A four-day 2nd Dhaka Tourism Fair 2008 will begin at the Bashundhara City Complex on Thursday for promoting local tourism.
About a hundred organisations including tour operators, hotels, motels, resorts, theme parks, youth adventure clubs, travel agencies and airlines will take part at the fair which will remain open from 11:00am to 7:0pm till August 24 on the 7th floor of Bashundhara City Complex.
Parjatan Bichitra, a monthly magazine, will organise the tourism fair in association with Banglalink. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh, Tour Operator Association of Bangladesh and Tourism Developers Association of Bangladesh will coordinate with the organiser.
Mahbub Jamil, special assistant to chief adviser and in charge of the ministry of civil aviation and tourism, is expected to inaugurate the fair.
The Parjatan Bichitra editor, Mahiuddin Helal, speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club on Tuesday said the participating organization will exhibit their discount package tours, discount hotels and motels.
Visitors would also get the chance to visit the Bashundhara indoor amusement park and the Toggy World with the same ticket, said Helal, also the convener of the event.
Workshops on finance for tourism business, travel safety and adventure tourism will also be held at the venue during the fair. ‘Tourism gossip corner for the travel writers and adventurer tourists would be extra attraction at the fair,’ said Helal.
The BPC will set up a stall for the visitors to cast their votes for Cox’s Bazar and Sundarban at the natural seven wonders voting website.
The objective of the fair is to make the local tourism more attractive and market the local tourist destinations in the world tourism market, Helal said.
The entry fee is Tk 10 and visitors would be able to participate in raffle draw with the same ticket.
Banglalink’s marketing executive, Samnun Moheb Chowdhury, and the Tourism Developers Association of Bangladesh president, Jamiul Ahmed were present at the press conference.
Sourece: New Age Dated: 20-08-2008
Showing posts with label Tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tourism. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Paksey can be built as striking tourism area
A T M Nurun Nabi: Paksey, in the district of Pabna, can be built as a striking tourism area. Tourism has nowadays become one of the major sources of income in many countries. And It becomes possible only when the government pays due attention and draws a strategy. The governments of the advanced countries of the world spend a huge sum of money for developing the infrastructure of the possible tourism centres for attracting the foreigners. As a result, countries like Singapore, Hong Kong of China and Malaysia earn billion of dollars annually, meaning that tourism can make a good contribution to the economic development of any country. In this race, Bangladesh may be a good contestant because there are potentials. Those places which could be turned into striking tourism centres are Paksey in the district of Pabna, Cox's Bazaar, Jaflong in Sylhet, Ramsagar in Dinajpur, Banaripara in Barisal, Kuakata in Patuakhali, Sonargaon in Narayanganj, all historical places and the islands of Hatiya, Sandwip and Kutubdia.
Paksey, home of the country's largest railway division, is linked with the rest of country by both the rail and the road. It can be conjoined by air if the damaging and perishing infrastructures of the abandoned airport at Ishurdi, five miles in the north-east, are rebuilt. Paksey has many potentialities to qualify as tourism centre. Some of them are the 5,900 feet long Hardinge Railway Bridge, the Lalon Shah Bridge, the newly constructed EPZ, the friendly environment, the sands and dunes of once rough and tough river Padma and the height of the railway station above the surface (it looks like a hill from distance).
Hardinge Bridge was commissioned to traffic in 1915 when the World War II was burning half of the world. It was constructed at such a time when Great Britain was involved in the fierce war against Germany and her allies. But the then government continued construction work fearless of the last effect of the war. In fact, the success of a project depends upon the good gesture of the government.
However, the specialty of the bridge is its imposing design and marvelous construction. Perhaps, very few railway bridges in the world can match Paksey in the field of design and construction. The double-lane broad gauge lines and a footpath have added extra dimension which can be viewed from under the bridge and Paksey Station. The best prize of Paksey is its friendly environment. As no bus or truck plies in the town, and as baby taxi and cab are seldom found moving with passengers, there is little possibility of the environment becoming polluted. As such, there is little chance of health hazard.
The height of Paksey Station is magnetism. About 45 feet above the surface from the south gives one a unique opportunity to view things of a far distance places around him. Another feature of Paksey is its large trees. Although the unscrupulous people chopped many large trees after independence, particularly during the nineties and onwards, yet Paksey looks beautiful, especially at night owing to electricity. One traveling by train will be charmed when the train passes through Paksey Station and the Hardinge Bridge.
