Bangladesh takes 5 steps ahead on list of tourist-friendly countries
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A list of 140 countries has been published considering the 90 criteria for air transport, accommodation, security, culture and stable travel opportunities for tourists
Bangladesh has gone five notches up on the list of tourist-friendly countries in the world, now being ranked 120th among 140 countries.
The World Economic Forum has recently published a report on tourism titled “Travel and Tourism Competitive Report-2019”, ranking Bangladesh 120th. Bangladesh’s earlier rank was 125th.
The report lauded Bangladesh's stride towards being a tourist-friendly country. In the regional analysis, Bangladesh has made the most progress in security and safety in Asia-Pacific.
A list of 140 countries has been published considering the 90 criteria for air transport, accommodation, security, culture and stable travel opportunities for tourists in the report.
Covering 140 economies, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.
Spain topped the list, followed by France, Germany, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, Switzerland.
Among the SAARC countries on the list, India ranked 34, Sri Lanka ranked 77, Nepal 102. Pakistan’s rank is below Bangladesh. The country's rank is 121.
This year, the World Economic Forum gave importance to four aspects of tourism — natural and cultural resources, aviation infrastructure, national travel and tourism policies and appropriate environment (from security to labor market hygiene).
According to the report, Bangladesh has made the significant progress in security and safety.
The hope for Bangladesh is that due to natural resources and cultural heritage, there will be significant improvement in the tourism industry, it says, adding that the number of tourists will also increase.
There are also some challenges for the tourism industry of the country, which is facing poor tourism services, air pollution and water logging. For these reasons, the country's natural tourism is threatened, it says.
Increasing wildlife sanctuaries for sustainable development of Bangladesh tourism, conservation of natural resources and preventing deforestation can accelerate the development of tourism, the report adds.
Taslim Amin Shovon, director, trade and fair, Tour Operators Associations of Bangladesh (TOAB), said: "It is obviously a good news for us, it will have a positive impact on our tourism sector."
"For the past few years, Bangladesh Tourism Boards has been developing their relationships with different organizations including Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for international promotions and various fairs on tourism issues. It helped to develop our tourism sector a lot," he said.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com