Bangladesh is a land of diversity. Its vast population that includes 140 million Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists lives in absolute communal harmony. The widely varied religious stock has an impact on the cultural diversity making it colorful, interesting and lively. There are over seven hundred spots of tourist interest in the country. These include nature driven ones like sea beach, green valleys, forests, archeological and historical sites, iconic religious places, cultural events and man made-wonders. Thus Bangladesh is a unique tourist destination where one can find the scope for all kinds of tourist interests.
Being the world’s single largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans is a pride of the country. Located in southwestern edge of Bangladesh, it is-now a hot spot for eco-tourism. Spread over an area of 6000 sq km of deltaic swamps, it is a sanctuary of hundreds of rare species. Most importantly, it is the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger. One would also find crocodile, monkeys, dolphin, spotted deer and several other interesting creatures.
Crisscrossed by innumerable rivers and creeks, it is a wonderful repository of biodiversity. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visiting the Sundarbans must be a memorable experience. While having the opportunities of seeing the rare wild animals and birds, one can also see how thousands of brave men and women engage themselves in fishing in the rivers and creeks and collecting honey from the depth of the forest.
Down in the southeastern tip, the longest unbroken sea beach in Cox’s Bazar attracts tens of thousands of visitors all year round. The calm blue water-of the Bay of Bengal caresses the 120 km long sandy beach that stretch along a range of picturesque green hills. Besides bathing and basking, one can also enjoy a variety of water sports like surfing, water skiing and other games. The site is fast becoming a popular spot for beach football and volleyball besides several cultural events. With hundreds of comfort ensuring hotels, tribal bazaars and imposing pagodas around, Cox’s Bazar is often dubbed as the tourist capital of Bangladesh.
Another upcoming sea front tourist destination in the country is Kuakata. It is in the southernmost tip of the country from where one can have the rare opportunity of having glance or both the sunrise as well as the sunset.
The Hill districts in the southeastern region of the country commands an exotic view of natural beauty. Accessible by road from the port city of Chittagong, it is a tranquil heaven for nature lovers. Green hills and sprawling valleys are often dotted with waterfalls and small lakes. The unique lifestyle of the tribal people adds value to the romance of this paradise. With no sound and air pollution, these hilly districts can be the finest destinations for those wanting to get away from the time chasing modern urbane life and embrace a domain of tranquility.
Up in the northeastern part of Bangladesh in the region of Sylhet, the sprawling tea gardens offer a panoramic view. It is like a green carpet rolled out for miles and miles. For centuries, these tea gardens have been producing tea. The plucking of tealeaves by thousands of women in the waist-level thick tea bushes itself is a spectacular view. In the midst of the tea garden valleys, natural waterfalls make it more scenic.
The Madhabkunda waterfall is the most prominent one with tens of thousands of tourists visiting it every year. Between Sylhet and Mymensingh in the north-central part, huge water bodies dominate the landscape which offers another opportunity for nature adventurers. Known locally as haor, these water bodies turn to safe heavens for millions of cold escaping migratory birds coming from as far as Siberia. Tanguar haor situated in the district of Sunamganj is known to be the biggest single water body in Asia.
While natural beauty dominates the entire expanse of Bangladesh, thousands of ancient relics across the country hold truth of its interesting past. Some of these relics are several centuries old and relay the facts about the endeavors of religious preachers, business traders and ambitious rulers from all parts of the world.
Situated in northwestern part, Paharpur is well known for being a wonderful Buddhist archeological site. It was the largest monastery south of the Himalayas where Lord Buddha and his disciples were believed to have spent a long time for preaching.
Not far from Paharpur, there is another archeological landmark in Mahastangarh. It is known to have been the biggest place of worship for Hindu devotees. With imposing semi circle constructions and hand carved designs, the temples beside a river offer a spectacular view.
Mammoth Buddhist relics are also found in Mainamati near Comilla beside the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. Remains of a large Buddhist monastery with imposing central shrine speak of early Buddhist civilization.
The Kantajee temple in Dinajpur in northwest of Bangladesh is another must-see place. The age-old temple is iconic for delicate handwork on murals.
Bangladesh is often called a land of mosques. It is obvious that with an over eighty per cent of the 140 million people being Muslims, there will be innumerable mosques. However, many of the mosques are ancient and reflect the taste and savory of the early Muslim preachers and rulers. The Shatgombuz mosque in Bagerhat near Khulna is unique with its sixty domes. The Atia mosque in Tangail near Dhaka is still vibrant with its archaic designs. The Star mosque in the capital Dhaka shows the craze for beautification of holy places. The huge and magnificent national mosque — Baitul Mukarram — in the heart of Dhaka is an imposing architectural beauty.
