Bangladesh Tourism Year 2016 and branding Bangladesh
There is no alternative to positively branding a country for the development of inbound tourism
Faruque Hasan
Bangladesh is celebrating Tourism Year 2016. The prime objective of celebrating tourism year by a government is to attract more foreign tourists to the country that it may earn more foreign exchange from tourism. All the other tourism related objectives of the government of a country revolve around this prime objective. The economic development of a country directly related to its potency to earn foreign exchange through trade and commerce. Tourism is one of the most important products that can earn a lot of foreign exchange for a country. (Inbound) tourism is considered as an export as it earns foreign exchange.
To attract more foreign tourists, a country needs to establish it as a choice of holiday destination. And that can be done by branding the country image in a positive light; and then disseminate that image in the outside world. The dissemination of the brand image is in fact a publicity drive. This tourism related publicity is not to take place within the boundary of the country, but in the outside world; especially in those countries, which are the top outbound tourist producers in the world. There are fourteen countries which produces 80 per cent of the total global tourist arrivals which was about 1.2 billion in the year, 2015.
At the end of the day, there is no alternative to positively branding a country for the development of inbound tourism; and one of the means of successful branding of a country is publicity. Macedonia a poor, small country (area: 9,779 sq mi) in Europe puts ad of its tourism on the BBC Television on regular basis. Maldives our small neighbor does the same thing. Malaysia Tourism and Indonesia Tourism put their ad on both CNN and BBC Televisions the two most viewed TV channels in the world. Can Bangladesh Tourism follow the footstep of those countries, at least during the ongoing tourism year? We may celebrate the tourism year, with a lot of programs, full of pomp and grandeur, inside the country; but that will not help us attracting more international tourists to Bangladesh the prime purpose of celebrating the tourism year.
Nepal celebrated tourism year in 2011. As a part of that celebration, the Nepali Diasporas in different cities of Europe and America organized tourism road shows. Cant we inspire and use our Diasporas in Europe and America to organize such sort of road show?
We cannot ignore domestic tourism, but it is inbound tourism which matters the most for a country. This is why the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) publishes only annual global and each of its member countries international tourist arrivals data; and each country of the world uses its international tourist arrivals data as the yardstick to measure its tourism development.
To get more and more international tourists, we need to develop a positive brand image of our country in the outside world what we, at present, miserably lack. Whenever the people of other countries think of Bangladesh, they think of a backward country bogged down in extreme poverty. Naturally, a great number of international tourists do not chose such a country for holidaying. Bangladesh is no more a backward country; it is now a middle income country; it is now the 57th largest economy in the world; by 2030, it will be the 22nd largest economy in the world; for the last fifteen years it has been achieving more than 6 per cent, on average, the annual GDP growth rate; by 2019, it will achieve the 3rd fastest GDP growth rate in the world; it is the second largest garments exporters and 4th largest sweet water fish producer in the world these achievements/massages must be disseminated in the outside world to build a positive image of the country dispelling the present negative image.
We are to beat our own drum; nobodys going to do that for us. We need to know how to skillfully beat the drum. A website (http://visitbangladesh.gov.bd/visit-bangladesh-2016/) has been published as a part of celebrating the Bangladesh Tourism Year 2016. Most of the pictures used in the website give the idea to a viewer of it that Bangladesh is a backward and poverty stricken country. Our endeavor should be to eliminate the pockets of poverty still exists in the country, and love those who are still poor; but not to find beauty in poverty. Promotional materials for tourism of a country play a big role in branding the country in a positive way.
In the Bangladesh Tourism year 2016, side by side with improving tourism related infrastructure in the country; enhancing the capacity of tourism service providers; and building tourism related community capacity; we are to explore our countrys existing and new tourism market segments in the world with our full focus on international marketing and promotion activities. We hope, the Tourism Year 2016 will be a great success story of the development of tourism in Bangladesh; and, ultimately, of the country as a whole.
The writer is a tourism consult and heritage researcher
