Bangladesh needs a comprehensive tourism strategy to boost international arrival

The travel and tourism industry in Bangladesh that hosts nearly 1,500 historic and touristic sites, is underserved has a huge potential for growth. Each of the country’s tourism sites offers either a piece of the great Aryan civilisation or breath-taking and unparalleled views that aptly reflect its national branding: Beautiful Bangladesh!

Bangladesh is a 55-year young country that carries history, heritage and cultural legacy of more than 5,000 years. According to the Lonely Planet, “Bangladesh is south Asia's greenest jewel – a country braided with rivers, with a rich culture waiting to be explored by pioneering travellers.”

Blessed with natural splendour, historic sites that reflects the rich heritage and civilisation scattered across the country that appears more like a mozaic in green, the world’s longest uninterrupted natural beach at Cox’s Bazaar, one of the world’s largest natural mangrove forests at the Sunderbans, mountains, natural lakes and the green countryside criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers, Bangladesh is a haven for tourism.

Yet, the tourism industry has miserably failed in attracting considerable international tourists. One of the key reasons behind the failure is a lack of an effective strategy and promotional activities. The country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism doesn’t have a proper objective or vision neither it has any strategy to achieve the vision. In some cases, it seems that the Government officials engaged in the Ministry of Tourism and its affiliated bodies such as Bangladesh Tourism Board and Bangladesh Parjatan (Tourism) Corporation, appears to have no clue on how the tourism industry works and how to promote the country’s tourism attraction in the key target markets.

However, domestic tourism is thriving due to increased purchasing power of a section of the population who prefers to travel to certain popular tourist destinations – such as Cox’s Bazaar, Srimongol, Dhaka, the Sunderbans, Chittagong Hill Tracts, etc, and use them as a short gateway to break free from monotonous life. However, there is a shortage of quality accommodation in all these areas.

That’s why getting a hotel room for overnight stay is nearly impossible in most parts of Bangladesh in peak Autumn, Winter and Spring seasons as millions of visitors, mostly domestic tourists keep flocking the popular tourism sites. Yet, tourism sector’s contribution to Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) is around 3 percent only.

Despite these factors, Bangladesh remains one of the most under-exposed tourism destinations in the world due to lack of international marketing and promotional campaigns in key international tourism source markets — something that needs to change in the coming years.

Bangladesh is endowed with natural and cultural heritage, which can easily be promoted in the international tourism markets; combined with the recent economic growth and improving business environment, Bangladesh as a destination has all the ingredients for developing as a major tourism hub in Asia.

Despite the prospects, the tourism sector has received less attention in recent decades than other sectors, however considering the ambitious target set by Government of Bangladesh for the Tourism sector by 2042; the sector will need major changes and coordinated effort from all major stakeholders and initiative from apex leadership.

With 4,411 hotels, resorts, lodgings and boarding houses, Bangladesh represents a small portion of the 187,000 hotels with an estimated 17.5 million guestrooms in the world as of 2023. The global hospitality industry is worth over US$4.55 trillion as of 2022 and is projected to see a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7 percent from 2021 to 2025, according to reports.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the travel and tourism sector would have employed about 1.7 million workers, roughly 4.2 percent of the country’s workforce in 2023.
According to Statista, a global market intelligence provider, revenue in Bangladesh’s travel and tourism market is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 4.8 percent to US$2.18 billion in 2024 to US$2.63 billion by 2028.

Hotel represents the largest travel and tourism market with a projected market volume of US$1.17 billion in 2024. The number of hotel guests is expected to exceed 12.68 million users by 2028, it said. Hotel guest penetration is expected rise from 10.1 percent in 2024 to 11.1 percent by 2028. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$124.30 per hotel room.

In the travel and tourism market, 60 percent of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2028. In global comparison, most revenue will be generated in the United States, which is US$199 billion in 2024. WTTC also found that 96 percent of the tourists are of local origin and spent US$8.03 billion in 2019.

