The tourism sector, which has immense prospect to play an important role in boosting the economy, could perform better if political stability could be ensured in the country, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan said here on Friday. He said political confrontation on the streets and violence unleashed by the opposition BNP and Jamaat have been the major obstacles to flourishing the country’s tourism industry as the tourists are discouraged with such activities. “Violent activities cast a negative impact on tourists. Our opposition should understand that for the sake of the economy and the country’s image,” Khan told UNB. Making a pointed reference, the minister said tourists from home and abroad had to suffer a lot as they got stuck in Cox’s Bazar due to a recent hartal, and the government had to arrange special flights for bringing them back from the beach town. Referring to his conversations with tourists from various countries, the minister said they are happy with everything, especially the natural beauty, but they expressed their disappointment over political instability. Responding to a question, Khan said the government has taken various steps to increase facilities for the tourists which are already visible. He also said domestic airports have been made vibrant to attract increased number of tourists, both from home and abroad, to the tourist hubs. In response to another query, Faruk Khan said infrastructure development and ensuring better facilities for the tourists are important. “The government has concentration on these issues.” He also said Bangladesh is giving maximum number of countries on-arrival visa facility, which is also playing a role in boosting the tourism sector. The minister said steps have been taken to set up an exclusive zone, protected swimming zone with net and sports zone at Cox’s Bazar beach to facilitate tourists from home and abroad. Meanwhile, Bangladesh earned Tk 2002.83 crore from the tourism sector in the last three years, according to the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry. Bangladesh earned Tk 826.38 crore from the tourism sector last year, which was Tk 620.16 crore in 2011 and Tk 556.29 crore in 2010. The minister said a total of 6,01,160 tourists came to Bangladesh in 18 months from January 2011 to June 2012. He said 3,03,386 tourists visited Bangladesh in 2010, while the number in 2009 and 2010 was 2,67,107 and 4,67,332 respectively. The government has also taken initiatives to create international standard tourist facilities, including five star hotels, in Cox’s Bazar Holiday Complex Area under public-private partnership (PPP). – UNB)
