market research report in tourism and hospitality industry in bangladesh

Market Research Thesis Report On The Tourism & Hospitality Industry In Bangladesh

Glossary of Terms

Abbreviation Description

BDT Taka

ARR Average Room Rate

CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate

DAC Dhaka

F&B Food & Beverage

M2 Square MetersMICE Meeting, Incentive, Conference and

ExhibitionsOCC Occupancy Levels

RevPAR Revenue per available Room

BD Bangladesh

USD United States Dollars

NLRA Non-Last Room Availability

Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030


Chapter 1

Introduction

1.0 Introduction



During the post-Second World War era, tourism demand has rapidly increased

and tourism has become a worldwide phenomenon. Not surprisingly, this post-

war boom has drawn the attention of many developing countries, and tourism as

one of the growing industries of the world economy has enticed many

entrepreneurs and governments of various countries to invest in the tourism

industry without proper planning and preparation (Cevat Tosun and Dallen J.

Timothy, 2001).

Tourism is not associated with aristocracy. Today even ordinary persons can

afford. With the passage of time, the tourism has become almost a part of our

normal life. In the background of its growing popularity, tourism has become a

mass phenomenon. It has grown to such dimensions that we consider it an

important industry.

The promotion of tourism as an industry serves multi-pronged interest, e.g.

protecting our arts and culture, preserving our cultural heritage, interaction of

different religion, exchange of views, and generation of foreign exchange and so

on. It is against this background that albeit global tourism organizations like

World Tourism Organization Pacific Area Travel Association. International Union

of Official Travel Organization etc. have been active in developing tourism as an

industry. Particularly for the developing countries, the tourism industry is

considered as a bonanza. The conceptual exposition appears essential to study

other dimensions of tourism marketing.

This Market Research report has been compiled using a variety of information

using traditional research methodology and reports by the Bangladesh tourism

board and interviews with a variety of professionals, whom will remain nameless,

from a variety of Hotels within the region.

The main function of this report is to provide investment information for any

developer in the Bangladesh whom wishes to invest in the Hospitality industry

and especially the lucrative five star hotel markets in Dhaka.

Although there is a general lack of transparency within the industry due to its

increasingly competitive nature all information present is as accurate as I can



possibly achieve and all supplementary methods have been utilized to check the

accuracy of the figures.

1.1 Origin of the report

In order to fulfil the partial requirement of the MBA program, my respected

supervisor Mr. Nazmul Hasan, Lecturer, School of Business, University of

Information Technology & Sciences assigned me to study market research on the

Hospitality Industry in Bangladesh.

1.2 Objectives of the report

The objectives behind this report are:

To understand the practical implications and use of the skills and

techniques learnt in theories of Economics.

To analyze and interpret the demand and supply of a particular

product/organization in a practical life scenario.

To find out the different factors that affect demand and supply, know

about the market conditions and gain an overall view about the hotel

industry in Dhaka.

1.3 Scopes

The report deals with the hotels in Dhaka city only, not in other parts of

Bangladesh. The scope of the report is also restricted to the accommodation

providers whose service is at least of a three star category. It is very hard to

decide in Dhaka which hotels are actually of three star and above category in

true sense because there are no particular standards. So hotels and guest

houses that claim themselves, and are perceived by the people, to be of that

level have been dealt with in this report.

1.4 Methodology



Both primary and secondary methods of data collection have been used in

collecting the necessary information about The Westin Dhaka and the other

hotels in the industry.

Different journals, newspapers, reports and websites acted as the secondary

sources of data. The primary method included direct interviews with the Sales

and Marketing and Revenue managers of the relevant hotels like Westin,

Radisson, Sheraton and Pan Pacific Sonargaon.

1.5 Limitations

In preparing this report certain limitations were faced:

The report is completely based on the information revealed by the

representatives of the different hotels. This information was simply

assumed to be correct. There might be some scopes for manipulation and

therefore the validity and reliability of the information can not be

guaranteed.

No accurate data for future projections of demand and supply was

available. The methods used in making the projections might have been

too simple and may not be a true representation of the actual situation. It

just gives a rough idea.

Due to inexperience in the field there might have been some problems in

the interpretations and analysis done.



Chapter 2

The Hospitality Industry

2.0 The Hospitality Industry in Bangladesh



Hotel Industry is one of the most important and promising industries in

Bangladesh, having a high growth rate, higher than those for many other

industries. The growth rate just keeps increasing every year. An industry which

started off with only one five star hotel, the then Intercontinental Hotel, now has

four five star hotels- The Westin Dhaka, Radisson Water Garden Hotel, Pan

Pacific Sonargaon Hotel and Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, a substantial number of

other hotels of and above the three star standard, and numerous guest houses of

good quality, to cater to the accommodation needs of the increasing number of

people visiting Bangladesh for travel and business purposes.

Though much growth has not taken place in the five star categories (there are

still only four of them), there has been a huge growth in the small hotel and

guesthouse sector, especially in the last 8/9 years, starting from 2000/2001. The

growth certainly came late but it has started at least. In future this growth is

expected to increase only further, and it is not only going to be in the small hotel

and guest house sector, but also in the luxury hotel category. Few more new five

star hotels – Hilton, Intercontinental Hotel, and Holiday Inn, are scheduled to

open up in the near future. One of the main reasons behind this growth of the

hotel industry is the growth of the travel industry in Bangladesh.

One industry with which the hotel industry is closely intertwined is the travel

industry. The main target markets for the hotels are certainly the foreign visitors

to a country. The more is the number of people visiting a country, the more will

be the demand of hotels for those people to stay in. The international travel

scenario has proven very favourable for the hotel industry for the last few years.

Now is an era of globalization. The whole world is today being considered a

global village. With the advance in technology new systems have developed. On

line corporate travel booking, e-ticketing, e-business, global distribution system,

online hotel booking, etc., are just some of the examples. All these have made

international travelling both necessary and easy. With each passing day

interdependence and interaction between the countries of the world are

increasing. The scene is especially rosy in the Asia Pacific region with its

emerging business markets. Besides, the liberalization of the air services access,

especially by the Asian governments has also created new opportunities for the

expansion of the travel industry.



It is true that in the last few years the travel industry did have to face a hard

time due to the 9/11 attacks, terrorism, Iraq war, SARS, Global recession and

SWINE flu . Consequently hotel occupancy dropped to its lowest level in the past

30 years. Some hotels in America, Hong Kong, Mexico and some other countries

even had to wind up due to lack of customers. But after those poor years the

international travel condition has already started improving. Along with that,

from all quarters of the hotel industry, signs of a recovery are emerging after one

of the most severe slumps in recent history.

In 2009 the international passenger traffic grew 15.3% over last year. The Asia-

Pacific region had the maximum contribution to this growth with a 20.5% visitor

increase. But much of this growth was actually a recovery from the fall in the last

couple of years. Between 2010 and 2012 the forecasted annual average

international passenger growth will be about 6%. Quite obviously all these mean

good news for the worldwide hotel industry.

Certainly this growth has presented, and will continue to present a lot of

opportunities and scopes for the travel and hospitality industry in Bangladesh

just like it does for any other country. Though very insignificant compared to the

performance of other Asian countries like India or China, the travel and hotel

industry in Bangladesh has been growing as well. In tune with the rest of the

world, Bangladesh has also attained substantial growth in International arrivals

for the last few years. At present about 20 airlines are operating flights to Dhaka.

Often the aircrafts come full, but do not leave full. A complete table showing the

total visitors to Dhaka since 1990, along with the projections for the next few

years, is given later under the industry demand section. As for now, let us see

what in particular brought about this growth over the years.

The visitors to Bangladesh can be classified under two broad types: Business

travellers and tourists.

Of these two, the business travel sector has seen some substantial improvement

and development in the last few years. Visitors to Bangladesh comprise mainly of

businessmen and other foreign officials.

After opening up of the economy and conduction of a fair election in 1990,

Bangladesh has been experiencing a steady growth in the foreign direct



investment (FDI). Due to the various restrictions on the country’s foreign

currency transactions, Bangladesh economy is comparatively less exposed to

foreign currency risk. The economy has survived strongly against the global

recession and currency turmoil in the recent past. Bangladesh has been enjoying

the focus of world business community as an alternative and safer investment

window in Asia.

At present, the Government of Bangladesh, with assistance of different

international donor agencies, is making huge investment in the infrastructure

development projects like construction of bridges, culverts, roads and highways

etc. Apart from this, lots of foreign investments are being channelled in oil and

as exploration, power development, etc. Setting up of the EPZs one after another

certainly means more and more direct foreign investments

Besides, some other factors like shift of policy towards more liberation of trade

and commerce, reform measures for structural change and involving private

sectors in various forms have improved the business travel scenario. In a whole

the economy is growing quite fast. The G.D.P of the country has increased from

about 6.4% in 2006 to about 6.6% in 2007. In 2008 the G.D.P of the country has

decreased from 6.6% in 2007 to about 6.3% in 2008, mainly because of the

political situation as there were caretaker government was in power.

All these have resulted in one thing for sure - frequent travelling of foreigners,

helping to boost the hotel industry in Bangladesh.

In the tourism sector there has been growth as well. According to Bangladesh

Parjatan Corporation (BPC), the country received an income of Tk. 2759 million

from tourism in 2004 which is Tk. 528.4 million greater than the previous year,

representing a growth of 23.68%.

But this growth is still insignificant, and more so, when we consider the fact that

Bangladesh has the potential of achieving much more. The government has

always lacked the proper planning and policies that could have helped this

industry develop to its fullest potential. Lack of proper presentation and

maintenance of tourist spots, lack of safety and security, political turmoil,

inefficiency of The Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, and above all, the negative

image of Bangladesh in the eyes of the rest of the world – these are just some of



the many reasons which are hampering the proper development of tourism in

Bangladesh.

But recently the government seems to have started thinking about this issue.