Bangladesh tourism sector has a huge potential to develop the country as a popular global travel destination among foreigners. However, efforts are made to attract more foreign tourists to the country. This includes formulating a master plan. According to Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Bangladesh has 1,400 tourist destinations. The master plan aims to boost the sector by developing these destinations.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Bangladesh was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 million arrivals (+55.56 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the arrivals is estimated to reach 0.58 million arrivals and therefore a new peak in 2029.

Tourism Master Plan
In order to accelerate the growth of the tourism industry, Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) has finalised the much anticipated tourism master plan with the goal of attracting 5.57 million foreign tourists annually by 2041 and fostering the creation of 21.94 million jobs within the sector.

The newly formulated plan has sought US$1.08 billion public and private investment to develop 10 tourism clusters. The feasibility study of five of these projects is currently in progress, according to the Bangladesh Tourism Board.

The private investors will mainly invest in constructing star hotels, resorts, amusement parks and other luxury facilities. The master plan offers a comprehensive roadmap to rejuvenate Bangladesh's struggling tourism sector, which, despite its significant potential, has been trailing behind neighbouring countries in attracting international tourists.

Poor tourism infrastructure, complex visa policies, food adaptation problems, lack of amusements, social restrictions and inadequate direct flights and comfortable transportation facilities detract tourists from Bangladesh.

In 2022, while Bangladesh welcomed 5.22 lakh foreign tourists, India received 6.19 million, Sri Lanka hosted 7.19 lakh, and Nepal attracted 6.14 lakh.

The master plan serves as a detailed roadmap outlining the progressive development of our tourism sector. It encompasses specific regional plans tailored to each division of the country. The master plan identified 53 clusters. Among these, 19 clusters hold a priority status. For instance, the region encompassing Srimangal and its surroundings is part of one such cluster.

The total contribution of Travel and Tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts was BDT 627.9 billion in 2014. The key objective of the Tourism Master Plan is to increase the economic contribution significantly by 2041, through a synergy between product development, tourism marketing, institutional and implementation processes.

The sector will need sustained investments in infrastructure and skilled manpower to drive the growth and quality of services. It is anticipated that tourism industry can be among the top 3 foreign exchange earner for Bangladesh and can generate 20 percent of jobs and contribute 10 percentage to National GDP by 2042.

Considering the paradigm shift required in tourism sector, this deliverable tries to build upon the understanding of the comprehensive baseline study undertaken within the project and outline the areas where major interventions are required for transformative changes by 2041.

To achieve its objectives, the master plan has advocated infrastructural development including the construction of heliports, expansion of transportation networks, and the enhancement of accommodation facilities. It also prescribed the execution of effective marketing campaigns, elevation of service quality standards, promotion of cultural and natural attractions, and the establishment of a secure and hospitable environment for tourists.

The master plan has identified 1,498 tourism resources across the country. Additionally, it has assessed 14 themes, taking into account factors such as market potential, uniqueness, resource availability, and sustainability. According to some estimates, around 5 million Bangladeshis are employed in the travel and hospitality sector in the country.
The implementation of five tourism development projects under the master plan in Tanguar Haor of Sunamganj, Nijhum Dwip of Noakhali, Sompur Mahavihara of Paharpur, Sharankhola of the Sundarbans, and Mawa near the Padma Bridge will start soon.

Bangladesh's tourism sector shows great promise as the domestic tourist numbers have surpassed 20 million in 2022, compared to 10 million in 2021. This shows how the country's tourism is growing over time as domestic tourist numbers have doubled in only a year.

Whether its eco- or adventure tourism, Bangladesh has it all – river, mountains plains, sea and internal waterfront developments. Despite its strong tourism attractions, it lags behind in terms of attracting foreign tourists due to sheer lack of marketing, promotion, branding, public relations and social media activities to attract tourists effectively.

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The author is the Founder and Chief Executive of Bangladesh Economic Forum