The authorities concerned are working to simplify the visa process to attract more foreign tourists in the country. There has been a move to make arrival visas tourist-friendly.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali said this while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony titled ‘17th International Tourism Fair ‘Triplover Dhaka Travel Mart-2022’ at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Thursday.
The state minister said, “The visa process must be simplified to bring in foreign tourists. We are working to make the process as easy as possible. There are no beaches in seven eastern states of India, Nepal and Bhutan. We will get a lot of tourists if we can make the visa process easier for them.”
“We will have a quick inter-ministerial meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard. I will also call the stakeholders related to the tourism sector there. All suggestions will be considered before taking any final decision”, added the state minister.
Earlier a cruise ship for the first time came to Bangladesh. But due to the visa complexities they never came again.
The state minister said, “I will talk to the home minister so that we can bring cruise ships to Bangladesh. We want foreign tourists who are likely to come through cruise ships to conduct visa formalities easily so that they can visit our tourist spots without any hindrance.”
US Bangla Airlines managing director Md. Abduallah AL Mamun said, “When an international passenger arrives at Dhaka airport, they have to pay USD 50. But our neighboring Sri Lanka returns the arrival visa fees to tourists when they return to their country. If we can introduce the system, the number of foreign tourists to our country will increase for sure.”
Meanwhile, during a workshop on Tourism on Blue Economy held at Bangladesh Parjatan Bhaban recently, different tour companies and organizers urged the government to lift visa restrictions so that they offer different tour packages which may help bring more foreign tourists.
According to tourism officials, the first obstacle for foreign tourists to come to Bangladesh is visa. They have to wait long for a visa. As a result, many are losing interest in coming to Bangladesh.
Many countries around the world have introduced on-arrival visas as the Covid-19 situation improves. But Bangladesh has not introduced it yet. As a result, foreigners have to go to the embassy or high commission of Bangladesh to get a visa.
Bangladesh Tourism Board chief executive officer Jabed Ahmed said, “If we simplify the visa process, the tourism sector will make a headway. As tourism progresses, foreign exchange will come. But our visa policy is not tourism- friendly. Often tour operators bring in visa-related complaints. We also recommend them to the concerned departments.”
Bangladesh chapter of Pacific Asia Travel Limited (PATA) Secretary General Tawfiq Rahman said, “Usually people want to travel to neighboring countries more. If we can provide on-arrival facilities for India, Nepal, Bhutan, the number of tourists will increase.”
