Economic Reporter :
Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) is set to develop community-based tourism across the country by preserving local tradition and culture, sources said.
To this effect, the authorities is mulling a plan to help develop local community, promote their lifestyle and create employment opportunity.
“BTB will create an easy and flexible destination for tourists. We are planning to initiate community-based tourism in wide scale, utilising limited tourism resources,” Akhtaruz Zaman Khan Kabir, CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board said.
“Tourists have huge attraction towards local people’s lifestyle, their language, tradition and culture, which will fetch economic benefit,” he added.
Under this process, locals will become the protectors of their property and tradition in order for economic benefit.
Stressing the need for community tourism, the board has made efforts to ensure intensive development, engaging the stakeholders in the system and creating business opportunities for a sustainable management in tourism.
A guideline will be incorporated for a sustainable community tourism, discussing with entrepreneurs and inbound tour operators in order to specify localities and types of products foreign tourists like most.
The Ministry of Environment and Forest and its departments will also be engaged. According to BTB CEO, the community tourism will boost family-based income opportunity creating employment opportunities for local dwellers.
Though community tourism concept is new in Bangladesh, developed countries are familiar with the theme over the last few decades while India has started getting the fruitful result such tourism.
An unfamiliar hilly village ‘Chuikhim’ in Shiliguri of the neighbouring country earned huge popularity because of community tourism which changed the fate of dwellers out there.
The Maulinong village of Meghalaya bordering Sylhet’s Jaflong in Bangladesh has made another notable example and turned out to be a vibrant tourism destination.
