Big tourism plans in store for Bangladesh .

[Homo Sapiens]

Beautiful 'Mayabi' waterfalls in Sylhet.

@BDforever @Arefin007 @Species @Khan saheb @UKBengali @Bilal9

 

[Gibbs]

^^^^

All those people bathing fully clothed.. Why ??

 

[TopCat]

^^^^

All those people bathing fully clothed.. Why ??

Most girls in BD take shower fully clothed even in private bathroom.
They think even angels can see them.

 

[punit]

It‘s！In 2016 more than 100 millions of Chinese tourists travelled abroad. I guess that many would think of visiting BD instead of the rapist country， my 2c.

but CPc pays 50 Cents .. right !

 

[pikkuboss]

Most girls in BD take shower fully clothed even in private bathroom.
They think even angels can see them.

What is that should not be seen?

 

[Gibbs]

Most girls in BD take shower fully clothed even in private bathroom.
They think even angels can see them.

Not just the women brah.. Even the blokes are fully dressed, some even in shoes..

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Not just the women brah.. Even the blokes are fully dressed, some even in shoes..

It's because, tourism is a very recent phenomenon in Bangladesh.People started going to these waterfalls/hilly areas very recently.In fact many tourism spot which are now famous discovered/got exposure only within last few years.There is no changing room or other facilities in those spot.People go there to spend maximum few hours.Touristic mindset/etiquette is still not developed as well as absence of associated facilities means if anyone keep his shoes or clothes in some places,it may get missing.

 

[Homo Sapiens]

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Tourism industry thrives on seminars, conventions

• 
  
  
  • Ishtiaq Husain
  • Published at 02:04 AM July 16, 2017

Bangladesh will have to make good use of the potential because business people who travel to a country for trade purposes tend to spend far more time, compared with other travellers

With amenities for international tourists and businessmen, Bangladesh is fast emerging as a new destination for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, abbreviated as MICE.


People involved in the tourism industry say Bangladesh has the capacity to host more MICE events by tapping its enormous tourism potential and by improving its status as a spot for visitors, particularly business travellers.


The country has workable infrastructure and organising capabilities to hold all kinds of events, including international conventions, exhibitions and sporting events, they add.


Having organised several international events, Bangladesh proved its capacity to hold MICE events. In recent times, it has successfully organised the 136th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly, Buddhist conference, Business Process Outsourcing summit in Dhaka and Pacific Asia Travel Association conferences in Cox’s Bazar. People from all over the world graced the events with their spontaneous participation.


Dhaka is set to host a tourism ministerial conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation at the end of this year and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue meeting next year.


With an aim to attract more tourists and guests, authorities in Dhaka have arranged accommodation facilities with modern amenities for MICE purposes. Initiatives have been taken to add a further 2,000 rooms to the facilities in the next two to three years.


In addition to MICE facilities at hotels in Dhaka, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, there are a pretty large number of resorts with meeting and convention facilities in different parts of the country, including in Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.


There are 80 convention centres of various sizes in Dhaka, many of which, if not all, have convention venues suitable for hosting international events. Also, there are very experienced and efficient event organisers, who are capable of handling programmes regardless of their nature and size.



In recent times, Bangladesh has successfully organised the 136th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly, Buddhist conference, Business Process Outsourcing summit in Dhaka and Pacific Asia Travel Association conferences in Cox’s Bazar. The photo was taken during the 136th IPU assembly this year held at Jatiya Sangsad South Plaza BSS


MICE tourism plays a partial role in the shaping of many other national economy branches, such as transport, communication, trade, financial services, health, culture and sport-related services, while it only indirectly demands products and services of other sectors like agriculture, industry, construction and environmental protection.


Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Taufiq Uddin Ahmed, chief executive officer of Journey Plus, an inbound tour operator, said: “Given our country’s geographic location, I can certainly say that we have the scope to tap MICE tourism. Bangladesh will have to make good use of the potential because business people who travel to a country for trade purposes tend to spend far more time, compared with other travellers.


“Still, we have some challenges as there is a lack of adequate infrastructural facilities and resources to host big conferences. The challenges could be overcome if we can have some big designated venues.”


