By paying a certain fee, anyone can take part in the tours and in the activities of the organisation. The Sundarbans, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, Nijhum Dwip, Kuya Kata, Sajek valley, Khagrachari are popular among the long tour destinations. For short journeys, the organisation arranges trips within and nearby Dhaka. Recently for the new members of the organisation trips to Old Dhaka and the National Museum was arranged. Due to good relations with Bangladesh Tourism Board, the members of DUTS get a 50 per cent discount in travel guide training. They also receive discounts while staying in the government rest houses. The members get access to some exclusive spots which are not open for all. On different occasions, the DUTS organise seminars, youth awareness programmes, showing of documentaries and various kind of fairs. The members take part in the international tourism rally along with Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Some of the regular activities of the organisation are planting trees, 
arranging regular tours for members, organising seminars on international tourism, etc. Dhaka University Tourist Society has established a school in the remote area of Bandarban. Speaking about DUTS, a student of 
Tourist Club of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology was established on January 1, 1995. Club members have already visited many places in Bangladesh. Every year the Tourist Club of SUST undertakes both national and international tours. The club members organise and take part in different activities such as arranging picnics, fresher’s reception, blood donation programmes, tree plantation programmes, warm cloth distribution etc. It has also started providing scholarships to the poor but talented students. 
g like me, I took the decision to start the tourists club. Students from any department of the university can be a member of the club. My aim was to create interest in travelling among the students of RU. Already we have travelled to many historical places such as Bogra Mahasthangar, Paharpur at Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Puthia Rajbari and other places in North Bengal region. Apart from these, we arranged a ‘Bijoy Cycle Rally’ on the campus and nearby area on December 22, marking the month of our Victory Day. Now we have nearly 50 members who actively participate in every tour we plan”.
In just five years the club has been able to give the taste of adventure tourism to its members by organising number indoor and outdoor activities.Passion for Travelling
Sheikh Iraj
Travelling is an extraordinary way to explore and learn about a countrys culture and traditions. Bangladesh is gifted with plenty of exciting places to discover and enjoy. From our coasts and beaches to our archaeological sites, from religious, historical places to hills and jungles to the fascinating countryside; our country has a lot to offer. There are 64 districts in our country; each is different from the other in its own unique way. For students, travelling is not just a getaway from the books, on the contrary, it helps them refresh their minds and learn simultaneously.
Travelling is good for you and one does not need an expert to tell you that. Many believe the influence of TV and the internet would make the youth less attracted towards travelling, although one cannot deny it totally, but a new craze for travelling can also be seen among them. Over the years, a number of travel or adventure clubs have been formed in both public and private universities. Their activities are not only limited to travelling, rather they are helping to build a better society. Some of these clubs even allow non-members to take part in their activities.
As Bangladesh celebrates Tourism Year 2016, YI looks into some of these clubs to find out about their activities and facilities, and how many youths are becoming more interested in adventure and discovery.
Dhaka University Tourist Society
Dhaka University Tourist Society is a campus-based voluntary tourism organisation. Since its establishment on October 30, 1995, the members of this organisation are working on social awareness to boost the tourism sector. The organisation works to provide easy access to tourism to both students and to the common people. Throughout the year, this organisation organises a number of long and short tours to quench the thirst of the adventure lovers. One of the exciting thing about this organisation is you do not have to be a student of Dhaka University in order to travel with the group. By paying a certain fee, anyone can take part in the tours and in the activities of the organisation. The Sundarbans, Coxs Bazar, Sylhet, Nijhum Dwip, Kuya Kata, Sajek valley, Khagrachari are popular among the long tour destinations. For short journeys, the organisation arranges trips within and nearby Dhaka. Recently for the new members of the organisation trips to Old Dhaka and the National Museum was arranged. Due to good relations with Bangladesh Tourism Board, the members of DUTS get a 50 per cent discount in travel guide training. They also receive discounts while staying in the government rest houses. The members get access to some exclusive spots which are not open for all. On different occasions, the DUTS organise seminars, youth awareness programmes, showing of documentaries and various kind of fairs. The members take part in the international tourism rally along with Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Some of the regular activities of the organisation are planting trees, arranging regular tours for members, organising seminars on international tourism, etc. Dhaka University Tourist Society has established a school in the remote area of Bandarban. Speaking about DUTS, a student of
Dhaka University Ahmed Rofiq said, DUTS arranges exciting tours in low costs, I take part in the trips whenever I get time.