Especially after the removal of the quota system the government is keen to

develop the tourism and hospitality industry as an alternative to the garments

industry, as said by Dr. Mahbub, one of the CEOs of BPC. Government is giving

more importance than ever before to this industry and has accepted it as a

thrust sector. Government is currently thinking of a number of steps to

encourage more and more tourists to visit the country.

Government is taking various steps to support BPC at policy making levels. More

training, research and development is on the way to promote BPC as a tourist

facilitator. Bangladesh Parjatan owned institute NHTTI (National hotel and

tourism training institute) is improving day by day with affiliations with similar

foreign institutes. The number of students are also increasing showing that more

and more people are getting interested and specialized in this area.

"The government in principle agreed to formulate a time-befitting Tourism Board

Act and we want to enact such an act with the opinions of all stakeholders which

will be acceptable to all and help promote the tourism sector," Civil Aviation and

Tourism Minister GM Qader told a view-exchange meeting at a city hotel on May

27, 2009

Most importantly, the government is now realizing that proper development of

the tourism and hospitality sector is not possible without the involvement of the

private sector. Development of beaches in Coxs- Bazar and Chittagong has

already been given to the private sectors. BPC is also planning to lease out 150

acres of its land to the private sector for the development of various types of

tourism facilities like amusement parks, golf course, swimming pools, etc., and

most importantly international standard accommodation facilities. The

government is also thinking of forming a NTB (National Tourism Board) which will

contain representatives from both government and private sectors.

Besides, the government is also thinking of easing the visa system and of

introducing the system of visa on arrival for visitors. It is also considering



reducing the tax burden on the hotels, especially the four premier properties-

The Westin Dhaka, Radisson Water Garden Hotel, Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel

and Dhaka Sheraton so that they can offer more reasonable and competitive

prices.

If the government is actually able to carry out these plans then the future of the

hotel industry in Bangladesh will certainly be much brighter.

In conclusion, the present and future situation of the hotel industry in

Bangladesh can be best summarized by a quotation of Ian R. Barrow, former

General Manager of Radisson Water Garden Hotel. Explaining the reason for

Radisson’s coming to Bangladesh, barrow said, “South Asia will be the area of

growth within the next 15-20 years. There is a lot of potential in this region.

Bangladesh’s economy is also growing very fast; a lot of key developments are

taking place. It’s a key market to be in. Bangladesh has a lot of potential in

tourism and hotel industry. There is an incredible amount of history here.”

2.1 Overcapacity and Resourcing

The sheer scale of the newly announced developments coupled with those

already underway raises the issue of whether the region is facing the risk of

overcapacity.

With occupancy levels running at over 70% and record revenues of US $145 per

night in the first quarter of 2009 in Dhaka it is easy to see the motivation to

construct further properties in the region.



However, a number of external factors could serve to depress demand such as a

possible recession in the US and Europe (currently happening), concerns over

climate change bringing travel restrictions in Europe, security worries and

pressure on business costs driving down travel budgets.

Whilst ‘Plan A’ is focused on an assumption of continued growth, the operators

need to think clearly about ‘Plan B’ – e.g. what happens if they cannot attract the

premium price customers at whom they are targeting the majority of

developments? Would they be forced to lower prices and target a broader

audience? If so, would they be able to retain the image of luxury and exclusivity

so critical in attracting premium rate customers?

Another key challenge is whether the region will be able to attract and develop a

sufficiently skilled pool of human resources to service these developments. With

Middle East economies on the rise, where will the human resource come from?

Failure to attract sufficiently qualified staff could lead to service failures which

would have a detrimental impact on the brand image of those properties.

2.2 Rising Ecological and Environmental Concerns and the Growing Regional Response

Developers, operators and Local Authorities across the country are beginning to

respond to the perception that travellers are becoming more concerned about

the impact their vacations and visits are having on the environments they travel

to.

Recent environmental issues raised in the region about waste, power, water and

sustainability could have a potentially dramatic impact on the success of existing

and recently announced hotel projects in the country hence the introduction of



LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation in

Dhaka.

As travellers become more alert to these issues, they will seek ‘standards’ to rely

on as guides to the most sustainable hotels to stay in – such as the Green Globe

model – a ‘global benchmarking, certification and improvement system for

sustainable travel and tourism’ - endorsed by 182 Heads of State at the United

Nations Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.

An April 2007 Trip Advisor survey of over 1,000 travellers worldwide found 40%

consider environmentally-friendly tourism when making travel plans. 66% say

environment friendly measures in travel are making a difference.

Nearly 25% believe that air travel should be avoided, whenever possible, to help

preserve the environment, while 38% said would pay more to take an eco-

friendly flight and 26% would pay a 5-10% premium.

To stay at an environmentally-friendly hotel 34% said they would pay more

money, while 38% said they had already stayed at an environmentally-friendly

property, and 9% would specifically seek out environmentally-friendly

establishments.

When asked to specify how much they extra they would be prepared to pay for

'green' accommodation, 25% said they would pay a 5-10% premium, and 12%

would pay a 10-20% premium.

Ian Rumgay, European communications manager for Tripadvisor says "This

survey shows that far from being irresponsible, planet polluting energy wastrels

that they are often portrayed, many travellers do care about the environment

and are willing to pay for it,". "It is a wake-up call for all sectors of the travel

industry to provide more green options".

Increasingly broad assessments will be made of the ‘whole life environmental

footprint’ of the sector – for example considering every aspect of a hotel’s

construction, resource usage, waste and emissions. A number of encouraging

developments are now underway suggesting the region is paying more attention

to environmental concerns,



2.3 Industry Supply Scenario

Before the liberation of Bangladesh, there was only one five star hotel in East

Pakistan- Hotel Intercontinental, which had opened in 1966. After liberation, in

1972, by Presidential Order of 1972, the Bangladesh Govt. took over its

ownership. Today, the Ministry Of Civil Aviation and Tourism of the government

of Bangladesh maintains authority over the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel through

Bangladesh Services Limited and Starwood Hotels and Resorts handles the

management.

Sheraton’s prime competitor Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel (PPSH) entered the

industry in 1982 with operations in full swing and with Japanese management

company Tokyo Hotel International running the management of the hotel on

profit sharing basis. Tokyo Hotels International will continue in managing the

hotel until 2005.

Then in 2006 the newest five star hotel Radisson Water Garden Hotel entered

the industry, located on the airport road, adjacent to the diplomatic enclave and

upcoming blue chip commercial hub of Gulshan, Baridhara & Banani and just

5km from the main international airport. The owning company is Shena Hotel

Development Ltd., and managed by Carlson Hotels and Resorts.

And finally in 2007 the newest true five star hotel The Westin Dhaka entered the

industry. The Westin Dhaka is a lifestyle brand competing in the upper upscale

sector in nearly 30 countries around the globe. Each hotel offers renewing

experiences that inspire guests to be at their best. First impressions at any

Westin are fueled by signature sensory experiences of light, music, white tea

scent and botanicals. Westin revolutionized the industry with its famous

Heavenly Bed ® and Heavenly Bath ® and launched a multi-million dollar retail

program featuring these products. Westin is the first global brand to offer in-

room spa treatments at every hotel and the first to go smoke-free in North

America. Westin guests stay in shape at Westin WORKOUT ® Powered by

Reebok™.



With the lapse of time, other hotels entered the industry. But none of them were

of the five star category. These include Hotel Purbani, Hotel Sunderban, Hotel

Razmoni Ishakha, Best Western La Vinci, and more recently, Hotel Sarina, Lake

Shore, Royal Park, Grand Azad Hotel, Hotel Orchard Plaza, Hotel Lake Castle, and

a couple more, all with more or less three star facilities.

Besides, in the last 7/8 years numerous guest houses have also sprang up,

especially in the Gulshan and Banani area. Though many of them claim

themselves to be a hotel, they better be called guest houses as they do not

follow many of the regulations and requirements of a hotel. But anyways, many

of them do provide good facilities and services just like a 3 or 4 star hotel,

cheaper accommodation, and a convenient location. In this way they are luring

away a good number of the total visitors to Dhaka. Therefore, they should also

come in the list of good quality accommodation providers.

Basically the accommodation facilities in Dhaka can be classified into three

broad categories:

Luxury Hotels ( five or four stars)

Small hotels known as limited facility or boutique hotels

Guest Houses

As it has been mentioned before, there has been huge growth in the

accommodation sector in the last few years. Not only new hotels are opening up

but existing ones like Sheraton and Sunderban have expanded their capacities.

According to hotel experts the natural growth rate of the hotel industry is about

at least 10% per year. If the guest houses are considered then the growth rate

will be about 20-25%. Every street in Gulshan and Banani now has more than

one of it.

The chart shows the rough increase in the number of rooms that has taken place

in each five year interval, starting from 1995 (Considering the major hotels and

Guest Houses). The ‘others’ category in the chart represents other small hotels

and guest houses, and it can be considered that on an average each of them has

about 40/50 rooms.



Total Rooms available in the Hotel in Dhaka

Name of the Hotel 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel 304 304 304 304 304Dhaka Sheraton Hotel 233 233 288 288 288Hotel Purbani 180 180 180 180 180Hotel Sunderban 64 120 160 160 160Best Western La Vinci - 51 51 51 51Grand Azad Hotel 107 107 107 107Hotel Sarina - - 90 90 90Hotel Lake Shore 60 60 60Royal Park 60 60 60Radisson Water garden Hotel

204 204

Dhaka Regency 200The Westin Dhaka 235Others(Other small hotels and guest houses, having about 45 rooms each, on an average)

(10×45)= 450

(25×40)=1000

(50×40)=2000

(60×40)=2400

2400

Total rooms available 1231 1995 3300 3904 4339

Table: 2.1

The graph below shows the increasing trend in the number of rooms available in

the industry over each interval of five years.

Trend in the number of rooms available

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Years

Total number of roomsavailable

Years 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007

Total number ofrooms available

1231 1995 3300 3904 4339

1 2 3 4 5

Fig. 2.2



It can be easily seen from the graph that the increase in the time period 2000-

2007 is much higher than that in the period 1995-2000, indicating that the

industry supply is increasing at an increasing rate.

