No roads lead to Bangladesh: The country's struggle to attract tourists

A few years ago, when travel enthusiast Meer Raihan Masud visited India, he rented a sedan for three days to travel from Shimla to Manali and then explore various sights in Manali. 

The cost was Rs8,000, which was approximately equivalent to Tk11,000 at that time. But when he hired the same car just for a one-day trip from Dhaka to Barishal, it amounted to Tk10,000. 

Again, once during his stay in Kolkata, he lodged in a moderately priced hotel in South Kolkata for Rs 1,000 per night. A similar standard hotel in Dhaka would cost him at least Tk 3,000.

Apparently, everything is way cheaper for tourists in India than in Bangladesh. But the most significant contrast, according to him, lies in the behaviour of the people. 

"When I went to Meghalaya in 2018, the driver offered to let me stay in his house in Cherrapunji. Such acts of kindness are rarely seen among Bangladeshis working in the tourism sector," shared Raihan, who manages a Facebook page called Raihanism Travel & Food.

So, it's hardly surprising that in the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024, assessed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), India ranked 39th while Bangladesh lagged far behind at 109th out of 119 economies. 

Other neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka (76th), Pakistan (101st), and Nepal (105th), have also outperformed Bangladesh. In fact, Bangladesh ranked last among the 19 Asia-Pacific countries evaluated in the index.

Erosion at Kuakata coast. Photo: TBS

As The Business Standard delved deeper into the matter, it became evident that Bangladesh is far from being a tourist-friendly destination, with inadequate infrastructure and bureaucratic complexities serving as significant obstacles to the development of tourism in the country.

Bangladesh's struggles in the tourism sector aren't a new phenomenon. 

Professor Iis Tussyadiah, Head of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey and the key contributor to the WEF project, pointed out that Bangladesh has maintained similar overall scores this year, compared to the last two index publications (3.10 in 2019 and 3.20 in 2021). 

According to her, Bangladesh has improved in several areas, especially in the enabling environment dimension, particularly in pillars like safety and security, where Bangladesh has scored above average. Still, it is crucial for Bangladesh to improve on the travel and tourism resources and sustainability dimensions, including demand sustainability, by reducing risk from demand volatility. 

"One key aspect needing major improvement is investment in and the availability and productivity of tourist services and infrastructure," she told TBS. 

Indeed, in terms of tourist services and infrastructure, Bangladesh struggles to provide adequate options for inbound foreign tourists. For instance, there are limited transportation, accommodation, and food choices available for foreigners in Bangladesh, with a handful of cities like Dhaka, Chattogram, and Cox's Bazar being exceptions to this trend.

Also, Bangladesh lacks a vibrant nightlife scene, and access to alcohol or pork is limited. Even in the country's major tourist destinations, options for recreational activities such as rides or trails are scarce for tourists.

"So, you won't find many leisure tourists in Bangladesh. They have better alternatives in the form of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka or the Maldives. Most inbound tourists come here only for business or official purposes," said Dr Muhammad Shoeb-Ur-Rahman, Associate Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Dhaka University.

He further emphasised that even for domestic tourists, expenses in Bangladesh are relatively high. As a result, many people opt to allocate additional funds to their budget and travel to neighbouring countries, instead of visiting destinations such as Cox's Bazar or Sylhet within Bangladesh. This is particularly evident during the holiday season when these destinations become overcrowded.

"Overall, the outbound tourism of Bangladesh overweighs inbound tourism in terms of volume, which creates a negative impact on the economy, considering the export-earning feature of tourism," he said. 

To put it into perspective, around 52 lakh foreign tourists visited Bangladesh from 1995 to 2019, as per the Moody Index. In 2022, more than 5.29 lakh foreigners, including holidaymakers, visited Bangladesh, according to Immigration Police data provided by the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB).

Conversely, in the 2018-19 fiscal year alone, around 30 lakh Bangladeshi tourists went abroad, including 3.73 lakh for holiday and recreation, according to a report on "Tourism Satellite Accounts 2020" by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Sri Lanka is a classic example of an economy turning around thanks to its thriving tourism sector. One-third of the national GDP of the Maldives is contributed by the tourism sector. The contribution of travel and tourism to global GDP was also estimated to be 10.4% in 2019. However, in Bangladesh, the tourism sector contributes slightly more than 3% to the national GDP. 

This can largely be attributed to the government's lack of interest in giving it priority, so much so that Bangladesh doesn't even have a separate ministry for tourism. Instead, the tourism sector has to share resources and attention with civil aviation.

In the proposed budget for 2023-24, a total of Tk 6,597 crore was allocated for the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry. However, industry insiders claimed that the tourism sector received a meagre allocation. 

Notably, in neighbouring India and Sri Lanka, civil aviation and tourism are managed under separate ministries. These countries have been able to effectively prioritise and address specific needs within each sector, and thus leading to more focused and impactful initiatives.

Taufiq Rahman, former Vice President of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), highlighted the lack of coordination between the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry and other key ministries such as Finance, Foreign Affairs, Road Transport and Highways Division, Cultural Affairs, and Home Affairs, which is crucial for the prosperity of the tourism sector.

For example, to facilitate the travel of a cruise ship from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh in 2017, permissions from at least 17 different ministries and departments of the government were required. This cumbersome process showcased the bureaucratic hurdles that impede the tourism sector.

Rahman provided another example that earlier this year, when he went to a tourism fair in South Korea, he had a hard time explaining to other delegates exactly where Bangladesh is located. This underscores the importance of promoting Bangladeshi tourism in other countries through the initiatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"Also, we don't have a good image outside the country when it comes to security. But there haven't been many instances of foreigners being harassed or harmed in Bangladesh. So, we need to actively work towards dispelling such negative perceptions and improving our reputation," Rahman said.

The government should also take initiatives to refine policies aimed at strengthening regional cooperation. 

In this regard, travel agents, with the direct assistance of the government, could develop tour packages where foreigners might visit the hill stations in northern India and then travel to Bangladesh to experience destinations such as Cox's Bazar for the sea beach, or the Sundarbans for the forestry. 

"If you can offer tourists unique experiences by designing innovative tourism products in consideration of and collaboration with attractions from neighbouring countries, the travel and tourism industry in Bangladesh will surely be benefitted," said Dr Shoeb-Ur-Rahman. 

However, is the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism much concerned about Bangladesh consistently performing poorly in the Travel and Tourism Development Index? It doesn't appear so. When contacted for their reaction and plans to address the situation, some top officials declined to comment. 

Jannatul Naym Pieal, Sketch: TBS