The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORTER

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) needs to be turned into a self-governed and self-controlled body to make it a viable national tourism organization.

This was stated by particiopants at a roundtable conference on 'Immediate Need for the Development of Bangladesh Tourism'

organised by mobile phone giant Banglalink in cooperation with travel publication The Bangladesh Monitor and Bangla daily Samakal, at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in the city yesterday.

Besides, the participants suggested to make the country's visa policy easier so that foreign tourists can visit Bangladesh without any hassles.

They also laid emphasis on announcing attractive packages on the occasions of major social and religious festivals like Pohela Boishakh, Biswa Ijtema, Durga Puja and International Mother Language Day so that tourists around the world feel attracted to visit Bangladesh.

At the same time, the particiapants called for branding Bangladesh promoting its image globally.

Taking part in the roundtable, Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Jamil said countries around the world have taken their respective tourism industries as 'profitable ventures' although in the last 36 years Bangladesh has failed to do so. As a result, there is no reflection of tourism in this year's national budget.

"As the concept of economics has changed globally, we have to introduce public-private partnership in this industry also," he suggested.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Syed Mohammad Zobaer said Bangladesh is yet to develop adequate tourism products to attract foreign tourists.

He said the government is considering to brand the country so that it get positive exposure to the rest of the world.

Home Secretary Abdul Karim said the present caretaker government has made the visa regime more liberal than that of the past. The government is also considering to lower the existing rate of transit fee of US$40.

Chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Shafique Alam Mehdi said the BPC needs to be turned into a self-governed and self-controlled body if the government wants to turn the tourism industry into a profitable venture.

He also called for creating 'tourist police' to ensure security and safety of foreign tourists coming to Bangladesh.

Managing Director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dr MA Momen said the country would have to fix its targets of attracting foreign tourists.

Besides, Bangladesh can attract a large number of foreign tourists every year through proper publicity and utilization of Biswa Ijtema, the biggest religious congregation of Muslims after the holy Hajj that takes place in the country.

Head of PR and Communications of Banglalink Solaiman Alam said Banglalink organised the roundtable conference as part of its initiatives to change the face of Bangladesh.

Chairman, Best Air Ltd M Haider Uzzaman said Bangladesh has huge resources to attract a large number of foreign tourists every year. "We need proper utilization of our resources to attract foreign tourists," he said.

Area Manager of Emirates Bangladesh Hanif Zakaria said Bangladesh needs to develop its tourist spots to attract foreign tourists.

He also proposed to branding Bangladesh as 'Undiscovered Gem of Asia' to change the image of the country and make the tourism industry a viable one.

Besides, Shahab Sattar, Managing Director, GMG Airlines, Hasan Mansur, President, Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh, Kazi Imtiaz Hossain, DG, SAARC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Jahangir, Executive Director, Centre for Development Communication were present at the roundtable conference.