In particular, Grand Azad Hotel opened in 1999, Royal Park and Hotel Sarina in

2002, Hotel Lake Shore in 2003 and Dhaka Regency in 2007. Obviously, these

are just some of the major ones. There has been constant opening of other small

hotels and guest houses, but their exact opening years are hard to specify, and

there are just too many of them.

A rough estimation of the number of room nights available for the last five years

is as follows:

Number of room nights available

Years

Number of Rooms Number of Room Nights

2000 1995 7281752001 2195 8011752002 2515 9179752003 2805 10238252004 3100 11315002005 3300 12045002006 3904 14249602007 4339 15837352008 4450 16242502009 4600 1679000

Table: 2.3

One thing to note at this point is that much of the growth that has been

discussed so far is the contribution of small hotels and guest houses. Though

many of them claim themselves to be three or four stars, it is very hard to

specify which ones actually are of that category. Anyways the services are good

enough to satisfy customers, whether they are three stars or not. Even if hotels

like Regency, Sarina, Lake Shore, Grand Azad, Royal Park etc. are considered to

be three/four stars, the star quality hotel rooms in Dhaka are in short supply. The

entire Dhaka is offering only about 1200 rooms of international standard.



Specifically in the five star sector there has been no growth at all and Westin,

Radisson, Pan Pacific Sonargaon and Sheraton still remain the only four hotels in

this category.

In the past years, there were talks about building hotels in private sector. Among

these were, Holiday Inn, Central Sheltech Hotel, Airport Hotel, Westin Dhaka,

Hyatt Regency Hotel, Hilton Hotel, and Oberoi Hotel etc. Unfortunately, except

Radisson Water Garden Hotel and The Westin Dhaka, all others abandoned the

idea and backed out.

But the industry supply is expected to improve vastly in both quality and

quantity as two new hotels are scheduled to open within the next four to five

years.

Holiday Inn and Intercontinental Dhaka are two other international standard

hotels which are currently under construction. Holiday Inn is supposed to have

300 guest rooms while the Intercontinental is supposed to add a huge 396 to the

lot. Though it can’t be said with certainty when these hotels will exactly start

operating, perhaps it is not going to be before 2012/2013 according to industry

experts.

Once these two hotels start operating they will take the accommodation

standards in Dhaka to new heights and add about 700 rooms in total to the

industry supply.

As far as guest houses and small hotels are concerned, the growth rate is slower

at present (5/6%) than it has been over the past few years and it is expected to

be so in the immediate future. There are basically two reasons for that. Firstly,

there are already too many of them and are all competing among themselves for

business. Not all are of equal standard and ultimately only the fittest will survive.

Secondly, the potential owners of guest houses are watching out for the

forthcoming hotels and how they will affect the guest house and boutique hotel

industry.

So considering the growth of guest houses about 3 per year (5/6%), each with a

capacity of about 40 rooms, and the entry of the two new hotels mentioned

above, the supply of room nights can be found. It is shown in the following chart.



Number of rooms and room nights from 2005-2009

Year Number of rooms Number of room nights2005 3300 12045002006 3904 14249602007 4339 15837352008 4450 16242502009 4600 1679000

Table: 2.4

2.4 Industry Demand Scenario

In the industry overview section it has been mentioned that the number of

foreign travellers arriving in Bangladesh has been increasing substantially over

the last few years and is expected to do so even at a higher rate in the future.

The foreign travellers act as the main target market for the hotel industry and an

increase there means a growth in the demand for the hotel industry. Dhaka

being the capital of the city and the centre of all facilities and business activities

certainly is the destination of most of the visitors coming to Bangladesh.

Obviously Dhaka also has a plenty of visitors from other cities within the country,

coming for both business and plain visiting purposes. But the number of them

staying in hotels is quite insignificant compared to the foreign visitors. In most

cases they will have other stay options like a relative’s or friend’s house,

company owned guest houses, etc. Even those with no other options will rarely

consider staying in a five star or luxury category hotel. Statistics show that most

of them will prefer staying in an economic hotel or guest house. So, in calculating

the demand for the accommodation facilities in Dhaka, this report treats the

foreign travellers as the only market.

The business and tourist arrival growth over the past five years has been about

10% per year on an average. In the year 2003 the increase was about 17%. It is

expected that the growth will continue to increase at a rate of about 15% in this

decade according to Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation’s sources. The following

table shows the number of foreign visitors arriving in Dhaka since 2003:



Number of foreign visitors

Year Number of Foreign visitors2003 1207822004 1280642005 1163892006 1132422007 1104752008 126785

Table: 2.5

The increasing trend in the number of foreign arrivals can be clearly seen in the

following graph.

Trend in the number of foreign visitors arrivals

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

Number of Foreignvisitors

Year

Number ofForeign visitors

120782128064116389 113242110475126785

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

1 2 3 4 5 6

Fig. – 2.6

With this increasing number of tourists the demand for rooms for these people to

stay in has certainly increased as well. It is true that not all of these people will

stay over at night and may leave the same day. Also some of them may have

other accommodation arrangements like company owned guest houses or the



houses of some friends, acquaintances etc. But the majority of them will

certainly stay in hotels or some good quality guest houses.

It can be noticed from the graph and chart that the number of arrivals in Dhaka

actually had a fall in 2005, contrary to its general increasing trend. Actually the

predicted increase that year was even higher than the 17% of last year. But in

the last half of 2004 two incidents changed the scenario. First of all there was

the flood. The second reason was even more serious. The political unrest in the

country following August 21 bomb attack in Awami League meeting had hit the

struggling travel industry of the country hard. A large number of tourists shied

away from visiting Bangladesh as they felt insecure here due to the latest

violence sparking off political uncertainty. Room occupancy rate in five star

hotels like Sonargaon, Sheraton and other private hotels went down drastically

following the August 21 bomb attack. Then again last few years the travel

industry did have to face a hard time due to the 1/11 situation, terrorism, Iraq

war, SARS, Global recession and SWINE flu. Consequently hotel occupancy

dropped to its lowest level in the past 30 years

But Bangladesh has achieved significant growth both in the number of tourist

arrivals and the amount of income from them during the first quarter (January-

March) of the current year (2009). According to the statistics available from

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) the total number of tourist arrivals into

the country during the first three months of the year was 43,772 against the

total of 32,470 during the corresponding period last year.

Except for the 1/11 incident, nothing significant has happened to affect the

occupancy of the hotels substantially for the last few years. The average

occupancy rates of the hotels have remained quite constant over the years. A

question might arise here. The number of visitors has been increasing. Why is

then the occupancy not increasing? The answer lies in the ever increasing

number of boutique hotels and guest houses. The supply has been increasing

along with the demand. In fact supply is still much in excess of demand as

certainly none of the hotels have 100% occupancy. But the good thing is that the

occupancy rates of Westin, Radisson, Sonargaon and Sheraton are not falling

much as well, indicating that the market is growing fast and that they are being

able to retain their share of the market.



2.5 Hotel season in Dhaka

Five star hotel market of Dhaka is historically buoyant in November in terms of

occupancy and ADR. January, February, October and November are the strongest

among the twelve months. April, June, August including September is the low

(soft) period of the year. In Particular June, July and August remains weak

historically, due to the rainy season associated with periodical floods. Occupancy

also varies at the Ramadan as it follows the lunar calendar. The first half of the

December is very active and vibrant but afterward businesses slow down in

sluggish mood.



2.6 Pricing Structure in the Hotel industry

Hotel market in Dhaka has no integration on pricing.

Hotels offer preferred corporate rates to clients based on their annual

business volume production.

Preferred corporate rates in this market are based on non-last room

availability, a price that is common in Dhaka corporate hotels.

However most of the corporate customers are not singing the contracts on

NLRA basis even though hotels are trying hard to enforce this contract

system.

2.7 Five star Hotels SWOT analysis

2.7.1 DHAKA SHERATON:

Strength:

Well known brand hotel. Newly built meeting venue to accommodate any of the guest needs Long experienced service system. Located at cities most VIP area. Dedicated and experienced associates Spacious meeting places including pre function areas. Well secured. Choice of restaurants 3 and bars 1 and close to government secretaries

Weakness:

Very old interior of the lobby. Poor renovation of large function halls. Old property, which made its customers monotonous One hour drive from the airport. Outside damage. Air, Sound pollution.



Opportunities:

For becoming an old property they can play with price. By renovating the property with modern technology Sheraton again can

comeback. Starwood Preferred Planner guest loyalty program Growing up MICE business at Dhaka. Prestigious brand to local people Near to the financial district. Massive renovation work in Pan Pacific Sonargaon.

Threats:

Traffic congestion Presence of Radisson water garden hotel and Westin, renovation of the

hotel Pan-pacific Sonargaon Relocation of Business hub SPG loosing due to The Westin Dhaka. New Sonargaon Hotel after renovation.

2.7.2 RADISSON WATER GARDEN HOTEL

Strength:

Globally known brand new hotel, beautiful location. Dedicated entry to the ballroom Very close to the airport and business zone Free from traffic congestion. Extensive meeting facilities with two big ball rooms Choice of five food and beverage outlet. Beautiful landscape

Weakness:

Away from city center, thus guest needs to travel long on the busy road to reach to the workplace.

Transportation facility is not good or limited for all types of guests. Inadequate suites to accommodate high profile delegation.

Opportunities:

Growing market. Growing up MICE business in Dhaka. Guest demand for new property new location Good safety security as owned by army Guest preference to stay near to airport

Threats:

Small hotels, convention centre nearby location



Starwood preferred guest loyalty program Opening of the Westin Dhaka Strong competitors from nearby The Westin Dhaka, Sarina, Lake shore. Rate dilution with the opening of the Westin Dhaka to hold market share.

2.7.3 PAN PACIFIC SONARGAON HOTEL

Strength:

Strong support by Japanese guests. Car Parking for 450 cars Renovated meeting rooms. Spacious Lobby New equipments Dedicated entry Good relationship with government Newly built recreational facilities.

