THE necessity of a tourism friendly strong banking policy has been widely discussed. A report carried by a national English daily on Monday said financial institutions should offer deposit and lending services to tourists and tourism related businesses. The industry insiders also echoed saying that if the tourism sector gets proper services from banks it could boost employment opportunities and thus contribute a lot to GDP. We share the view of the experts that tourism banking in Bangladesh should be developed to create new avenues in the tourism business. There should be a banking window under which travel and tourist agencies can take loans to renovate hotels, restaurants and tourists spots. The government can open an investment policy under its budgetary allocation for tourism infrastructure development.
According to the latest data by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the travel and tourism industry in Bangladesh directly generated 1,281,500 jobs in 2012 or 1.8 percent of the country’s total employment, which ranked Bangladesh 157 out of 178 countries worldwide. Direct and indirect employment in the industry totalled 2,714,500 jobs, or 3.7 percent of the country’s total employment. The WTTC predicted that by 2023, travel and tourism would directly generate 1,785,000 jobs and support an overall total of 3,891,000 jobs, or 4.2 percent of the country’s total employment. This would represent an annual growth rate in direct jobs of 2.9 percent. Domestic spending generated 97.7 percent of direct travel and tourism revenue in 2012. In terms of percentage wise contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP, Bangladesh’s world ranking was 142 out of 176 in 2012.
Moreover, tourism helps to flourish the local economy. Besides stimulating the economy, it also helps people to enjoy the hidden beauty of nature. Therefore, for the betterment of the tourism sector, a diversified range of products and services from the banks and non-bank financial institutions should be immediately provided. The products that are very popular among the tourists all over the world could be introduced in Bangladesh. Banks and the non-bank financial institutes can prompt up products such as deposit schemes, SME loan schemes, lending package for hotel purchase and renovation, lending package for travellers and agencies, and bank guarantee for tourism related business entities.
Tourism sector leaves economic impacts on sales, profits, jobs, tax revenue and public income. Bangladesh is rich in wildlife and game birds. It has many facets as a land of natural beauty. The tourist attractions here include archaeological sites, historic mosques and monuments, resorts, sea beaches, picnic spots, forest and wildlife. The country offers opportunities for angling, water-skiing, river cruising, hiking, rowing, surfing, yachting and sea bathing as well as bringing one to a close touch with Mother Nature. Now, what the sector needs is only proper policy and guidelines. We suggest the government and the stakeholders, primarily from the private sector, should take prudent steps to boost tourism as an effective earning window of the economy.
