For a country with the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, chattogram port, the world’s longest herbal sea beach Cox’s Bazar, the Teknaf Peninsula and Saint Martin Island, “sea tourism” can defeat the Covid-19 blues by generating billions All that is needed is a built-in initiative to unite those popular destinations through maritime terminals experts say.
“Bangladesh has great potential in the marine tourism sector. We want a built-in initiative that generates physically powerful economic growth,” Dr. Md Kawser Ahmed told the news agency, a professor in the Department of Oceanography at Dhaka University. “We can make billions of dollars from maritime tourism if the Sundarbans, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf and Saint Martin’s Island can be connected. “
If maritime tourism has a chance to help Bangladesh achieve the status of “developed country” until 2041, the government will at the same time take appropriate measures, such as imposing environmental taxes for tourists not only to generate income, but also to protect the valuable resources of the country. according to Dr. Kawser.
“We propose to the government to set 500 Tk for a tourist landing on the island of San Martín and a minimum of 1000 Tk consistent with the night as an environmental tax. We hope that tourists will gladly pay for this amount,” he said, highlighting also want to introduce diving on the island of Saint Martin to attract tourists.
Bangladesh, the professor said, may be a destination of choice for foreign tourists in South Asia. “Bangladesh can take a long-term initiative to unite Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and India through sea routes. Government agreements are needed to make it a success,” he said.
But another expert, the director of studies at the Center for Political Dialogue (CPD), Dr. Khandoker Golam Moazzem, said tourism is mandatory in this country, but not at the expense of the environment. “First we want to put the environment first. ” We cannot destroy our resources in the call for tourism. So we also have to conserve the corals. “
Dr. Khandoker said the government needed to embark on a long-term plan to move passenger ships across the seas, prioritizing nature policy first. “Then national and regional tourists will go to the site. And the tourism sector will play a vital role in Bangladesh. economy,” the economist said.
Shiblul Azam Koreshi, owner of Abakash Parjatan in St. Martin, said the island is not as exciting for tourists today. “About 2,000 tourists make a stopover on the island every day during the high season (December to February). Today, few domestic tourists make a stopover on it, because of the bad weather and the Covid pandemic, ” he said.
The Vice-President of the Bangladesh Tourism Operators Association (TOAB) also said maritime tourism will bring Bangladesh’s economy to life. “The government is building a tourist domain in Teknaf’s Sabrang. Now tourists can enjoy the Bay of Bengal, the longest sea route in the world. . “
<< The government focuses on the blue economy to succeed over the economic crisis. While Bangladesh won the case of the maritime border with Myanmar and India before the International Tribunal, there is no challenge in the Bay of Bengal. The ocean economy, known as the blue economy, also provides opportunities in the fields of fisheries, mineral resources, shipping and energy," he said.
Shiblul said there are now 150 Abakash and 70 restaurants in St. Louis. Martin’s Island. ” The government also deserves to establish a ” waste treatment plant “as soon as possible. In addition, solar capacity deserves to be increased to remove darkness from the site,” he said.
Bangladesh has the right to fish and explore resources within the 118,813 square kilometres of the Bay of Bengal. According to sources, the ocean contributes about $6 billion a year to Bangladesh’s economy. The aggregate gross price of Bangladesh’s ocean economy $6. 2 billion in 2015.
The overall contribution of tourism and sector to Bangladesh’s GDP was 840. 2 billion taka or 4. 3% of the country’s GDP in 2016, according to the knowledge of the Bangladesh Institute for Foreign Trade. And according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sector will grow through 7. 1% each year, bringing the total contribution to 1783 billion taka, or 4. 7% of the country’s GDP by 2027.