Weakness:

Traffic congestion 25 years old employee, average age of staff is 45 years One hour drive from airport

Opportunities:

Growing up MICE business in Dhaka. Strong relationship with government official. World class renovation Closer to Petro-Bangla, BGMEA and other business houses.

Threats:

Strong competition from other hotels, as Dhaka Sheraton, Westin and Radisson Water Garden hotel.

Starwood Preferred guest loyalty program Guest demand for new banquet venue Rate dilution with the opening of the Westin Dhaka to hold market share



2.7.4 THE WESTIN DHAKA

Strength:

Westin is a new hotel with strong brand name. Unique meeting rooms. Located in the business area Impressive atmosphere of the ballroom with discreet high-tech

installations, such as LED lighting which changes colours and an integrated control panel

Variety of setup options with new equipments Service culture of the Westin Brand Reservation system Less turbulence during political agitation. Near to airport New business hub Near to Embassies, foreign missions and multinational companies.

Weakness:

Service experience Limited Car parking facility Less space at lobby Pillar’s inside the ballroom Entry of the function halls Small Pre function area. VIP room. Vertical building less space.

Opportunities:

Our competitors may be slow to adopt new technologies Starwood Preferred Planner There is opportunity to develop new style of catering service. Growing MICE business at Dhaka. Will stop unwanted person to enter for not having direct entry. Has a reputation for world class service Location , for being near to many big office it should be easier make them

our client Guest demand for a new hotel

Threats:

Three five star hotels nearby with different dimensional meeting facilities. Competition is increasing almost daily, with new entrants coming into the

market as Regency international, Hilton, Holiday Inn. Many small hotels, convention centre at nearby location.



Chapter - 3

PROSPECTS OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH



3.0 Introduction

Bangladesh is situated on the north-eastern side of the South Asian subcontinent

and is bordered by India in the east, west and north; by a small part of Myanmar

in the south-east and by the Bay of Bengal in the south. Bangladesh is mainly a

flat alluvial plain, criss-crossed by the world's three mighty river systems, namely

the Padma, the Jamuna and the Meghna and their innumerable tributaries. The

land mass of Bangladesh is home to 120 million people. The hill districts are

situated in the eastern fringes of the country reaching an average elevation of

660 meters. The slopes and valleys are covered with virgin forests that are home

to numerous flora and fauna. In the south are the Sundarbans, the world's

largest mangrove forest and the habitat of the Royal Bengal tiger. The climate of

Bangladesh is sub-tropical with a hot and humid summer and a cool and dry

winter. Annual rainfall ranges from 160 to 200 cm. The best period to visit

Bangladesh is from November to March when a temperature ranges from 13.50

C to 26.50 C.

3.1 Tourism

Despite its poor-country status, increasing numbers of tourists have visited

Bangladesh, a new but minor source of foreign exchange earning. Tourism in the

early 1990s amounted to some 49,000 visitors per year, but by 2006more than

129,000 tourists--mostly from India, the United States, Britain, and Japan--visited

Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Parjaton Corporation (Bangladesh

Tourism Corporation), some Tk 44.6 million in foreign exchange was earned in

1986 from the tourism industry.

3.2 Tourism potential of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is located conveniently on the east-west air-corridor making it a

gateway to the Far East. It is endowed with resources and the potential for a

tourism industry. In the south-east the country has a 120 km long beach of soft

silvery sand, perhaps the world's longest, in a Riviera-like setting with crescent-

shaped low hills overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

The ranges of the hills clad in lush green thickets are treasured locations for

eco-tourists and wildlife watchers. At the head of this terrain is Cox's Bazaar

which is as romantic as its name is to the outside world. The Hill Districts to the

north and north-east of Cox's Bazaar nestle the Kaptai and Rangamati lakes, a



840 sq.km body of crystal clear water lying in sylvan shadows not far from where

a dozen hill tribes follow their traditional life-styles.

The Tea District of Sylhet in the far north-east of the country has prospects of

tourism, as does the Sundarbans, a large mangrove forest in the South which is

home of the Bengal tiger; remains of palaces of old principalities and

archaeological sites of Buddhist monasteries. Shrines and holy places, mosques

and temples, particularly in the northern part of the country, are among the

tourist treasures of Bangladesh.

3.3 General trends in inbound tourism

Unfortunately, since its independence in 1971 following a devastating war of

liberation, Bangladesh has gotten publicity about negative incidents like natural

calamities, cyclones, floods and epidemics, in the international media, and this

adversely affected international tourist flows to the country. The trend appears

to have continued in recent years. Statistics showing foreign tourist arrivals for

ten years to July 2006 is presented in annex table 1. For three consecutive years

up to 2006, there has been encouraging annual growth in international tourist

arrivals. It is expected that the growth rate would further increase in the coming

years. It is also expected that eco-tourists and special interest tourists will

increasingly choose Bangladesh as one of their destinations.

Tour operators of the country are expected to intensify their efforts to bring in

more groups and package tours. In order to develop tourist products, the country

has already begun development of a second sea resort at Kuakata, a half-day

trip from the Sundarbans. As shown in annex table 2 which shows the nationality

of tourist arrivals, India is the top tourist generating country for Bangladesh,

closely followed by United Kingdom and the United States of America. Trends for

in bound tourism from traditional tourist market areas like Germany, France and

the Scandinavian countries appear to be positive. Bangladesh can count on a

"favoured nation" status with respect to tourist arrivals from Japan.

3.4 Foreign exchange earnings from tourism

When considering foreign exchange earnings from tourism or tourism receipts.

The amount might seem rather small. Annex table 3 shows foreign exchange

earnings from tourists and other travellers. The annual growth rate over the last



three years is noteworthy. Though tourism has not assumed a significant role in

the national economy yet, it is hoped that tourism shall grow to contribute

significantly to the national economy in the future.

Bangladesh monthly foreign tourist’s arrival from 2003-2008

Month 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008January 11972 14521 13253 11341 11179 13616

February 8961 12196 9458 8549 8926 10758

March 10091 10720 10868 7791 8280 8096April 9403 9904 8920 12707 7671 9144

May 9940 11106 10602 11209 7701 10084

June 11125 10934 9096 11083 8890 9729

July 9758 9645 9028 10951 8815 10206

August 10135 7451 8752 7918 10013 9231September 6429 8816 8700 5872 8627 7861

October 9880 10142 9385 8363 10971 11491November 11057 10091 7583 8434 9641 11631

December 12031 12539 9534 9115 9761 14938Total 120782 128064 116389 113242 110475 126785

Percentage change

over previous

year

6.02 -9.12 -2.70 -2.44 14.76

Source: special branch, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, PTS Division (statistics)

Table – 3.1

Bangladesh foreign exchange earnings for touristsand other travelers 2004-2008

(Hundred thousand taka)

Month 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008January 233 423 458 535 667

February 188 305 744 546 693March 320 455 700 478 697April 299 176 425 487 654



May 208 356 523 671 667June 171 302 359 619 773July 389 96 375 554 682

August 226 197 491 666 1142September 403 85 445 506 968

October 303 274 398 712 1006November 322 335 516 694 1002December 253 287 510 1124 600

Total 3315 3291 5944 7594 9552Percentage change over

previous year

- 0.73 80.61 27.76 25.78

Source: special branch, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, PTS Division (statistics)

Table – 3.2

3.5 General policy and priorities of tourism policy

The Government has recognized the importance of the tourism industry and

declared the National Tourism Policy of Bangladesh in February 1992. The Policy

declared that it is possible to change the socio-economic 13 condition of the

country through the development of its tourism resources. In addition, tourism

shall be considered as an industry of due priority and this will be appropriately

reflected in the annual five-year plans and development partners shall be

apprised of this accordingly.

3.6 Tourism planning

Tourism planning has remained largely a state-sector responsibility. The

development planning of the country is done by annual development

programmes (ADP) within a broader Five-Year-Development-Plan (FYP).

The national development planning process has a Planning Commission at its

head. Development projects are initiated at the level of agencies, divisions,

departments, local government bodies. They are then channelled upward

through the relevant ministries into the appropriate divisions and sections of the

Planning Commission.

The administrative ministries concerned are authorized to approve (under

recommendation to the Plan Commission) projects involving costs at a



designated level. Projects involving costs beyond that level are recommended to

the Planning Commission for consideration, approval and allocation.

Monitoring implementation of individual projects is also the responsibility of an

organ of the Planning Commission, while concerned ministries oversee matters

mainly through monthly ADP review meetings.

Tourism development planning conforms to the national planning process. The

nature of development planning in this sector, however, means that various

agencies and several ministries may be involved. For example, infrastructure

development like roads and highways may come within the purview of the

National Department of Roads and Highways, while in certain cases such

responsibility may devolve to a local body, a district authority or even a local

government institution.

3.7 Specialized agencies for tourism development

The state corporation, Bangladesh Parjatan (Tourism) Corporation (BPC), was

established in 1973 and tourism has mostly been the subject of this state body

ever since. Somewhat later, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism was

created and brought three agencies together in the Ministry, namely BPC, the

national flag carrier Biman and the Civil Aviation Authority. A process to

integrate tourism planning development through the Ministry of Civil Aviation

and Tourism is already in place. Given the fact that tourism is so diverse and

multi-dimensional, the National Tourism Policy of 1992 states that a multi-

dimensional industry as tourism in its developmental activities at tourist spots

and centers will involve programmes of work of various ministries and, therefore,

this industry will have to be developed by overcoming governmental dilatory

processes through effective coordination at the highest level. With that end in

view, a National Tourism Council has been formed with the Prime Minister as the

head of the Council and other relevant ministries participating.

In order to implement the tourism policy, an Inter-ministerial Coordination and

Implementation Committee has been formed with the Secretary of the Ministry of

Civil Aviation and Tourism as the convenor.



3.8 Tourism master planning

Since 1988, the Government accepted and launched a Strategic Master plan for

Tourism developed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in consultancy with

MIS Pannel Kerr and Associates of the United Kingdom with UNDP funding.

