Three-day Asian Tourism Fair ends with massive response

With participation of thousands of travel enthusiasts from across the country, the three-day Asian Tourism Fair (ATF) ended at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital on Saturday.

The ninth edition of the fair drew widespread attention from people as it was organised after a gap of two years.

According to the organisers, the final day of the event got a festive look with the participation of tourists and visitors who were seen in a good spirit obtaining travel information including visa process to hotel facilities and guides under one roof.

Mohiuddin Helal, chairman and CEO of Asian Tourism Fair (ATF), Dhaka, told The Business Standard, "More than 10,000 visitors came to the venue of the fair in the last three days. We will have a bigger fair next year with participation from more than 30 countries."

He said that the government should emphasise on different tourism related products to boost the industry. "If these products could be manufactured, we would promote them to the foreign tourists through this fair. It will help increase the number of foreign tourists in the country."

Samsunnahar Mim came to visit the fair from Dhanmondi with her family. She said, "My son wants to visit Nepal to see the Himalayas. That's why we have come here to get more information in this regard." 

"It's great to have all the information under one roof. One stop travel service is also available here. If you give money, they will do everything for the trip," she added.

Zahid Anwar, another visitor in the fair, said, "I have come here with my wife and daughter. We have chosen a travel package to go to Sundarbans. We will contact them later."

Ghanshyam Bhandari, ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, told TBS that his country is having cultural exchange with Bangladesh through this fair. "Dhaka and Kathmandu have regular flights. However, there is a need for further development of communication between the two countries."

"If road communication with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and India is improved, the number of tourists will increase in this region. We want to develop this sector by increasing cooperation with each other," the ambassador said.

Himalay Hub Adventure Private Ltd, a travel company from Nepal, came to participate in the fair. Prakash Lamichhane, managing director of the company, said, "By participating in this fair, I got to know about the main tourist spots of Bangladesh."

"There is no sea beach in our country. I will campaign among the tourists in Nepal to visit the beaches of Bangladesh. We also want more Bangladeshi people to visit Nepal," he said.

Around 130 tourism companies from about nine countries participated in the fair. Over 50 companies from Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Lithuania took part in the fair with holiday packages along with special offers for the upcoming tourism season in both home and abroad.

The organisers also arranged various programmes including cultural events, seminars on tourism, painting competitions for children and business to business meetings during the three-day fair.