As Bangladesh was at the crossroad of several civilizations and imperial rules, there are also several relics that echo the splendor of the past. The Lalbagh Fort in Dhaka commands a spectacular view. Built in 1678 during the rule of the Mogul Emperor Aurongazeb, it is an outstanding complex with courts, residences, mosques, minarets, tunnels, gardens and a sprawling courtyard. Sonargaon, the ancient capital of this land, is not very far from the present capital. It beholds old palaces. A folklore museum situated in the area showcases the finest of this country.
To achieve a consistent success from the tourism industry, Bangladesh has taken some commendable initiatives including creation of tourist accommodation and amusement facilities. Government of Bangladesh has recognized tourism as an industry and put it on the list of thrust sector. A new National Tourism Policy has been framed this year 2010 for the development of sustainable tourism industry in Bangladesh.
The policy underlines diversification of tourism products, development of eco-tourism, overseas marketing of tourism attractions and human resource development. The Industrial Policy of2010 has included tourism as a thrust sector. The government has also enacted Tourism, Protected Area and Exclusive Tourist Zone 2010 this year. This will help attract foreign investments in these ETZs.
The government is committed to extend unflinching cooperation to the private sector for the promotion of tourism industry in Bangladesh.
To encourage the private entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, the government has taken various initiatives including leasing out of some outlets of the national tourism organization to private sector on private management during the last several years. Foreign investors are also most welcome to invest in this sector. The investment may be either in the form of joint venture or on 100 percent foreign ownership basis.
In order to encourage private and foreign investment many incentives are allowed by the government, such as tax exemption on royalties; tax exemption on the interest of foreign loans; tax exemption on capital gains from the transfer of shares by investing company; avoidance of double taxation in case of foreign investors on the basis of bilateral agreements; exemption of income tax on salaries up to three years for the foreign technicians employed in the approved industries; remittance up to 50 percent of the salary of the foreigners employed in Bangladesh and the facilities for repatriation or their savings and retirement benefits and personal assets at the time or their return; facilities for repatriation of invested capital, profits and dividends; guarantee against expropriation and nationalization of foreign private investment (as per Foreign Private Investment Promotion & Protection Act 1980); 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 Reinvestment of repatriable dividend is treated as new foreign investment.
The government or Bangladesh provides trainings to the educated youths of the country so that these young people can enter into tourism industry The government-run National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, (NJ-ITTI) until now has provided training to as many as 30,000 students in different disciplines like — food and beverage production, food and beverage services, housekeeping and laundry, front office and secretarial, travel and tour operations and two-year diploma in hotel management and one-year diploma in tourism management. These trained up people are serving better in the tourism industry at home and abroad. Apart from these, many private tourism training institutes are also providing training and send the trained up people abroad and thus bring in foreign remittance to Bangladesh. Recently, the government has enacted law titled “Exclusive Tourist Zone and Tourism Protected Areas — 2010” which will enhance job opportunity for local community. However, tourism industry in Bangladesh still lacks competent human resources. And also until now, tourism has not been seriously considered in most of the poverty reduction strategies of the country. Hence, we are trying to set guidelines for community involvement in tourism planning formulation and development process. This will help benefit cascade down to the local community. Tourism is a well-balanced vehicle to influence poverty and tourism jobs can be very valuables in giving poor people self-esteem. The present government has also paid much emphasis on private sector led tourism growth in Bangladesh. Various incentives are also being offered to foreign investors. We are also considering implementation of some tourism projects under the government new concept
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) system.
Bangladesh is a land of many wonders. With a rich history, diversified culture and impeccable natural beauty, it deserves to be visited again and again. Along with the hospitality of the people, there are all necessary facilities available to make the travel across Bangladesh a memorable one. The national tourism organization — Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation — and plenty of private tour operators wait to serve you.
As Bangladesh is a young destination in the world tourism map and its attractions are still less trodden, it possesses a great potential to attract tourists from the world. It is striving hard to develop a planned and controlled tourism industry by maintaining quality and standard of tourism products and services. Bangladesh is always ready to welcome tourists to her land of virgin lush green and ancient civilization.
— Shafique Alam Mehdi
Secretary at Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