Recommendations of the Master plan are now taken into consideration for

preparing and implementation of individual projects. However, in view of the

time that has passed since adopting the Strategic Master plan, a review in order

to update relevant matters is now under consideration.

3.9 Major tourism projects

We tend to put major emphasis on certain tourist areas rather than individual

projects. Cox's Bazaar Resort is among our major preoccupations, because we

want to develop this resort in a sustainable way.

Another priority is Kuakata,the second resort area of the country. We are

encouraged to develop the tourism resources of the Sundarbans. Projects for

development and conservation of our archaeological sites are no less important

for development of educational and cultural tourism.

Other projects are Saint Martin’s island, Burdorban, Sonargoan, Kantajee

tample, Paharpor etc.

3.9.1 Cox’s Bazar

Ancient name of Cox’s bazar was Bakolia. Burmese king Mon Waing attact cox’s

bazaar in1784. Then the government of east india company appointed captain

Hiram Cox as a superintendent. And then for the time being the name was

changed to Cox’s bazar. The sea side tourist township of Bangladesh boasting

the world’s longest (120 km.) beach sloping gently down into the blue water of

the Bay of Bengal. Cox’s Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist spots of the

country.



Spots of Cox’s Bazar

Inani

Lovesome patches of beaches perched between the sea and the hills behind,

some 30 km. down south along the sea-front from Cox’s Bazar. Inani is a quiet

tourist hideout set out in the exuberance of nature.

Himchhari

A beauty spot in the solitude of the sea and the hills. About 4 and a half km.

south-east from Cox’s Bazar along the beach. Part of the way on donkey or

elephant back and the remainder afoot would be a rewarding memory.

Ramu

A small buddhist village. Ramu is 15 km. from Cox’s Bazar. Attraction include

ancient Buddhist tample, rubber gardens, Buddhist locality Red Chin Khyang,

white Chin Khyang, etc.

Moheskhali

An island in the Bay in the north wetern direction off Cox’s Bazar. The island is

dotted here and there with forested hills with the ancient Adinath Temple in its

midst Fishermen’s villages and the Rakhyne villages are great attractions of the

island.

Sonadia

This is a maiden island of Cox’s Bazar across the Bay. Under the wide open blue

sky fishing community, dry fish processing and colonies of the red sea crabs are

attractions of the island.



Cox’s Bazar Tourist Map



3.9.2 Kuakata

Kuakata, the lowland lass of latachapli in the sea-facing south of Bangladesh is

70 km. from Patuakhali District Headquarters and 320 km. from the capital City

Dhaka. Here on the Bay, nature left to nature is the up and coming tourist

hamlet of Kuakata with cool and kind holidaying kiss.

Fascinating name Kua(well), Kata(dug) was perhaps given to it by the earliest

Rakhyne settlers from kingdom of Arakan who landmarked the place by digging

a well. A fabled curative quality of well-waters of Kuakata is still a matter of

“willing suspension of disbelief”. Fascinating still more is the sight of the sun at

dawn rising from the depths of the sea and sinking into the same at dusk which

can be glanced from the same point.

Tourist attractions

The long wide beach in typical nature setting,

Rising from the sea and setting into it of the crimson sun in a clam

environment,

Fairs and festivals during ‘Rush Purnima’ and ‘Maghi Purnima’.

Unique customs and costumes of the ‘Rakhyne’ community,

Ancient Buddhist temple and the largest Buddha statue of Bangladesh,

Migratory birds in the winter season.

3.9.3 Sundarban



The Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest of the world. Criss-crossing and

canals creeping around ten thousand islets swell and sink with the tide in the

bay. The cluster of isles, the water-bodies and mangroves together support an

eco-system at once unique and agile develop the Sundarban into a treasure-

trove of biodiversity.

Location

Sundarban is situated in the south-west corners of Bangladesh. In the east it is

bordered by the Baleshwar river, in the south is the Bay of Bengal and to the

north there is sharp interface with intensively cultivated land. Western borderline

of the Sundarban abuts with the Indian portion of it.

Area

Total area- 5772.85 sq.km.

Forest-4016.85 sq. km.

River, Canals and Channels- 1756.00 sq. km.

Attractions



The attractions of the Sundarbans are varied and many. It is the world’s largest

mangrove formation on the Bay of Bengal. Wild unspoiled and unpolluted

beaches are scattered here and there along the borderline of the Bay. Royal

Bengal Tiger, spotted deer, squirrel, rhesus monkey, barking deer, wild boar,

dolphin etc. of the reptile species there are estuarine crocodiles, pythons, lizards,

flap-shelled spotted turtles and green turtles.

Important tourist spots

Hiron Point, Kotka, Kochikhali, Dubla Island, Mandarbaria, Putney Island and

Tinkona Island.

Sundarban Tourist Map

3.9.4 Saint Martin’s Island



St. Martin’s island is a small island in the northeast part of the Bay of Bengal,

about 9 km. south of the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf peninsular trip in the southernmost

part of Bangladesh. The local people call it Narikel Jinjira. There are 2 small dead

lagoons and a stretch of marshy land in Dakshinpara.

Chhera-dwip

Chhera-dwip is a part of st. Martin’s Island but divided during tides. One can go

to chhera-dwip by walking during low tide.

3.9.5 Sylhet



Sylhet, a land of devotion and nature’s bounties is in the north-east of

Bangladesh. A hilly region in mainly a plain country Sylhet lies between Khasia

and Jaintia Hills in the north and Tripura Hills on the south. Forest around abound

with innumerable birds species. The orange grove of Chhatak with humming

bees adds to the fairy-land aura of the region. The Sylhet vally is formed by a

beautiful, winding pair of rivers named the Surma and the Kushiara both of which

are fed by innumerable hill streams from the north and the south. Sylhet is the

foremost tea granary of the country.

Sylhet Tourist Map

Tourist Attractions:

The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R.A.)



Sylhet has been the believers destination down the ages. Consecrated by the

great Muslin saint, Hazrat Shsh Jalal (R.A.)_ is said to have brought the message

of Islam to the region. At a short distance lies shrine of another great saint

Hazrat Shah Paran (R.A.), who is said to be a nephew of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R.A.)

Jaintipur

Said to be the capital of an ancient Kingdom includes the Khasia and Haintia hills

and the plains of Jaintia to this day hold the ancient aura of the kings and

queens.

Shahi Eid Gha

The Shahi Eid Gha was built on a hill by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Madhabkuunda

Famous for its fascinating waterfall, Madhabkunda attracts a large number of

visitors every year. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation offers restaurant, retiring

room, picnic and parking facilities for the visitors there.

Monipuri dance

Several tribes lives in the area each distinct from the other in their life and living.

The Monipuri dance is known and appreciated every where.

Handicrafts

The exquisite pieces of Sylhet came furniture adorn many homes. Colorful cane

handicrafts and souvenirs are the specialty of the area.



Temple of Sri Chaitannya Dev

The temple is revered as and ancestral place of famous vaishnava saint

Chaitannya Dev. Site of an annual fair takes place on a full-moon night in the

Bangla month of Fulgun is a romantic event.

Srimongal

Famous for large tea gardens in smoothing and comfortable climate conditions.

Srimongal is an up and coming holiday resort.



Tamabil- Jaflong

Glimpse of the waterfall across the border inside India from Tamabil and stone

rolling down the sides of hills or to the plains is a beholder’s delight.

Lawachhara

Lawachhara the second largest artificial reservoir of biodiversity on 1250 ha

area, was planned in 1922 by the Brithishers. Over the period, it has become an

abode of rich biodiversity and now it turned to Lawachhara national park.

Bholaganj

Bholaganj near Companyganj, with eye-soothing view of Indian Meghalaaya hill

in the northern side, emanates the murmuring sound of douki river and allures

the visitors. Migratory birds, natural beauties and stone collection enrich the

significance of Bholagonj.

3.9.6 Bandarban



Some 92 km. from Chittagong by metalled road through the green forest and the

hills is tucked away quiet haven. This hidden paradise away from the din and

bustle of the world is called Bandarban. Bandarban has the unique privilege of

having 2 highest peaks of the country, the Keokeradong and Tajingdong that

measure up to 4000 and 4632 feet respectively.

Tourist attraction:

The panoramic view of Bandarban will surely allure tourists to extend their stay,

roaming around in the natural wilderness of these hilly districts.

Boga lake

The Boga lake attracts tourist because of its scenic beauty but it is inaccessible

by motorized transports.

Chimbuk hill

Chimbuk is a unique hill having 2000 ft. high from the sea level. Here Sangu river

give a thrilling experience in the lifetime.

Meghla

The Meghla tourist spot is situated at about 6 km. near Chittagong -Bandarban

highway. A beautiful hanging wooden bridge enhances the beauty of the spot.

Buddha Dhatu Jadi

It is an attractive temple located at 300 ft. highest on a hill at Balaghata 2 km.

from Bandarban.

Alikandam

There are numerous settlements of Murang and Khumi tribal people in the area.

Ali’s tunnel is also situated here. There are many mysterious tales regarding this

tunnel.



Rijuk water fall

This natural mighty water fall is situated at Ramu. Here, there are the water

incessantly falls into the river Sangu for about 300 ft. high hill dazzling like pearl

particles in the space creating an un parallel beauty of nature.

Rajbari and Museum



The historical Bohmang rajbari is situated in the Bandarban town.it is attractive

and bears a long glorious history of several 100 years. Ancient and historical raj

Khyang is situated near the royal place. Anthropological museum of Bandarban

where the history of the local tribal life is preserved. The museum authority has

setup replicas of various tribal houses.

Shaila Propat

Some 8 km. away from Bandarban, Shaila Propat is a popular spot for tourists.

The walk to this spot will involve several ascents and descents along hillside.

3.9.7 Sonargoan

The golden village of Bangladesh, is a historical township situated about 25 km.

southeast of Dahka. It is generally belive that “subarnagram” the other name of

the place, had existed from the time of Pala and Deva king who had used it as

their administrative town. Isha Khan, the Masnad- I- Ala, had also built his army

headquarter here.

