Tourism in Bangladesh: A Future Outlook

Abstract

In many developing nations, tourism has been a major engine of international trade and socioeconomic growth. Over the last few decades, tourism development has been steadily increasing over the world. This has encouraged a greater understanding of the necessity of ensuring that this expansion is ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable. Over the decades, tourism is diversifying to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors on the planet. The Bangladesh Tourism Board is now working on a ‘Tourism Master Plan’ for the next 20 years, with the goal of making travel and leisure the third major economic engine in Bangladesh after textiles and remittances. Furthermore, several attempts have been undertaken to promote this sector in order for it to contribute more to the national GDP. This chapter has addressed a few of the efforts. For efficient planning and implementation, Bangladesh’s tourism sector requires a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder strategy. The importance of sustainable tourism in promoting sustainable development should be given more emphasis by the relevant government agencies. To solve the country’s urgent issues, more scientific research and studies on tourism are required.