Speaking of Sri Lanka, Taufiq said the country had earned a huge amount of revenues from MICE business.


Sri Lanka is growing fast as a MICE destination, and local authorities are pushing ahead with a mega promotion drive to profile centres outside Colombo like Negombo, for instance, as a MICE destination.


Apart from Sri Lanka, Myanmar in 2015 announced its plans to establish Nay Pyi Taw as a MICE destination, having established a central organising office in the capital city as a “one-stop shop” for organising MICE events.


Policy prescriptions

Raquib Siddiqui, a Bangladeshi travel writer, said: “To boost MICE business, Bangladesh needs to follow a three-step approach: assessing the MICE tourism ecosystem, devising strategies and fixing competitive prices to attract more MICE events, and forming a governing body for MICE tourism. If the authorities can ensure these fast and skilfully, the country has an excellent chance of seeing its MICE business increase sharply within the next few years.


“Bangladesh has a lot of things to do to become an attractive MICE destination, including building an image as a MICE destination, taking measures to promote MICE tourism, and creating a proper regulatory framework.”


Singing the same tune, Kazi Wahidul Alam, a tourism expert and also the editor of the Bangladesh Monitor, said the government and other stakeholders should work together to tap the potential.


Masud Hossain, managing director of Bengal Tours Ltd, said the government need to build a MICE city, where all modern facilities should be available.


A study indicates the annual growth rate in tourist arrivals in Bangladesh will go beyond 1.4 million by 2020, as Bangladesh can become a single destination like Malaysia, Maldives and Singapore.

http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2017/07/16/tourism-industry-thrives-seminars-conventions/

 

[Gibbs]

Lessons from Sri Lanka Tourism for Bangladesh

– Extracts of the speech given by Vipula Wanigasekera , Senior Lecturer – NSBM Green University at the Tourism Forum on ‘Opportunities of MICE Tourism in Bangladesh’ in Dhaka held on the sidelines of “18th Textech Bangladesh 2017 International Expo” – an international exhibition on textile apparel technology and machinery:

Sri Lanka entered the tourism industry way back in the late 50s with boat tourism to charter operations in the 60s bringing tourists as far as from Scandinavia. The success thereafter recorded with well over 400,000 tourists in 1982 with Sri Lanka producing experts in many fields in the hospitality sector way ahead of our competitors today.

One may remember the traumatic period of nearly 26 years thereafter, and yet the industry managed to secure half million annual target backed by high level of service, brand loyalty from Europe as well as the ‘must see places’ in Sri Lanka.

There was no looking back since 2009 when the conflict ended and today industry is proud to share the success story of Sri Lanka with over two million tourists in 2016. Apart from the total peace, there were many factors that contributed to this achievement including:

nTourism campaign for two years that repositioned the country as ‘Wonder of Asia’ with authentic, diversity in compactness

nHaving sufficient funds for promotions through tax system

nDevelopment of Tourism Reports such as Passekudah, Kuchchiveli, Yala, etc, enhancing the product range

nEstablishment of one stop shop to speed up investments

nRelaxation of visa procedures to Online visa

Arrival of Shangri La, Sheraton, Mnovenpick, Best Western, Hyatt, Marriot, Ananthara

nLocal Blue chips ploughing back profits into expansion of hospitality sector

nEngagement in Routine promotions such as trade fairs through better projection of destination

nIndividual efforts by the industry to secure market niches for them

MICE tourism also gained simultaneously. Sri Lanka Convention Bureau was initially established in the 80s and made a useful contribution especially in the area of incentives through participation of IMEX, EIBTM, etc. When the peace dawned SLCB went on to strength the meetings from India, conferences through local associations and with assistance to exhibition organisers. For instance we worked with CEMS global closely when they established four major exhibitions in Colombo and we can see the level of their operations in Dhaka with the apparel industry apart from their operations as far as in Brazil.

That said, we should not forget that Sri Lanka’s potential in MICE is far higher than what has been achieved if some of the following can be looked at effectively which we believe are the fundamental issues in Bangladesh when promoting MICE.

MICE is a separate industry and should not be looked at as an extension of tourism. Rather it is the other way around.

