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 MICE OCC RevPAR BD

Square Meters Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibitions Occupancy Levels Revenue per available Room Bangladesh

USD

United States Dollars

NLRA

Non-Last Room Availability

Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

Chapter 1

Introduction

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

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 postwar 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Chapter 2

The Hospitality Industry

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

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

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

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 AsiaPacific 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. Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

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%. Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

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 propertiesThe 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.”

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

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.

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

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 ecofriendly 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.

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

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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

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 inroom 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:

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

•

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 Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel Dhaka Sheraton Hotel Hotel Purbani Hotel Sunderban Best Western La Vinci Grand Azad Hotel Hotel Sarina Hotel Lake Shore Royal Park Radisson Water garden Hotel Dhaka Regency The Westin Dhaka Others(Other small hotels and guest houses, having about 45 rooms each, on an average) Total rooms available

1995 304 233 180 64 -

2000 304 233 180 120 51 107 -

-

(10×45)= 450

(25×40)= 1000

1231

1995

2005 304 288 180 160 51 107 90 60 60

2006 304 288 180 160 51 107 90 60 60 204

(60×40) (50×40)= =2400 2000 3300

3904

2007 304 288 180 160 51 107 90 60 60 204 200 235 2400

4339

Table: 2.1

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

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 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000

Years

2500

Total number of rooms available

2000 1500 1000 500 0

1

2

3

4

5

Years

1995

2000

2005

2006

2007

Total number of rooms available

1231

1995

3300

3904

4339

Fig. 2.2

It can be easily seen from the graph that the increase in the time period 20002007 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.

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

A rough estimation of the number of room nights available for the last five years is as follows: Number of room nights available Years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Number of Rooms Number of Room Nights 1995 728175 2195 801175 2515 917975 2805 1023825 3100 1131500 3300 1204500 3904 1424960 4339 1583735 4450 1624250 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.

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

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 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Number of rooms Number of room nights 3300 1204500 3904 1424960 4339 1583735 4450 1624250 4600 1679000

Table: 2.4

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

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 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Number of Foreign visitors 120782 128064 116389 113242 110475 126785

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

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 140000 120000 100000 Number of Foreign visitors

80000

Year

60000 40000 20000 0 Number of Foreign visitors Year

1

2

3

4

5

6

120782 128064 116389 113242 110475 126785 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

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 (JanuaryMarch) 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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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

half of the December is very active and vibrant but afterward businesses slow down in sluggish mood.

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

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

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• • •

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

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• •

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

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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.

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• •

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

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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

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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 crescentshaped 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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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 January

2003 11972

2004 14521

2005 13253

2006 11341

2007 11179

2008 13616

February

8961

12196

9458

8549

8926

10758

10091 9403

10720 9904

10868 8920

7791 12707

8280 7671

8096 9144

May

9940

11106

10602

11209

7701

10084

June

11125

10934

9096

11083

8890

9729

July

9758

9645

9028

10951

8815

10206

August September

10135 6429

7451 8816

8752 8700

7918 5872

10013 8627

9231 7861

October November

9880 11057

10142 10091

9385 7583

8363 8434

10971 9641

11491 11631

December Total

12031 120782

12539 128064

9534 116389

9115 113242

9761 110475

14938 126785

6.02

-9.12

-2.70

-2.44

14.76

March April

Percentage change over previous year

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

Table – 3.1

Bangladesh foreign exchange earnings for tourists and other travelers 2004-2008 (Hundred thousand taka) Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Total Percentage change over previous year

2004 233 188 320 299 208 171 389 226 403 303 322 253 3315

2005 423 305 455 176 356 302 96 197 85 274 335 287 3291 - 0.73

2006 458 744 700 425 523 359 375 491 445 398 516 510 5944 80.61

2007 535 546 478 487 671 619 554 666 506 712 694 1124 7594 27.76

2008 667 693 697 654 667 773 682 1142 968 1006 1002 600 9552 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

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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

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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 multidimensional 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. Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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

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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.

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Cox’s Bazar Tourist Map

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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.

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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 treasuretrove 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.

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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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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. Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 DinajpurTetulia 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.

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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

picturesque

sq.

ft.

surrounding

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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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Chapter - 4 PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF TOURISM INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH AND CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

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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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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•

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.

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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. Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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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 welldeveloped 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:

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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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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

ministries, departments, agencies and civil society bodies.

government 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.

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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, have been offered various incentives to invest in

foreign investors

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.

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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 mediumterm strategies are intended to be completed within a 10-year period, the shortterm 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 Abdullah Al Mamun – ID 08515030

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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.

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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 nonStar 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.

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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.

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Chapter - 5 FINDINGS

AND RECOMMENDATION

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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.

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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.

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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

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management, energy efficiency and conservation, pollution management, disaster mitigation, etc. need to be disseminated.

Chapter - 6

Conclusion

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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.

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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 1012% 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.

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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 •

Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing – various reports and press releases, 2000 – 2009

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•

Special branch, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, PTS Division (statistics)

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