Our tourism industry needs a makeover
There is no doubt that our tourism industry has enormous potential. We just have to properly utilize the resources.
We also have to build up very professional management instead of the prevailing amateurish attitude
Saifur Rahman Tuheen
The industry which has been flourished a lot around the world in the last 20 years is tourism. There are many countries in the world whose backbone is tourism. Look at the Caribbean Islands or the West Indies. Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Jamaica, Sent Lucia, Sent Kits and Nevis, Sent Vincent, Grenada only Trinidad and Tobago has some natural and mineral resources among all the countries. Other countries are completely reliant on tourism industry. They have garlanded sea beaches and hills for tourists which are a gift of God for them. We often see that most of the European people select Caribbean Islands for their holiday destination. Even many superstars of Hollywood and Bollywood often go to this region for making holiday or honeymoon.
Ive gone straight to the Central American Zone at the very first stage of my article. Actually when I watch the fascinating views of this region on TV screen, I often think that if I could visit these alluring islands! But there are a lot of arresting places in my own continent Asia. Do have a look on Kashmir, the heaven of earth. Give a search Kashmir Photos on popular search engine Google. You will see a huge number of dazzling photos and have to take long time to view all. Apart from Kashmir, a large number of tourists gather at the Tajmahal of Agra, Rajasthan, Goa, Himachal State, Sikkim State, Darjeeling of West Bengal, Meghalaya state etc. throughout the whole year. Indian tourism is well-known in the world for long time. Similar is about tourism of Nepal. Tourism industry is the backbone of the Daughter of The Himalayas economy. Bhutan, the neighbor of Nepal, was not like Nepal just before 10/12 years. But they have been going with this sector with significant result for last 5/6 years. Sri Lankan tourism has also got revitalization after the civil war against LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam). But Maldivess meteoric rise in this sector is simply amazing. They have done a tourism revolution during last 20 years. It is like a transition from a nation of fishermen to a nation of tourism. A very little country (298 square km) with only 1.5 meters of altitude above sea level is now the holiday destination of many celebrity people. Maldivians are now enjoying the highest GDP and per capita income (about $12,000) in South Asia. Apart from these countries, the tourism industry of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia is too fabled to discuss.
Now Id like to focus on our own country Bangladesh. Only India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia are richer than us in tourism resources. Which tourism resources are available in the Caribbean countries apart from sea beaches and hills? There is nothing in Maldives apart from sea beaches. Similarly there is nothing in Nepal and Bhutan apart from hills and some lakes. Sri Lanka has sea beaches, hills and tea gardens but they have no mangrove forest like The Sundarbans, no Hakaluki Haor (lake), Tanguar Haor (lake) or Hail Haor (lake). Why Bangladesh is far behind though it has tourist attractions like Coxs Bazar and Kuakata sea beaches, coral island like Saint Martins, illustrious hills of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts, conspicuous tea gardens and Ratargul Swamp Forest of Sylhet, glorious Foys Lake of Chittagong and Boga Lake of Bandarban, a large number of waterfalls of Chittagong and Sylhet division and other attractive places of different areas? Why could not the tourism industry become one of the foremost sources of earning foreign currency? The following reasons are liable for this:
(1) Deficiency of proper policy: No government of Bangladesh could devise a proper tourism policy even after 45 years of liberation. No momentous publicity abroad about our tourist attractions is seen. The most disappointing thing is apposite use of internet. We could not make enough substances available online enriched with details of our tourist spots. In this era of high information technology, when a foreigner thinks about visiting a place or country, he/she first searches online. But here lies the grief. Information and pictures of Bangladeshs tourist attractions are very much substandard to those of our neighboring countries. Moreover, any perceptive person knows that the relationship between tourism and English language is like that of a car and its wheels. If you cannot reach the visitors with the language they feel most comfortable with you must not keep pace with others who are giving precedence to that. There should, perhaps, have been no problem if the name would be Bangladesh Tourism Corporation instead of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Fatefully, we have not been able to introduce Bengali language in all sectors more important than tourism. Also the image gallery and information windows remain under construction most of the time. These are not even updated for long.
(2) Dearth of tourism education: There is no other alternative to academic education in tourism if you want to bring professionalism in this sector. But the present scenario of our country isnt pleasing. There is only one government tourism training institute in Bangladesh, conducted by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Located at Mohakhali in Dhaka, this institute offers only six-month long National Certificate Course in seven disciplines and a one-year diploma course in three disciplines. But it is almost a tricky task for students outside Dhaka to study there due to limited seats and no hostel facility. If that type of institution could be available in the two main tourism city Chittagong and Sylhet, the hotels, resorts, restaurants and tour operators of the cities could have conscripted more skillful manpower. On the other hand, some private universities are still the main enslavement for studying undergraduate and graduate courses in tourism. Though Dhaka University has taken an initiative about this matter yet everything is going on very slowly. It is a demand of time to establish Travel and Tourism Department in other public universities as well.
(3) Weak communication system and lack of proper infrastructure: The road and rail communication infrastructure of Bangladesh is still not very good. Buses are providing an average service but the situation of railway is still disappointing. As a result, very few foreign tourists travel by train. Private airlines are still the main reliance in the case of domestic air travel though the fair is a bit high. The government-owned Bangladesh Biman remains the same as had been before 45 years. The communication system indubitably has had us lagged behind. Birishiri, near the Someshwary River in Durgapur Upazila of Netrokona district, in the north-eastern border of Bangladesh, is a pleasant tourist attraction. The natural beauty of this area always beacons tourists. But a tourist does not think to go there for a second time due to bad communication system and nonexistence of proper education and food. Still no good hotel or restaurant is available there. This is only a single instance. There are many complaints from tourists about communication, security and other issues of top-ranked heritage The Sundarbans. The most shameful thing for Coxs Bazar Sea Beach is its being covered with garbage. Must not we put a serious thought to these substances?
(4) Lack of Political steadiness and security: A very sensitive subject. But since our independence any government or opposition has not shown the gallantry that we would not do anything which would force foreign tourists to choose another neighboring country instead of Bangladesh. The tourism industry of our country has suffered a massive loss of 150,000 million due to anti-government movement and its curbing during 2012, 2013 and 2014. It is like a high-voltage electric shock for the industry which usually earns very limited money. Lack of security is another problem for the tourists along with political unrest. No tourist spot in Bangladesh is 100% safe for tourists apart from Saint Martins Island. But tourists linger contentedly at night in Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. If these countries can provide full security for the tourists, why cant we? Recently the government has taken a commendable decision of forming Tourist Police. But the number of the force is still small. They have to increase it. Tourist police station should be built up near all notable tourist attractions. They should patrol not only in daytime but also in the evening.
The government should also take some consciousness steps for common people that foreign tourists are VIP guests of the country.
There is no doubt about the fact that our tourism industry has enormous potential. We just have to properly utilize the resources. We also have to build up very professional management instead of amateur attitude. If we do these, of course we can compete with countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. But the political parties of the country have to be more permissive and should give more priority to national interest than the partys interest. Then it will be easy for government and private entrepreneurs to invest more money in tourism sector.
The writer is a tourism analyst and Senior Vice-President of Sylhet Tourist Club