Looking at the dune of Padma, the tourists will be able to experience the bite of the Farakka Barrage constructed on the Indian part of the river Padma. The barrage was commissioned in 1979 and later dried up river Padma and seriously affected GK Project in Kushtia. The bitter experience the foreigners will justify Bangladesh's right to the water of the Padma.
Paksey has been promoted as business centre following the construction of EPZ. Many new buildings have been constructed to increase the potentiality of the town.. In addition, Paksey has green landscape, an extra beauty for the tourists.
Sourec: The Bangladesh Today Dated:2008-08-14
Paksey, home of the country's largest railway division, is linked with the rest of country by both the rail and the road. It can be conjoined by air if the damaging and perishing infrastructures of the abandoned airport at Ishurdi, five miles in the north-east, are rebuilt. Paksey has many potentialities to qualify as tourism centre. Some of them are the 5,900 feet long Hardinge Railway Bridge, the Lalon Shah Bridge, the newly constructed EPZ, the friendly environment, the sands and dunes of once rough and tough river Padma and the height of the railway station above the surface (it looks like a hill from distance).
Hardinge Bridge was commissioned to traffic in 1915 when the World War II was burning half of the world. It was constructed at such a time when Great Britain was involved in the fierce war against Germany and her allies. But the then government continued construction work fearless of the last effect of the war. In fact, the success of a project depends upon the good gesture of the government.
However, the specialty of the bridge is its imposing design and marvelous construction. Perhaps, very few railway bridges in the world can match Paksey in the field of design and construction. The double-lane broad gauge lines and a footpath have added extra dimension which can be viewed from under the bridge and Paksey Station. The best prize of Paksey is its friendly environment. As no bus or truck plies in the town, and as baby taxi and cab are seldom found moving with passengers, there is little possibility of the environment becoming polluted. As such, there is little chance of health hazard.
The height of Paksey Station is magnetism. About 45 feet above the surface from the south gives one a unique opportunity to view things of a far distance places around him. Another feature of Paksey is its large trees. Although the unscrupulous people chopped many large trees after independence, particularly during the nineties and onwards, yet Paksey looks beautiful, especially at night owing to electricity. One traveling by train will be charmed when the train passes through Paksey Station and the Hardinge Bridge.
Looking at the dune of Padma, the tourists will be able to experience the bite of the Farakka Barrage constructed on the Indian part of the river Padma. The barrage was commissioned in 1979 and later dried up river Padma and seriously affected GK Project in Kushtia. The bitter experience the foreigners will justify Bangladesh's right to the water of the Padma.
Paksey has been promoted as business centre following the construction of EPZ. Many new buildings have been constructed to increase the potentiality of the town.. In addition, Paksey has green landscape, an extra beauty for the tourists.
Sourec: The Bangladesh Today Dated:2008-08-14
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Exciting Job openings in Tourism Industry
The hospitality and tourism industry has been well thought-out to be the vastest industry in the world. Its triumph is reviewed by economic indicators such as tourism share of employment and GDP (gross domestic product), or growth in revenues. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, 2007 proved to be the 4th consecutive year of health growth since 2004. The annual increase in travel and tourism economy GDP has averaged 4% in real terms. This is faster than that of the global economy overall. And in the same period travel and tourism has created more than 34 million jobs.
The long-term forecasts point to a mature but steady phase of growth for world Travel and Tourism between 2009 and 2018 with an average growth rate of 4.4% per annum, supporting 297 million jobs and 10.5% of global GDP by 2018. In 2020 the UNWTO envisages 1.6 billion travelers compared to around 900 million travelers in 2007.
The long-term forecasts point to a mature but steady phase of growth for world Travel and Tourism between 2009 and 2018 with an average growth rate of 4.4% per annum, supporting 297 million jobs and 10.5% of global GDP by 2018. In 2020 the UNWTO envisages 1.6 billion travelers compared to around 900 million travelers in 2007.
These are all very impressive figures. But what do they mean? They mean that the Tourism and Hospitality industry is in dire need for human resources to accommodate this mammoth growth. It means that tourism can be the ideal choice for people who are looking for long-term career prospects.
It is vital that young people see tourism and hospitality as a serious and rewarding career choice. Yet not many do. Could it be that they are not well informed about the enormous opportunities that exist by, for instance, career counselors in their high schools, the media, the industry itself, family members or colleagues, or even government authorities representing the industry? Are they aware that young entrants and graduates of hotel management schools can move rapidly up the career ladder and with the proper higher education can aim to be in significant management positions by their mid 30's?
