Tourism sector contributed 4% in GDP: Minister

The tourism sector contributed 4% in the gross domestic product (GDP) and 1.78% in employment generation, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan said today (2 July).
 
"With the directive of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation was established in November 1972," he told the House, while replying to a question from treasury bench member AFM Bahauddin Nasim with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
 
The minister said the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation started its journey from January 1973 as an autonomous body.
 
It has been providing services to local and foreign tourists through publicity and publication on renowned tourist places of the country, he added.
 
Faruk Khan said the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation established a total of 53 tourism related structures, including hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, amusement parks, bars, picnic spots and duty-free shops in different areas of the country to attract tourists.
 
"All of these tourist structures were being operated by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation with professionalism and those [tourist structures] contributed a lot in the tourism sector," the minister added.