get a great insight into the life of a village community. The travellers will enjoy staying in a traditional home with basic amenities. We also arrange village home-stay programmes for our eco-travellers. They can get the real experience of living in a remote village in a traditional home, Hasan said.
Eco-tour operators also arrange orientation sessions to guide eco-travellers before they travel. Maksudur Rahman, manager of Guide Tours, another tour operator, said, Before entering any site, we arrange brief secessions for our tourists and ask them not to disturb any elements in the respective areas. Our tour guides are also very alert about keeping the environment clean. We insist on not dropping any litter or leaving behind any objects while travelling. We have good arrangement for visiting the Sundarbans. At present, local as well as foreign tourists are availing eco-travel facilities from us.
Most of our eco-tourists are well-versed and conscious about the co-existence of flora and fauna in nature. They come to us for ecotourism packages not only for visiting and getting experience, but for preserving nature as it is. We have five water vessels for river tourism. We also arrange responsible tourism and village home-stays, Rahman added.
Abu Bakker Siddeak, an experienced eco-traveller and chief tour planner of Eco Travellers, a nature tour operator, gave importance on creating awareness among eco-travellers. My first concern is to respect the nature and local culture. An eco- traveller should not collect any objects from nature while travelling. To be a good eco-traveller, one must have a broad mind to discover the hidden heavenly beauties of nature.
At present, many ecotourism experts are training tourist guides to be more careful and alert while guiding eco-travellers. Dipankar Saha, a trainer with Sundarban Mangrove Ecotourism, said: At first, we roamed around remote areas of the Sundarbans to find genuine traditional resource users (TRU) and trained young and educated local boys and girls to become eco-tour guides. We call the training programme ecotourism awareness training. We have trained 30 eco-guides from the local Munda and Bengali communities and they are all ready to serve any eco- traveller in the Sundarbans. We have also trained people to be eco-chefs to prepare local foods. We have arranged eco-entrepreneurship programmes and built some eco-resorts for families to run. For this, the local people have become self-reliant. We have ensured pure water and electricity in our eco-cottages. We also have some eco-boats. We always tell our eco-guides to request the travellers to follow certain restrictions while entering the mangrove forests. We are also providing training for developing cultural ecotourism, especially of the Munda community.
Dipankar Biswas, an eco-tour guide and tour operator of Sundarban Mangrove Ecotourism, said, I have been working as an eco-tour guide for two years. I am actually working to promote ecotourism in the south-western part of the Sundarbans. When we host any foreigner tourists, we take help from the local administration for their safety and security. Most of our foreign eco-travellers are from Germany. At present, many Bangladeshi tourists are also going for ecotourism under our arrangement.
Fruitful research on ecotourism and green travel is required to boost our tourism industry, which still faces some challenges to keep it sustainable, according to experts. About the challenges of the ecotourism industry, BPC manager Ziaul Haque Howlader said: We have some challenges. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation has already taken up some projects to meet those challenges. We all have to work together.
Photos: Courtesy