Borua Dipok student of BUET said, I participate in the charity tours and very soon I am going to the Sundarbans with the other members.
Faiz Alam member of DUTS told the reporter, With time the members of this organisation has become my family. In two decades we have reached over a thousand members and thats a special achievement. I hope DUTS continues the good work.
Tourist Club of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
Tourist Club of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology was established on January 1, 1995. Club members have already visited many places in Bangladesh. Every year the Tourist Club of SUST undertakes both national and international tours. The club members organise and take part in different activities such as arranging picnics, freshers reception, blood donation programmes, tree plantation programmes, warm cloth distribution etc. It has also started providing scholarships to the poor but talented students.
Md Skail Ahmed assistant general secretary Tourist Club of SUST told the reporter- Our tourist club is one of most active clubs of SUST. One of the interesting aspects of the club is we encourage people to travel even if they are not our member. That means anyone who wants to travel with us can participate. This option allows us to meet new people from various backgrounds which atomically enrich our travel experience. In every tour, there are at least 50 participants and thats amazing to be able to travel with so many people. We do not have any sponsor and it is true we normally do not receive any discounts while we are on the road or staying in any hotel.
Tourist and adventure clubs at Rajshahi University
Tourist and adventure clubs of Rajshahi University were formed in 2014. In a short span of time, both the clubs have become quite popular among the university students.
Mahfuz Munna, a 3rd-year student of Marketing department and founder of Rajshahi University Tourists Club, said: After noticing that there are many students who love travelling like me, I took the decision to start the tourists club. Students from any department of the university can be a member of the club. My aim was to create interest in travelling among the students of RU. Already we have travelled to many historical places such as Bogra Mahasthangar, Paharpur at Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Puthia Rajbari and other places in North Bengal region. Apart from these, we arranged a Bijoy Cycle Rally on the campus and nearby area on December 22, marking the month of our Victory Day. Now we have nearly 50 members who actively participate in every tour we plan.
Adventure Club of Rajshahi University is an open club for adventure loving students. Student of finance department TM Murshed took the first step establishing the club on June 26, 2014. Murshed said: To break the monotony of our student life we arrange many adventurous tours. Last year we went to a tour at Lawachhara rainforest. Our next destination is Bandarban.
Both these clubs actively take their decisions by consulting with each other at the facebook groups named as Rajshahi University Tourists Club and Rajshahi University Adventure Club. They organise a monthly meeting on Facebook and decide their future plans there. These groups are opened to followers. They already have around eight hundred followers each and the number of club members is increasing day by day. They do not have any sponsors; most of the students bear their own cost of travelling.
BRACU Adventure Club
BRAC University Adventure Club (BUAC) started its journey on November 10, 2010. The goal of the club is to promote eco-friendly adventure based tourism. Activities like swimming, trekking, rock climbing, cycling, surfing and many other activities related to adventure tourism are promoted among the club members. In just five years the club has been able to give the taste of adventure tourism to its members by organising number indoor and outdoor activities.
Ahnaf Rafid Bin Habib, president BUAC, told this reporter, Normally, students of BRAC University are the members of this club but in some occasions we allow other people to travel with us. We do not have that many sponsors, when we dont get any sponsors we raise the fund ourselves in the club. We have about 600 members in our club, there are 40 to 50 regular members of the club who travel together. Sometimes there are some trips which are very challenging, so in that situation we try to pick experienced members of the club. For example we went to Pukur Para, its situated between Bandarban and Rangamati, 27 of us went there. The Army personnel there were surprised to see us, no club before us didnt go there with so many members. Normally we do not receive any discount from the rest houses or while we are on the road. Other activities of the Club include distributing winter clothes, planting trees etc. We believe in eco-friendly tourism, our members carry a trash bag with them while they travel. When we went to Coxs Bazar we did a beach cleaning programme. Our club was one of the first clubs of our university to response to Rana Plaza Collapse.
Faruk Khan contributed to this report
Photo: Courtesy
