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Bangladesh can be a Muslim tourism hub


Published : 15 Oct 2019 08:54 PM | Updated : 31 Aug 2020 07:48 AM

State minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali has said that Bangladesh can be a tourist attraction for the Muslims all over the world as all related components are sufficient here for Muslim friendly tourism. He said this at a seminar on 'The OIC City of Tourism 2019' organised by the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre For Islamic Countries (SESRIC), a subsidiary organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital on Tuesday.

The minister further said father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would always maintain a close correlation with the Muslim countries. Bangladesh received membership of OIC during Bangabandhu’s government. "Bangabandhu formed Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation to develop the country's tourism industry. Following Bangabandhu, his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed Bangladesh Tourism Board in 2010. She is very keen to develop the industry', he said.

At present Muslim tourism is getting momentum across the globe. Non-Muslim countries like Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and New Zealand are also accepting the idea of Muslim tourism. Realizing the importance of the idea of Muslim tourism governments of those countries are now working to implement it to attract tourists, especially Muslim tourists, the minister added.

'As a Muslim majority country, we have favourable environment for Muslim tourism. We have places like public aesthetics, mosques, Islamic heritage, shrines and Islamic mementos all over the country. These will help to boost Muslim tourism in the country. I hope our private tourism entrepreneurs will work to implement the idea in our country', Mahbub said.

Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary Md Mohibul Haque said tourism not only contribute in a country's economy but also creates cultural bonding among the countries. It opens window to know each other while traveling a foreign country. Among others, SESRIC director general Nebil Dabur, CEO of the Tourism Board Bhuban Chandra Biswas addressed the programme.