11. Opportunities and the Challenges of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh

Tourism is a growing industry all around the world. Though Bangladesh has a huge prospective to improve tourism due to its natural scenery and enriched heritage, the industry flops to the extent of its end because of its different challenges. The Sundarban mangrove forest, Shatgombuj Mosque, and Paharpur Buddhist Vihara are the three world heritage sites in Bangladesh. The total contribution of tourism to GDP is 4.4%, but the global contribution is 10.4% in 2018. Attracted by the natural beauty of the country, a significant number of domestic and overseas tourists visit its different tourist sites. Despite its immense potentials, the sector is facing different challenges like inadequate infrastructure and backward communication system, deficiency of accommodation facilities, lack of safety and security, scarcity of professionalism, lengthy visa processing, and political instability, which discouraged both international and internal tourists to visit the attractive places in the country. Tourism also brings socio-economic and environmental benefits for the country, albeit mass tourism is also associated with negative effects on the social environment. The opportunities for tourism of the country are religious tourism, sports tourism, eco-tourism, educational tourism, spa tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, etc. But there is a lack of research and plan to explore the development of the tourism industry of Bangladesh. The paper tries to focus on the important and attractive tourist spots and the impact of tourism on the economy of the country. The paper also explores the challenges and opportunities of the tourism sector of Bangladesh.