Businessmen have urged the government to open the tourist spots in compliance with hygiene and Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) in order to save the country’s tourism industry from further losses due to coronavirus pandemic.
The Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) has made this demand at a press conference at National Press Club in the capital on Thursday.
After the first wave of coronavirus, the tourism industry was trying to recover from it. In the meantime, the second wave of the pandemic has put the industry into uncertainty again. The industry has already faced a loss of Tk 20,000 crore in the first wave while TOAB members have faced a loss of Tk 5,700 crore.
And since March this year, everything has come to a standstill and the amount of damage in the tourism sector has been increasing. If the current situation deteriorates and continues till December 2021, the amount of loss will be more than Tk 9,000 crore.
TOAB Director Mohammad Shahed Ullah in a written statement said, “The tourism sector was one of the worst affected industries by the pandemic. The tourism industry is facing terrible losses due to the impact of Covid-19. After the first wave of coronavirus, the country's tourism industry was trying to recover some of its losses through domestic tourism. But, due to the second wave of the virus, the tourism sector is facing several crises again.”
TOAB president and the member of the governing body of the Bangladesh Tourism Board Rafeuzzaman said, “Tourism is now the third largest industry in the world. It has great perspective in Bangladesh as well. Tourism added 4.4 percent to the GDP in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the tourism sector had to incur a loss of around Tk 20,000 crore last year. About 40 lakh people involved in this industry are now living inhumane lives. Many of them are frustrated and forced to move to other businesses.”
“Since the beginning of the coronavirus last year, we have been asking for an incentive from the government for tour operators and others involved in the tourism industry. It has not become successful yet,” Rafeuzzaman added.
“In this year's proposed budget, Tk 4,032 crore has been allocated for this sector, which is Tk 344 crore more than the previous budget. I think this allocation is very little for the development of the country's tourism industry in the current context,” he further said.
TOAB authorities demand to open the tourist spots maintaining health and safety guidelines to save the tourism industry in Bangladesh from destruction. They also urged the government for providing incentives to tour operators and waving next year’s trade license renewal fee for TOAB members and others.
Ruman Imtiaz Tushar, Director of Tour Operators Association of Kuakata (TOAK), President of Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans (TOAS) Moinul Islam Jamaddar, President of Tour Operators Association of Cox's Bazar (TUAC) Tofail Ahmed and others were also present at the programme.
