RAJUK�s drive against hotels to hurt tourism sector: Menon
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday criticised the RAJUKs eviction notice recently sent to some hotels and said such move will act as a barrier to the flourishing of the tourism and hospitality industry. The capitals development authority RAJUK, in the last week of December 2015, issued eviction notices to more than 80 hotels in Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Uttara and Banani areas of the city. The hotel owners association filed a writ petition with the High Court against the RAJUK notices on January 20. The court later issued a stay order against the eviction. The minister said that although many hotels, guesthouses and restaurants were built in residential areas of the capital in an unplanned manner, the move to evict these businesses will be contradictory to the announcement of year 2016 as the tourism year. The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a discussion on tourism industry organised by Federatation of Hotel Guesthouse Restaurant Owners Association, Bangladesh at a hotel in the capital, In the coming three years, including the present year, the 10 lakh tourists expected to visit the country from abroad will require more hotel rooms. So, it is essential to adopt policies likewise and give the hotel owners more time to resettle their businesses, he said.
