Nearly 3.5 million people will get employment in the tourism sector by 2018, Stated Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon, crediting the government’s initiatives in helping the sector flourish. To attract tourists to the country, campaigns will be run within and outside Bangladesh, said the minister. In terms of potential, the tourism sector is second only to the garment industry. Though tourism in the country has not witnessed much progress, in recent years, it has been able to attract foreigners,
said Menon.
The minister was addressing a “Meet the Press” programme at Sagor-Runi auditorium organised by the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) yesterday, where DRU president Jamal Uddin and General Secretary Raju Ahmed were also present. “We want to attract tourists from China, Thailand, Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Malaysia,” he said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tourism has been signed with Malaysia, Nepal and Thailand. Former Soviet Union countries, including Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine, have expressed interest in tourism in the country, informed Menon.
Claiming the Bangladesh airline industry is now a profitable institution, he said the airlines had been incurring losses after being converted to a public limited company. “However, the airline industry has been witnessing profit since the last year,” said Menon.
“Earlier, many planes were old and, for this reason, many routes were closed down. We have replaced those with new ones and now, two domestic flights run in a day,” he said.
“Talks of expanding the routes to Japan and Canada are underway,” he added.
Rashed Khan Menon said the Government is working to transform the Cox’s Bazar airport into an international one by 2018.
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport will be built in the south western part of Padma, he added.