Places of interest

There are a number of old relice and architectural remains such as the tomb of

Sultan Giasuddin Azam Shah, the single-domed mosque of Mograpara,Goladi

mosque, tomb of Munna Shah Darbesh, tomb of Ponakai Diwana, Panch Pir

Dargh and the single-domed squire mosque built by Sultan Jalaluddin Fateh

Shah.

Panam Nagar

This ancient place in Sonargoan on the north of Dhaka-Chittagong highway at

Mograpara point is said to have been the site of Hindu capital city of Sonargong.

Panam Nagar appears to be well protected by artificial canals all around.



Neel-Kuthi in Sonargoan

There is a building constructed by the English East India Company at Dalalpur in

the vicinity of Panam of Sonargoan. It is situated a few yards north of Dalalpur

Bridge on the eastern side of the road.it was initially meant for the purchase of

Muslin and subsequently used for trading in indigo. The original structure has

almost vanished with the passage of time. Today, only records tell us about the

architectural design and character of the original building, about how the

decorative treatments expressed the transposition from European architecture

and blended with local motifs influenced by the Mughal architecture.

3.9.8 Kantajee Temple



Among the glorious late medival culture heritage of Bangladesh, Kantajee

Temple is the most expressive and magnificent monument, which is fully

covered with terracotta ornamentation. The enhancement of the temple is

outstanding and very delicate. Its outward decoration fascinated amateurs,

tourists and art historians since its construction. The temple is located at

Sundarpur Union, 21 km. north of Dinajpur District town along the Dinajpur-

Tetulia Highway and on the eastern bank of the Dhepa river. Raja Prnnath built

this monument in his ruling period between 1682-1722 and dedicated it to Lord

Krishna and his wife Rukmini. The temple is still a living one where people

worship and perform rituals every day.

Tourist attraction near Kantajee Temple:



Ramsagor

Raja Ramnath had dug this Ramsagar (largest blue water tank) in 1755, the area

if the Ramsagar is 3399’ 1200’ & deep is 36 ft. The total area is 1,628,120 sq.

ft. surrounding picturesque view which attracts visitors enormously.

There is a Temple for the Hindus, an artificial zoo, a small zoo and a rest house.

Ramsagar is 10 km. far from the Parjatan motel Dinajpur. Rickshaws, auto

rickshaws and micro-buses are available to reach here.

Swapnapuri

It is located on 150 acres of land at Aftabganj- a dream land under Nababganj

thana, 52km. south of Dinajpur district. There are four Bang lows in Swapnapuri.

It is an attractive entertainment place for the tourists with green trees that

comprises of lake, zoo, playground, different types of rides of interesting game.

Swapnapuri is accessible through local bus or private transport.

Rajbari

King of Dinajpur was the most influential during the time of Mughal Emperor. The

Zamindari of Dinajpur was established from the properties of Hindu pious

Brohmachari. Later on the king palace was built on these properties. Still now it

bears the symbol of king’s palace which is north east part of Dinajpur town, but

some portion of it which is adjacent to the temple is still preserved nicely and

decoratively.

3.9.9 Paharpur

Paharpur is a small village 5 km. west of Jamalganj Railway Station in Naogaon

district and about 60 km. away from Bogra town where the remain of the most

important and the single largest known monastery- south of the Himalayas, has

been excavated. This 8th century AD archaeological find cover approximately an

area of 27 acres of land. The entire establishment occupies a quadrangular

court measuring more than 500ft. and from 12 ft. to 15ft. in height with an

elaborate gateway complex on the north. There are 45 cells on the north and 44

in each of the other three sides with a total number of 177 cells. The architecture



of the pyramidal cruciform temple is profoundly influenced by those of southeast

Asia, especially Myanmar and Java.

The excavated findings have also preserved at the Verandra Research Museum

at Rajshahi. The antiquities of the museum include potteries, coins, inscription,

ornamental bricks and other clay objects. It has been declared as a World

Heritage Site by UNESCO. Beside throwing light on the architecture and Buddhist

religion in early medieval Bengal, the Paharpur excavations were extremely

significant in terms of the history of sculptural arts in Bangladesh.]

Paharpur museum

This north facing building accommodates three galleries s around the central

introductory hall. Except the western gallery, these are displaying the objects

collected from Paharpur monastery and the western gallery is preserved for

findings collected from the neighbouring regions of Paharpur.



Chapter - 4

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF TOURISM INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH AND CURRENT

STATE OF AFFAIRS



4.0 Importance of the Tourism Sector in Bangladesh

In the Bangladesh, tourism has not achieved the optimal level of development

and status .Tourism business in Bangladesh, as measured by yearly tourist

arrivals. With 1.5 million in 2008 it constitutes about 0 .125 per cent of world

total of over 800 million.

For a long time, the Governments of Bangladesh never had given adequate

attention to the development of tourism sector. Since the, early 1990s, however,

tourism became recognized as an important sector in Bangladesh. In 2004,

tourism contributed about 0.2 per cent of GDP of the economy.

In Bangladesh, 1 in every 19 jobs is generated by the sector. The Government of

Bangladesh first recognized tourism as an important industry with the framing of

a National Tourism Policy in 1992. In 1999, tourism was declared as a thrust

sector in Bangladesh (Government of Bangladesh, 2005).

4.1 Problems and constraints regarding tourism industry

Infrastructure development and the resources required for that purpose are

major problems standing in the way of tourism development. Planned

development of the tourist product is partly dependent on the socio-economic

conditions of the country, and this is problem as well. Marketing of Bangladesh

tourism abroad faces constraints created by inadequate funds and lack of

knowledge.

The Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Aid Group have taken seriously

the idea that Bangladesh is the test case for development. In the late 1980s, it

was possible to say, in the somewhat patronizing tone sometimes adopted by

representatives of donor organizations, that Bangladesh had generally been a

"good performer." Even in straitened times for the industrialized countries,

Bangladesh remained a favoured country for substantial commitments of new

aid resources from a strikingly broad range of donors. The total estimated

disbursement for FY 1988 was estimated at US$1.7 billion, an impressive total

but just US$16 per capita. Half of that total was for food aid and other

commodities of limited significance for economic growth. Even with the greatest

imaginable efficiency in planning and administration, resource-poor and



overpopulated Bangladesh cannot achieve significant economic improvements

on the basis of that level of assistance.

Problems in brief

Despite occasional meetings and adoption of plans of action, not much real

progress is noticed yet in promoting tourism in Bangladesh. The following

reasons could be considered as impediments to development of tourism in the

Bangladesh:

Lack of transport links (air, rail, road and sea transport connecting major

tourist destinations).

Lack of sincerity and political will to promote Bangladesh as a common

tourism destination: This emanates due to competition between the

countries for tourists, given that all of the countries offer somewhat similar

tourist products and compete in the same markets in the world.

There has been a lack of funds and technical expertise. The little seed

money that the Bangladesh Tourism Fund has been established with can

pump prime the initial take-off, with publication of promotional materials

and familiarization tours.

Absence of effective coordination: This stands in the way of effective

coordination among the relevant departments, agencies and ministries in

Bangladesh.

Complicated visa and border formalities are the most crucial factor that

stands in the way particularly of intra-regional tourism. Though

discussions have taken place, not much easing out in this area is yet in

place.

Government tax on hotel accommodation and food facility in Bangladesh

is also not adequate. An ADB report points out that “Hotel rates in Dhaka

are high compared to neighbouring countries, reflecting the high taxation

imposed on hotels in Bangladesh.”

Lack of government policy is also a problem for tourism industry. This

indicates that our tourism is in a problem of proper guide line.

Corruption: Corruption is one of the major problems regarding tourism

industry in Bangladesh. For that some foreign tourist fell into problem in

their smooth and continue journey in Bangladesh.



4.2 PROSPECTS

In examining the economy of Bangladesh, wherever one turns the problems

crowd in and threaten to overwhelm the analysis. Underlying problems that have

threatened the young nation remain unsolved. These problems include

overpopulation and inadequate nutrition, health, and education resources; a low

standard of living, land scarcity, and vulnerability to natural disaster; virtual

absence of valuable metals; and inadequate government and bureaucratic

structures. Yet the brief history of independent Bangladesh offers much that is

encouraging and satisfying. The World Bank, leader of the Bangladesh Aid Group,

described the country in 1987 as a success story for economic development and

expressed optimism that the goals of the Third Five-Year Plan, and longer term

development goals as well, could be attained. Government policies had been

effective in stimulating the economy. The private sector had benefited from an

environment of greater economic freedom and had improved performance in

banking and production of jute, fertilizer, ready-made garments, and frozen

seafood. The average growth rate of economy had been a steady, if

unspectacular, 4 percent since the beginning of the 1980s, close to the world

average for developing countries.

The picture of day-to-day and even year-to-year performance of the economy of

Bangladesh is a mixture of accomplishment and failure, not significantly different

from that of the majority of poor Third World countries. The government and

people of Bangladesh are entitled to take some pride in the degree of success

they have achieved since independence, especially when one contrasts their

success with the gloomy forecasts of economists and international experts. The

international donor community, led by the World Bank, similarly can be proud of

the role it has played in assisting this "largest poorest" nation to become a

respected member of the family of nations.

Some other prospects

1. Tourism industry may be turned into the major source of earning foreign

currency for Bangladesh.

2. It has the ability to introduce Bangladesh with the people around the

world.



3. Tourism industry can also help us to create a better image in the world.

4. It can also help Bangladesh in business purpose.

5. Bangladesh has a large number of tourist spot in its area. All of them are

special in their own character. So all of them have individual attraction for

the tourist if some contractual work is done for easier movement.

6. These tourist spots also can eliminate the unemployment problem of

Bangladesh. Specialist said that more than 30% employment could be

increased if the government takes proper step for the development of

tourism areas.

7. The government of Bangladesh can earn a huge amount of revenue from

this sector which can help Bangladesh to establish a healthy economic

condition.

8. If we can make a position in the 7 wonders through Cox’s Bazar and

Sundarbans then the prospects of tourism industry in Bangladesh will be

higher and higher.