The biggest shortage over the next 10 years seems to be with semi-skilled labor, but the most critical area is with the skilled labor: managers and supervisors. In order to recruit top talent, the industry must speak out loud to attract bright youngsters to join it. The industry must attract young men and women who are looking to develop a career rather than only developing their skills. Employers who look to retain talent need to take more of a stake in their employees' careers.
The other day I leafed through a hospitality news letter and found the following 2 hospitality mentors' commentaries: Joelle Hellinckx, Hilton Hotels' Director of Resourcing for Europe recently commented: "We are planning to open 121 new hotels in Europe by 2016 which, in terms of people, means that by 2011 we need 39 additional general managers and 104 operational managers. In Hilton we already have a large talent pool and have defined paths to reach general manager positions, but we need to find additional people to meet this demand."
Starwood, the world leading Hotel Company, is opening 50 hotels each year over the next five years. "We identified that, by 2009, there would be a gap, so we launched 'Grow global projects'," said Jane Wright, Regional Director of Human Resources, Northwest Europe of Starwood. "The aim is to recognize people we can fast track, so that, in two years time, they will be able to take over the managerial roles." The group is also working on strengthening its relationship with colleges in order to attract graduates from commerce and finance, as well as hospitality, backgrounds.
These are but two minute examples of the shortage in human resources that leading international hotel chains are experiencing. What the young are probably not aware of is that the global tourism industry provides the largest selection of career prospects to young adults who pursue a quality education in this field. Today the industry is much more than hotel and restaurant enterprises.
It now encompasses an array of companies that specialize in airlines, cruise lines, sports arenas and entertainment / amusement centers, senior living communities, car rentals, casinos, club management, real estate development, meeting planning, consulting, corporate managed services, finance companies with ties to investment banking , asset management, conference and convention management, facility design, catering, bed and breakfast operations, large chain restaurants, general brand management and franchise management, accounting, law, human resources and management training, information technology, travel agencies, and much more.
This can be encouraging to cite here about the Bangladeshi hospitality workers round the world, who are also countable and significant with the see-saw of the global hospitality industry's fate. I am hopeful, once Bangladeshi workers will be dominating in aforesaid positions.
There are numerous opportunities for Bengali graduates in this field. Tourism enterprises are facing fierce competition. In order for them to be successful they need to hire graduates of universities with higher education in hospitality and tourism management who have talent and passion for our industry. The speed of change within the industry including change in customer expectations, competition, legislation, new technology, and economic factors emphasizes the need for the industry to anticipate these changes, be clear about its potential impact and make appropriate adjustments to management structures, roles and development. Thus, the need for graduates with a good solid higher education to facilitate and manage change, from strategic and operational perspectives is a must. Clever enterprises know this and hire only graduates with higher degrees in hospitality and tourism management.
As an industry professional, I am always enthusiastic to spread the word around and encourage young people of Bangladesh to choose hospitality and tourism as a career and urge them to pursue a quality education to prepare themselves for promising leadership positions-the great perks await them.
Source: The Independent Dated: 2008-08-05
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tourism Fair Ends on High Note
A three-day tourism fair ended on a positive note in Dhaka yesterday. The fair styled 'BRAC Bank Bangladesh Travel and Tourism Mart 2008' was participated by a total of 55 organisations including different tour operators, airlines, hotels and a bank.
The participants displayed their products and packages at the fair, organised by Amazing Holiday, a travel agency at Bashundhara City Expo Center in Dhaka.
Participants said they received a large number of people at the three-day fair. The visitors were inquiring about packages and discounts offered by different tour operators, they said.
“Although, this is not an appropriate time for travel inside the country, but by visiting the fair, I got to know about some new places, which can be ideal for me to visit in the upcoming season”, said Naira Sultana, a visitor in the fair.
A campaign to vote for Cox's Bazar and the Sunderbans was arranged at the fair, in a bid to ensure that the two places are at the top of the list of the seven natural wonders of the world and the organiser said that some several thousand votes were cast.
Mamun Ashraphi, organiser of the fair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Amazing Holiday, said the aim of the fair was to promote the natural and historical sites of the country that people usually learn about from reading books or newspapers.
“In the present world, tourism is treated as one of the vital sources of earning foreign exchange,” he said by adding that tourism has multidimensional opportunities to create employment.