MICE requires separate strategies for Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions and Events. If one looks at the industry, we could clearly see who specialises in what. ‘MICE’ is not just one business although we use this terminology which seems to have confused many. That I am afraid would be the case here in Bangladesh too.

The exhibition space in Sri Lanka is full. It is almost impossible for a new exhibition organiser to establish a new exhibition even if it is an international event. The proposals submitted to authorities are yet to receive positive response. Bangladesh faces exactly the same issue today.

The available convention halls cannot accommodate bigger conferences attended by over 2,000 delegates. BMICH, Nelum Pokuna, Hambantota Convention Centre are glorious auditoriums and they are neither large enough nor multipurpose centres. Recommendations for Hyderabad, Suntec models need to be revisited.

After eight years’ peace, we have come to a juncture where some major policy decisions are necessary which we believe the authorities are working on:

nTourism Act – Having learnt many lessons after the enactment of the last Tourism Act, it is necessary to look at all aspects before a new act is presented in parliament with wide consultations.

nAllowing clear policies for future on numbers vs quality, Income Vs Value, Adhoc Vs Consistent promotions apart from infrastructure development including lands and resorts,

nDiversity of attractions is a strength but without a destination promotion or a Rebranding campaign, the Diversity can be even a weakness from ‘Marcom’ perspective.

nRevisit the Chinese market and understand limitations while securing Europe.

nTry out new markets like the entry to Australia. It is always better to have trial and error without making guesses for future.

nRelook at the Informal sector which may outgrow to an extent where the standards will not be maintained in the long run.

nUnplanned development taking place in the absence of tourism designated locations

nProcedural issues that prevent the political will being pursued in view of some cases of abuses of power in the past. The deviations are inevitable in tourism promotions provided the flow of actions is transparent. We are yet to see the process being simplified to grab opportunities coming Sri Lanka’s ways. Bangladesh probably faces this before they even embark on a major campaign.

In addition to these MICE

industry needs:

nExpansion of conference and exhibition facilities studying what Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and even Hyderabad have done.

Revival of meetings from India which canlls for specific actions/consistent promotions specially with meeting planners in India

nAssistance to incentive travel with focused promotions targeted to incentive houses in identified market

nEstablishment of industry relations beyond associations

In conclusion, we, in this part of the world, tend to have self satisfying postures painting an over positive picture through what is being done. There is a need to take the bull by the horn if the concerns are to be addressed effectively and meaningfully. At the end, the success needs to reflect from the real income, the quality of tourists whom we attract with the brand equity of the destination.

MICE definitely brings in high end visitors and the higher authorities must look at the overall benefits rather than the room rate, number of days of stay, etc. Besides no country can rely on basic MICE statistics coming from immigration as MICE visitors hardly declare themselves as the purpose of visit being business.

Apart from the higher revenue, MICE generates many spin off benefits including support services, indirect revenue through shopping entertainment, trade and investment opportunities, repeat visits for leisure, participation by opinion makers, raising the profile of the destination, etc.

I am particularly being candid with these true factors because we, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh need not be competitors. Whatever we do to develop and promote tourism and MICE tourism will enhance the profile of South Asia hence the need to share information and experiences. We cannot fight in isolation when our competitors outside South Asia are hands on with changing travel and consumer behaviours around the world.



(The speaker is former CEO Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Director SLTB and DG SLTDA.)

FYI
@Doyalbaba @Bilal9 @UKBengali @BDforever Etc..

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Lessons from Sri Lanka Tourism for Bangladesh

– Extracts of the speech given by Vipula Wanigasekera , Senior Lecturer – NSBM Green University at the Tourism Forum on ‘Opportunities of MICE Tourism in Bangladesh’ in Dhaka held on the sidelines of “18th Textech Bangladesh 2017 International Expo” – an international exhibition on textile apparel technology and machinery:

Sri Lanka entered the tourism industry way back in the late 50s with boat tourism to charter operations in the 60s bringing tourists as far as from Scandinavia. The success thereafter recorded with well over 400,000 tourists in 1982 with Sri Lanka producing experts in many fields in the hospitality sector way ahead of our competitors today.
True
One may remember the traumatic period of nearly 26 years thereafter, and yet the industry managed to secure half million annual target backed by high level of service, brand loyalty from Europe as well as the ‘must see places’ in Sri Lanka.