9. As a third world country in the world Bangladesh can promote its position

through the proper utilization of tourism industry.

10.Thus the overall condition can be improved by proper utilization of tourism

sector.

Reams of paper have gone into writing about the prospect of tourism in

Bangladesh in all the mediums of reporting. For the last three decades, we have

been endeavoring to develop tourism, but the expectations have not always

been met. The good news is that many high officials concerned with national

development have recently come to understand the importance of tourism.

Apart from this, tourism is the world's largest industry and a major source of

employment and revenue. It also contributes towards conserving environment.

Tourism is the world's largest industry. There are some statistics to justify this

assertion, especially for those who give more importance to facts and figures.

According to the World Tourism Council, last year tourism alone produced over

$6 trillion in revenue. It provided jobs to around 221 million people globally.

It is expected that by 2015 it will be providing some 269 million jobs. Between

2006 and 2015, tourism's growth rate is expected to be 4.6 percent on an

average per year.



Tourism, on a national scale, not only can produce employment but also can be a

major source of renewable export. It must be noted, however, that to be a

renewable resource, tourism must be developed in a sustainable manner. That

means where ecologies are fragile, numbers and activities must be tightly

controlled; pollution must be checked, and local cultures protected.

Tourism can add to the local economy in a variety of ways. These include

revenue earned on spending by tourists in hotels and restaurants, conventions

and meetings held, fares paid for transportation, etc.

Tourism and economic development go hand-in-hand. Think about what makes a

place a good tourism centre. What are the essential ingredients of tourism? Here

are a few of the essential points that tourism needs for its future growth in

Bangladesh:

No one wants to visit a place that is not clean or unhealthy. Tourism cannot

survive without a clean and safe environment. In a like manner, communities

that do not provide pleasant surroundings and a clean environment have a very

hard time attracting business.

Tourism requires friendly people and good service. No matter what the attraction

may be, a tourism centre that lacks good customer service and friendly people

will fail. In the same way, communities that offer poor service not only do not

attract newcomers, but, in the end, have a difficult time holding on to their local

population, young people and businesses.

Tourism requires good restaurants, hotels and recreational facilities. These are

the same factors that are essential to any community seeking economic

development.

Bangladesh can be an ideal destination for community-based tourism. For

sustainable progress in poverty eradication, the present time is suitable for

considering the implementation of community-based tourism. Bangladesh is a

country of thousands of villages. Most of its heritage sites and international

tourist spots are positioned around villages. These are intended for education as



well as recreation.

Sometimes rare plants or animal species are the main attraction, sometimes

traditional food, handicraft or historic buildings. A European example of well-

developed rural tourism is France. Camping and caravans are the most popular

forms of accommodation in rural areas, many of them on farms. Many farmers

have developed camping sites on their farms. Others prefer to invest in various

kinds of short-term rental houses known as "gîtes."

Bangladesh has huge potential for tourism. The concept of community-based

rural tourism and its benefits are still unexplored. Now is the right time to think

of rural tourism development. Apart from rural tourism, all general attractions,

like archaeological sites, historical places, natural beaches are, more or less,

getting importance.

But rural tourism can turn into a booming sector for at least two reasons. First,

through rural tourism, Bangladesh may rid itself of poverty, and second, the

infrastructure of far-off and rural places will be developed.

Community-based rural tourism is a must for the economic development of

Bangladesh. Its earnings will act as a vehicle for the overall development of

Bangladesh. Development of rural tourism will have the following results:

Increase in Gross Domestic Product.

Human resource development.

Poverty mitigation.

Promotion of indigenous culture and heritage.

Development of river tourism and eco-tourism.

Development of rural livelihood.

Protection of indigenous rights and resources.

Education and training for all.

Conservation of environment.

Increase in local export.

Peace and happiness.



Promotion of local cuisine.

Women employment, etc.

The government and community leaders may also want to take into account that

tourism adds prestige to a community. People like to live in a place that others

consider worthy of visiting. Such pride in one's nationality or community can

become an important tool for developing the economy.

People sell their community's best when there is a great deal to see and do in it,

when it is safe and secure, and when customer service is not merely a motto but

a way of life. Community festivals, traditions, handicrafts, parks and natural

settings all add to the desirability of a locale and its ability to sell itself to

potential outside investors. The quality of life can also be reflected in a

community's museums, concert halls, theatres and uniqueness.

Tourism is an important economic development tool for emerging and minority

communities around the world. Since tourism is based on the appreciation of

other cultures, tourism industries have been especially open to giving

disadvantaged groups around the world opportunities that have often been

denied to them by other economic sectors.

Tourism requires a great deal of construction work and provides large numbers

of entry-level jobs. Tourists may infuse additional money into the local economy

through shopping. In nations where manufacturing is not developed, the tourism

industry can be an essential method for reinvigorating local economies.

Sooner or later, Bangladesh will be able to make the optimum use of its existing

potential for tourism and, thereby, further develop its economy.

4.3 National Tourism Policy

Promotion of tourism in Bangladesh under the aegis of the government started in

1972, following independence of the country. The main attractions of the tourism

industry of Bangladesh are varied cultural heritages, ancient archaeological

sites, Buddhist heritages and many eco-tourism sites, world’s longest natural sea

beach, etc.



Recognizing the contribution of tourism to the socio-economic development of

the country, the government framed the National Tourism Policy in 1992. In the

Tourism Policy, status of tourism industry in Bangladesh was described, aims and

objectives were defined and implementation strategies were suggested.

The policy identified tourism as a multidimensional industry and spelt out the

necessity to have an effective coordination among various government

ministries, departments, agencies and civil society bodies. As per the

recommendation of the National Tourism Policy, a ‘National Tourism Council’

headed by the Prime Minister and an ‘Inter-ministerial Coordination Committee’

headed by the Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism were formed. Unfortunately,

both the committees virtually remained dysfunctional. Until now, only two

meetings of the National Tourism Council were held. The National Tourism Policy

undertook some initiatives for a vigorous promotion of tourism within and

outside the country. However, most of those remained unimplemented. Against

this backdrop and emergence of private sector tourism industry, it is urgently felt

that the 1992 policy needs updating.

4.4 National Industrial Policy, 2005

The National Industrial Policy 2005 has recognized tourism as an industry and

declared it as a “thrust sector”. As per the Industrial Policy, foreign investors

have been offered various incentives to invest in tourism industry, which

include: (a) Tax exemption on royalties; (b) Tax exemption on the interest of

foreign loans; (c) Tax exemption on capital gains from the transfer of shares; (d)

Avoidance of double taxation in case of foreign investors on the basis of bilateral

agreements; (e) Exemption of income tax on salaries up to three years for the

foreign technicians employed in the approved industries; (f) Remittance up to

50% of the salary of the foreigners employed in Bangladesh and the facilities for

repatriation of their savings and retirement benefits and personal assets at the

time of their return; (g) Facilities for repatriation of invested capital, profits and

dividends; (h) Guarantee against expropriation and nationalization of foreign

private investment (as per Foreign Private Investment Promotion & Protection



Act 1980); (i) Provision for transfer of shares held by foreigners to local partners

with the permission from the Board of Investment and the Foreign Exchange

Control Department of Bangladesh Bank; and (j) Reinvestment of repatriable

dividend is treated as new foreign investment.

Promotion of tourism industry through public-private partnership has been

indicated in both the National Tourism and National Industrial Policies of

Bangladesh. For development of human resource in this sector, directives have

been given to activate the tourism training institutes. Also in the Industrial Policy,

the inclusion of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MoCAT) was proposed in

the National Committee for SME Development. Inclusion of the MoCAT would play

a positive impact on growing up small and medium size enterprises in tourism

sector of Bangladesh.

4.5 The Tourism Master Plan

The Tourism Master Plan of Bangladesh prepared in 1988 with the assistance of

UNDP/ILO has identified a number of hindrances of the tourism industry and

suggested various ways and means for the growth of tourism in Bangladesh. The

Master Plan has envisaged a short-term, medium-term and long-term planning

strategy for the promotion of tourism in Bangladesh. The short and medium-term

strategies are intended to be completed within a 10-year period, the short-term

referred broadly to the third and fourth national development plans, and the

medium-term extending into the following five year period. Because of the

constraints on public sector resources and possible caution on the part of the

private sector to commit investment finance on tourism projects, the

development program follows the same broad approach in allocating projects to

short and medium-term programs. Although, in short term, some increase in

tourism activity in Bangladesh can be achieved through small-scale product

improvements, in the medium and longer term, major product initiatives will be

required to achieve the growth targets. The major product development



strategies may be ‘River Tourism Product’, ‘Village Tourism Development’,

‘Cultural Heritage (archeological sites, historic buildings and monuments,

museums, fine arts and performing arts etc.)’, ‘Forest and Wildlife’ and other

products innovation.

4.6 Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation as National Tourist Organization (NTO)

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) was established in 1972 through a

Presidential Order no 143, and placed it under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and

Tourism. It has been entrusted with dual responsibility - promotion of tourism in

the country as well as creation of facilities on commercial basis. Since its

inception, BPC has been developing and creating various tourist facilities across

the country. Till to date, it has created 42 tourism units (hotels. motels,

restaurants, tourism centre, picnic spots, duty free shops, drinks corner, etc.) at

different places of tourist attractions of the country in order to offer facilities to

the tourists. It also runs a National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI),

which to date, produced more than 24,000 trained manpower. As per the

privatization policy of Bangladesh government, BPC has leased out as many as

11 commercial units to private sector on commercial basis.

4.7 Infrastructure

Though communication and transport system in Bangladesh is quite well

established, the infrastructure in the tourist places is yet to be fully developed.

Tourism and amusement facilities in some areas - like Cox’s Bazar, Kuakata,

Paharpur, Sundarbans, Teknaf and St. Martin are not sufficient. Presently, there

are some tourism infrastructure in and around of Dhaka, the capital city through

private sector initiatives. Owing to lack of funds, construction of tourism

infrastructure cannot be undertaken.