He said the government as well as private entrepreneurs could utilise the sector for earning money.
The Daily Star, Ittefaq, Channel i and Radio Foorti were the media partners of the fair.
Source: The Daily Star Dt:27-07-2008
The participants displayed their products and packages at the fair, organised by Amazing Holiday, a travel agency at Bashundhara City Expo Center in Dhaka.
Participants said they received a large number of people at the three-day fair. The visitors were inquiring about packages and discounts offered by different tour operators, they said.
“Although, this is not an appropriate time for travel inside the country, but by visiting the fair, I got to know about some new places, which can be ideal for me to visit in the upcoming season”, said Naira Sultana, a visitor in the fair.
A campaign to vote for Cox's Bazar and the Sunderbans was arranged at the fair, in a bid to ensure that the two places are at the top of the list of the seven natural wonders of the world and the organiser said that some several thousand votes were cast.
Mamun Ashraphi, organiser of the fair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Amazing Holiday, said the aim of the fair was to promote the natural and historical sites of the country that people usually learn about from reading books or newspapers.
“In the present world, tourism is treated as one of the vital sources of earning foreign exchange,” he said by adding that tourism has multidimensional opportunities to create employment.
He said the government as well as private entrepreneurs could utilise the sector for earning money.
The Daily Star, Ittefaq, Channel i and Radio Foorti were the media partners of the fair.
Source: The Daily Star Dt:27-07-2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tourism income rises 13pc in 4 months
Foreign exchange earning from tourists and other arrivals to Bangladesh in first four months of 2008 increased by 13.58 per cent over the same period last year.
January saw the biggest 33.55 jump in earnings from holidaymakers and business tourists over the year-ago period on the back of a surge in arrivals after the devastating cyclone Sidr on November 15, 2007, tourism officials and operators said.
Earnings from tourism totalled Tk 232.15 crore in the January-April period this year, up from Tk 204.43 crore of the same period last year.
Tour operators attributed the growth to less or no hassle at the airport during the emergency rules, while tourism promotion officials took credit for it, saying their strengthened campaigns lured more globetrotters into Bangladesh.
Foreigners spent Tk 74.93 crore in foreign currencies in January 2008, compared with Tk 56.11 crore of the year-ago period.
The March figure was, however, down by 6.25 per cent from February earnings from foreign tourist arrivals.
Incomes from tourism were Tk 52.78 crore in March and Tk 45.94 crore in April, marking gradual declines from January peak.
Tourist arrivals marked significant rises over the years with about 2.89 lakh foreigners travelling to Bangladesh in 2007, up from about 2 lakh in 2006 and 2.07 lakh in 2005.
The increase was 135 per cent to 39,345 persons in January 2008, compared with January 2007 arrivals, officials said.
‘Increased number of aid workers and journalists toured Bangladesh during the weeks after the cyclone Sidr. Many of them had longer stay like for 15 or 30 days,’ an official said, analysing the tourist growth trend in the Sidr aftermaths.
A significant number of Chinese and Thai nationals also entered Bangladesh for jobs, especially in mobile phone companies, contributing to the growth in arrivals during the period, hospitality industry sources said.
If the planned ‘China town’ is built in the Dhaka city outskirts, more Chinese citizens will be arriving in Bangladesh in future for business purpose, they said.
‘Arrivals of foreign tourists in the country increased as the airport and immigration department are now free from harassment,’ said MA Muhaimin Saleh, president of Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation chairman Shafique Alam Mehedi told New Age on Monday that the state-run promotion agency arranged several tourism fairs in different parts of the country throughout the year to attract more tourists.
Foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh were invited to those fairs so that they could project the country positively, he said.
Worldwide tourists’ movement reached 898 million in 2007, according to the World Tourism Organisation, which forecast that by 2010, international tourist arrivals would reach 1 billion annually.
Source :New Age-2008-07-22
January saw the biggest 33.55 jump in earnings from holidaymakers and business tourists over the year-ago period on the back of a surge in arrivals after the devastating cyclone Sidr on November 15, 2007, tourism officials and operators said.
Earnings from tourism totalled Tk 232.15 crore in the January-April period this year, up from Tk 204.43 crore of the same period last year.
Tour operators attributed the growth to less or no hassle at the airport during the emergency rules, while tourism promotion officials took credit for it, saying their strengthened campaigns lured more globetrotters into Bangladesh.