There was no looking back since 2009 when the conflict ended and today industry is proud to share the success story of Sri Lanka with over two million tourists in 2016. Apart from the total peace, there were many factors that contributed to this achievement including:

nTourism campaign for two years that repositioned the country as ‘Wonder of Asia’ with authentic, diversity in compactness

nHaving sufficient funds for promotions through tax system

nDevelopment of Tourism Reports such as Passekudah, Kuchchiveli, Yala, etc, enhancing the product range

nEstablishment of one stop shop to speed up investments

nRelaxation of visa procedures to Online visa

Arrival of Shangri La, Sheraton, Mnovenpick, Best Western, Hyatt, Marriot, Ananthara

nLocal Blue chips ploughing back profits into expansion of hospitality sector

nEngagement in Routine promotions such as trade fairs through better projection of destination

nIndividual efforts by the industry to secure market niches for them

MICE tourism also gained simultaneously. Sri Lanka Convention Bureau was initially established in the 80s and made a useful contribution especially in the area of incentives through participation of IMEX, EIBTM, etc. When the peace dawned SLCB went on to strength the meetings from India, conferences through local associations and with assistance to exhibition organisers. For instance we worked with CEMS global closely when they established four major exhibitions in Colombo and we can see the level of their operations in Dhaka with the apparel industry apart from their operations as far as in Brazil.

That said, we should not forget that Sri Lanka’s potential in MICE is far higher than what has been achieved if some of the following can be looked at effectively which we believe are the fundamental issues in Bangladesh when promoting MICE.

MICE is a separate industry and should not be looked at as an extension of tourism. Rather it is the other way around.

MICE requires separate strategies for Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions and Events. If one looks at the industry, we could clearly see who specialises in what. ‘MICE’ is not just one business although we use this terminology which seems to have confused many. That I am afraid would be the case here in Bangladesh too.

The exhibition space in Sri Lanka is full. It is almost impossible for a new exhibition organiser to establish a new exhibition even if it is an international event. The proposals submitted to authorities are yet to receive positive response. Bangladesh faces exactly the same issue today.

The available convention halls cannot accommodate bigger conferences attended by over 2,000 delegates. BMICH, Nelum Pokuna, Hambantota Convention Centre are glorious auditoriums and they are neither large enough nor multipurpose centres. Recommendations for Hyderabad, Suntec models need to be revisited.

After eight years’ peace, we have come to a juncture where some major policy decisions are necessary which we believe the authorities are working on:

nTourism Act – Having learnt many lessons after the enactment of the last Tourism Act, it is necessary to look at all aspects before a new act is presented in parliament with wide consultations.

nAllowing clear policies for future on numbers vs quality, Income Vs Value, Adhoc Vs Consistent promotions apart from infrastructure development including lands and resorts,

nDiversity of attractions is a strength but without a destination promotion or a Rebranding campaign, the Diversity can be even a weakness from ‘Marcom’ perspective.

nRevisit the Chinese market and understand limitations while securing Europe.

nTry out new markets like the entry to Australia. It is always better to have trial and error without making guesses for future.

nRelook at the Informal sector which may outgrow to an extent where the standards will not be maintained in the long run.

nUnplanned development taking place in the absence of tourism designated locations

nProcedural issues that prevent the political will being pursued in view of some cases of abuses of power in the past. The deviations are inevitable in tourism promotions provided the flow of actions is transparent. We are yet to see the process being simplified to grab opportunities coming Sri Lanka’s ways. Bangladesh probably faces this before they even embark on a major campaign.

In addition to these MICE

industry needs:

nExpansion of conference and exhibition facilities studying what Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and even Hyderabad have done.

Revival of meetings from India which canlls for specific actions/consistent promotions specially with meeting planners in India

nAssistance to incentive travel with focused promotions targeted to incentive houses in identified market

nEstablishment of industry relations beyond associations

In conclusion, we, in this part of the world, tend to have self satisfying postures painting an over positive picture through what is being done. There is a need to take the bull by the horn if the concerns are to be addressed effectively and meaningfully. At the end, the success needs to reflect from the real income, the quality of tourists whom we attract with the brand equity of the destination.