4.8 SWOT Analysis of tourism industry in Bangladesh

Strengths



People of Bangladesh are generally very hospitable and tourist friendly.

Security is not that bad as often projected by electronic and print media.

Domestic tourism is increasing steadily. Due to two-day holiday in the

week, the trend of moving out for recreation has increased mainly among

the middle class people of the society.

Awareness about tourist attractions among the local community is

increasing.

Communication and transport system has been developed from north to

south, east to west.

The country possesses some unique archaeological sites, cultural heritage

and eco-tourism products like the world’s largest mangrove forest, the

Sundarbans, the world’s longest unbroken sea beach in Cox’s Bazar (120

km), the oldest archaeological site in the Southern Himalayas-Paharpur

and world’s largest terracotta temple - Kantaji Temple in Dinajpur, and

spectacular monuments and mausoleums of language movement and

liberation war of the country.

Weaknesses

On the role of BPC, there is debate whether the Corporation should play

the role of a mere NTO or a commercial organization or both.

Frequent changes of officials in the BPC’s management and its line

ministry.

Absence of representation of civil society in the BPC’s Board of Directors.

No revenue budget for the promotion of tourism development in the

country.

Absence of a regular policy direction. Due to absence of proper policy

direction, BPC or the private sector can not receive any fund or loan from

any quarter.

There are some flaws in the law of categorizing the country’s hotels and

restaurants. Categorizing of the hotels and restaurants as Star or non-Star

is not under the jurisdiction of the BPC. Non-technical hands or

institutions are involved in this process.

Due to absence of a tourism law, the tour operators or tourism service

providers can not be punished for any mishandling of tourists. Also owing



to absence of law, tourism products can not be protected or conserved,

which is there in many countries of the world.

The country often suffers from image crisis. The country continues to

remain as an unknown destination to the tourist generating countries.

Opportunities

It is easy to implement eco-tourism, riverine tourism, and spiritual

tourism, as the country possesses enough opportunity to develop these

types of tourism.

Government has formulated favourable foreign investment policy to

attract overseas investors in readymade garments, leather goods, natural

gas and petroleum sector and liberal policy for joint venture investment in

tourism sector.

As there are hundreds of rivers crisscrossing Bangladesh, immense

potentiality exists for development of riverine tourism in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is located strategically in South Asia.

Threats/Constraints

Unstable political situation created a bad image abroad, which should be

taken as the biggest threat for development of tourism industry overseas.

Continuous campaign against Bangladesh by certain quarters as a

fundamentalist country is another obstacle.

Unholy alliance between the trade union and political leaders, which

disrupts labour discipline.

Politicization of administration

Trade Union Menace in the organization

Rapid growth of population is another big problem. Bangladesh is the most

over-populated country of the world, except the city state of Singapore.



Chapter - 5

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION



5.0 Findings

1. Tourism industry of Bangladesh has a greater impact and prospect in the

overall socio-economic condition of Bangladesh.

2. Bangladesh has a large number of known and unknown tourist spot

around the country such as Cox’s Bazar, Kuakata, Kantajee Tample, Saint

Martin’s Island, Sonargoan, Syllet, Sundarbans, Ramsagor, and so on.

3. In the Bangladesh, tourism has not achieved the optimal level of

development and status .Tourism business in Bangladesh, as measured by

yearly tourist arrivals. With 1 million in 2004 it constitutes about 0 .125

per cent of world total of over 800 million.

4. A large number of tourists come to visit Bangladesh each and every year.

Though these number can be increased through proper steps and policies.

5. About 446421000 taka was earned from the tourism sector in Bangladesh

in 2006. But it is not adequate with our spots. We can earn double or triple

amount by taking proper policies.



6. Notional tourism policy was formed in 1992. And in the 2005 it is

developed and updated. But yet it needs some additional change in the

whole policy.

7. Tourism master plan of Bangladesh was formed in 1988. But now the

world is more competitive in every sector. So it need some change to

compete with the other country.

8. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation is the national tourism organization.

They have lack of resource and man power facility. So, though they want

to do something but can’t.

9. Though communication and transport system in Bangladesh is quite well

established, the infrastructure in the tourist places is yet to be fully

developed.

10.People of Bangladesh are generally very hospitable and tourist friendly.

11.The country possesses some unique archaeological sites, cultural heritage

and eco-tourism products like the world’s largest mangrove forest, the

Sundarbans, the world’s longest unbroken sea beach in Cox’s Bazar (120

km), the oldest archaeological site in the Southern Himalayas-Paharpur

and world’s largest terracotta temple - Kantaji Temple in Dinajpur, and

spectacular monuments and mausoleums of language movement and

liberation war of the country.

12.Absence of a regular policy direction. Due to absence of proper policy

direction, BPC or the private sector can not receive any fund or loan from

any quarter.

13.The country often suffers from image crisis. The country continues to

remain as an unknown destination to the tourist generating countries.

14.Government has formulated favourable foreign investment policy to

attract overseas investors in readymade garments, leather goods, natural

gas and petroleum sector and liberal policy for joint venture investment in

tourism sector.



15.Bangladesh is a country of natural disaster. In 2007, Sidr attacked our

country and made a huge damage to the whole country as well as the

tourist spots.

5.1 Recommendations

Budget tourism aimed at all age groups, particularly the young generation

of backpackers needs to be developed, with economy travel, easing of

visa formalities, dissemination of information and low-cost but comfortable

accommodations, etc.

For learning lessons from other more successful groupings, visits of groups

comprising of tourist officials, private sector entrepreneurs and journalists

should be arranged.

Investment opportunities with liberal incentives need to be communicated

to both national and international investors.

Eco-tourism and Buddhist Circuit tourisms should be grounded on the

premise of poverty reduction of local communities. Tourist facilities and

products need to be developed with minimum ecological impact. Also,

opportunities for employment generation and income earning for the local

communities are to be created.

Human resource development for tourism through formal and informal

education, training and exchange visits is of utmost importance for

Bangladesh.

The ministry of Tourism and National Tourism Organizations of the

Bangladesh needs to be strengthened.



Quality of service needs to be improved. For the purpose, training at

different levels – from top management down to door boys – should be

initiated at national and regional levels.

In the area of environmental management, an integrated approach needs

to be taken for ensuring sustainability. The good practices within

Bangladesh in different areas, such as community-based resource

management, energy efficiency and conservation, pollution management,

disaster mitigation, etc. need to be disseminated.

Chapter - 6

Conclusion



6.0 Conclusion

It is evident from the above discussion that tourism worldwide including in the

Bangladesh is an expanding sector. It is already a significant source of foreign

exchange earning and employment generation in our country. Bangladesh has

potentials to harness, individually and collectively, for development of tourism

sector. However, the progress in cooperation in this area in our region is quite

slow, with no substantive achievement even in any particular area.

Low levels of inter-regional tourism within Bangladesh need to be addressed. It is

expected that the governments of Bangladesh, with lessons learned from other

groups in the world, will take vigorous steps to remove the barriers standing in

the way. Bangladesh has many lessons to learn from other countries in the

world.

The hotel industry in Bangladesh is a blooming one. The travel industry is

growing rapidly, and along with it is growing the hotel industry. Currently the

industry comprises of four five star hotels, Westin, Radisson, Sonargaon and

Sheraton, 8-10 other medium hotels like Purbani, Lake Shore and Sarina, and

about 50 guest houses and small hotels. All these add up to the total industry

supply.

As the demand was increasing, the number of accommodation providers was

also increasing. But it did not have much effect on the occupancy of the Westin,

Radisson, Sheraton or Sonargaon. Their business just continued as usual. They

maintained their usual occupancy, market share, and most importantly, their

sharply increasing trend of profit. The reason behind this is just that the market

demand is expanding so fast that it can provide good number of customers and



occupancy for nearly all members in the market. So there is something for nearly

everybody.

6.1 Take away

Before this report ends some important points to remember are listed below:

The travel industry in Bangladesh is increasing at an average rate of 10-

12% per year.

This is causing a subsequent growth in the hotel industry.

Much of the growth in the hotel industry has taken place in the boutique

hotel and guest house sector.

However these boutique hotels and guest houses have been able to gain

popularity among the foreign travellers because of their good facilities and

services, comparatively low price, and above all, good location.

The growth of these boutique hotels and guest houses has certainly

snatched away some customers from Westin, Radisson, Sheraton and

Sonargaon. In absence of close substitutes, many of the customers might

have stayed in any of the four five stars.

However people now have more choices and the two hotels must try to

retain their market position and customer loyalty by improved services.



7.0 Bibliography

Books and Articles

Borchgrevink, C.P. (1999). Perspective on the hospitality industry:

an introduction to hospitality management. Dubuque, Kendall/Hunt,

Cop.

J. Mathews (2004). Hotel Management – Hotels and its operation

Dubé, L., & Renaghan, L. M. (1999). How hotel attributes deliver the

promised benefits – guest perspectives on the lodging industry’s

functional best practices (part II). Cornell Hotel and restaurant

Administration Quarterly, Oct

Holjevac, I. A. (2003). A vision of tourism and the hotel industry in

the 21st century. International Journal of Hospitality Management

vol: 22 pp. 129-134.

Jones, P. (1999). Operational Issues and Trends in the Hospitality

Industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management vol: 18,

pp. 427-442.

Mohammad Shamsuddoha (2009). Opportunities of developing

tourism industry in Bangladesh. A Journal of Hospitality

Management. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1337659

Philip Kotler, (2004), Marketing Management, 9th Edition. Chapter –

6, SWOT Analysis.

Web links

www.hospitality.net http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/

Bangladesh.html http://www.bangladeshtourism.gov.bd/

Reports and press releases


http://www.bangladeshtourism.gov.bd/

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Bangladesh.html

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Bangladesh.html

http://www.hospitality.net/

http://ssrn.com/abstract=1337659


Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing – various reports

and press releases, 2000 – 2009

Special branch, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, PTS Division

(statistics)


market research report in tourism and hospitality industry in bangladesh

Documents