Foreigners spent Tk 74.93 crore in foreign currencies in January 2008, compared with Tk 56.11 crore of the year-ago period.
The March figure was, however, down by 6.25 per cent from February earnings from foreign tourist arrivals.
Incomes from tourism were Tk 52.78 crore in March and Tk 45.94 crore in April, marking gradual declines from January peak.
Tourist arrivals marked significant rises over the years with about 2.89 lakh foreigners travelling to Bangladesh in 2007, up from about 2 lakh in 2006 and 2.07 lakh in 2005.
The increase was 135 per cent to 39,345 persons in January 2008, compared with January 2007 arrivals, officials said.
‘Increased number of aid workers and journalists toured Bangladesh during the weeks after the cyclone Sidr. Many of them had longer stay like for 15 or 30 days,’ an official said, analysing the tourist growth trend in the Sidr aftermaths.
A significant number of Chinese and Thai nationals also entered Bangladesh for jobs, especially in mobile phone companies, contributing to the growth in arrivals during the period, hospitality industry sources said.
If the planned ‘China town’ is built in the Dhaka city outskirts, more Chinese citizens will be arriving in Bangladesh in future for business purpose, they said.
‘Arrivals of foreign tourists in the country increased as the airport and immigration department are now free from harassment,’ said MA Muhaimin Saleh, president of Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation chairman Shafique Alam Mehedi told New Age on Monday that the state-run promotion agency arranged several tourism fairs in different parts of the country throughout the year to attract more tourists.
Foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh were invited to those fairs so that they could project the country positively, he said.
Worldwide tourists’ movement reached 898 million in 2007, according to the World Tourism Organisation, which forecast that by 2010, international tourist arrivals would reach 1 billion annually.
Source :New Age-2008-07-22
Monday, May 12, 2008
Earnings from tourism
The foreign currency earnings from tourism and related services has largely been outstripped by money spent by Bangladeshi travellers abroad as revealed by a recent media report. Impressive growth in foreign tourist visits even could not hold back the real drain on foreign exchange earnings, official statistics suggest. The number of outbound Bangladeshi travellers has doubled in seven years and they spend more generously abroad than foreign tourists coming to our country. Foreign tourist arrival is growing, but at a slower pace than Bangladeshis going abroad. A study shows, about 1.13 lakh Bangladeshi travellers went abroad in 2000 and their number more than doubled to 2.33 lakh in 2007.
The outbound tourists spent Tk 1,072 crore in foreign exchange abroad in 2007 for tourism purposes. On the other hand, the country's earnings from tourism and related services was about Tk 526 crore in foreign currency. It is rather difficult to have accurate and authentic information on tourism once the national tourism authority comes into being. In fact, the overall growth in the tourism sector was impressive in 2007 despite political uncertainty and major natural disasters like floods and cyclone.
Domestic tourism also grew significantly with an increasing number of people travelling to different natural and archaeological sites, private tour operators say. Cox's Bazar, Teknaf, St. Martin's Island, Kuakata beach, the mangrove forest Sundarbans, archaeological sites and places and places of pilgrimage attracted most of travellers from both home and abroad. According to the global tourism body's index, Bangladesh ranks 120 out of 124 member countries. Efforts must be there at all levels - private and public - to boost tourism as the World Tourism Organisation predicts that global tourism industry will benefit from more than one billion tourists by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020. This will give tourism the status of the number one industry globally.
Source:The New Nation 2008-05-12
The outbound tourists spent Tk 1,072 crore in foreign exchange abroad in 2007 for tourism purposes. On the other hand, the country's earnings from tourism and related services was about Tk 526 crore in foreign currency. It is rather difficult to have accurate and authentic information on tourism once the national tourism authority comes into being. In fact, the overall growth in the tourism sector was impressive in 2007 despite political uncertainty and major natural disasters like floods and cyclone.
Domestic tourism also grew significantly with an increasing number of people travelling to different natural and archaeological sites, private tour operators say. Cox's Bazar, Teknaf, St. Martin's Island, Kuakata beach, the mangrove forest Sundarbans, archaeological sites and places and places of pilgrimage attracted most of travellers from both home and abroad. According to the global tourism body's index, Bangladesh ranks 120 out of 124 member countries. Efforts must be there at all levels - private and public - to boost tourism as the World Tourism Organisation predicts that global tourism industry will benefit from more than one billion tourists by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020. This will give tourism the status of the number one industry globally.
Source:The New Nation 2008-05-12
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