MICE definitely brings in high end visitors and the higher authorities must look at the overall benefits rather than the room rate, number of days of stay, etc. Besides no country can rely on basic MICE statistics coming from immigration as MICE visitors hardly declare themselves as the purpose of visit being business.

Apart from the higher revenue, MICE generates many spin off benefits including support services, indirect revenue through shopping entertainment, trade and investment opportunities, repeat visits for leisure, participation by opinion makers, raising the profile of the destination, etc.

I am particularly being candid with these true factors because we, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh need not be competitors. Whatever we do to develop and promote tourism and MICE tourism will enhance the profile of South Asia hence the need to share information and experiences. We cannot fight in isolation when our competitors outside South Asia are hands on with changing travel and consumer behaviours around the world.



(The speaker is former CEO Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Director SLTB and DG SLTDA.)

FYI
@Doyalbaba @Bilal9 @UKBengali @BDforever Etc..

True, Sri Lanka is a good model for us to emulate to develop the tourism and hospitality industry.There are much similarity of landscape between Srilanka and south eastern and north eastern part of Bangladesh.But unlike Sri lanka, we are seriously lacking the good and comfortable public urban transport infrastructure and entertainment(cultural show, concert, sports, rides etc.) option.So we need to at least fix the public transport issue first in the major cities before expecting any significant growth in tourism sector.Then entertainment, marketing, advertisement will bear fruit.

Whatever development in tourism sector happened till in Bangladesh is due to to private sector.We have many quality hotel, motel, cottage, resorts for staying, but public sector is a total failure, we still do not have any mass public transport, road infrastructure is not good at many part of the country specially in urban areas.Due to these factors, private investors are not getting any incentive to commit themselves in something big.

 

[bluesky]

Not just the women brah.. Even the blokes are fully dressed, some even in shoes..

It is not a sea beach where people go bikini or short. It is just a waterfall. No one goes there with beach costume, I guess.

 

[Gibbs]

It is not a sea beach where people go bikini or short. It is just a waterfall. No one goes there with beach costume, I guess.

I guess it was bit of culture shock for me, Both in Australia and Sri Lanka shorts and flip flops are normal attire for people on holiday, Or just a day out, Not just at beaches either.. Bangladeshis are way more conservative i suppose

True, Sri Lanka is a good model for us to emulate to develop the tourism and hospitality industry.There are much similarity of landscape between Srilanka and south eastern and north eastern part of Bangladesh.But unlike Sri lanka, we are seriously lacking the good and comfortable public urban transport infrastructure and entertainment(cultural show, concert, sports, rides etc.) option.So we need to at least fix the public transport issue first in the major cities before expecting any significant growth in tourism sector.Then entertainment, marketing, advertisement will bear fruit.

Whatever development in tourism sector happened till in Bangladesh is due to to private sector.We have many quality hotel, motel, cottage, resorts for staying, but public sector is a total failure, we still do not have any mass public transport, road infrastructure is not good at many part of the country specially in urban areas.Due to these factors, private investors are not getting any incentive to commit themselves in something big.

Bangladesh can carve itself a niche in MICE tourism, Especially catering to the Indian market as the article suggests

 

[bête noire]

I guess it was bit of culture shock for me, Both in Australia and Sri Lanka shorts and flip flops are normal attire for people on holiday, Or just a day out, Not just at beaches either.. Bangladeshis are way more conservative i suppose



Bangladesh can carve itself a niche in MICE tourism, Especially catering to the Indian market as the article suggests

Tourism isn't that big (or at all) in BD yet and yes, BD is conservative on their attires I suppose, which also plays the role. It will loosen up with time and actual tourism industry. By that, I mean, yes there are places for tours like those waterfalls but there's no tourism industry for clothing or anything of real substance there. When Govt. decides to spend money for infrastructure on tourism sites and the big cities, private market will then open up. Until then, it's just few people discovering places and touring in the name of touring.

 

[Jackdaws]

Best of luck. Bengal is so full of culture and tradition - it is a shame it is not as well known as it should be.