In a bid to promote tourism in the country, a three-day travel and tourism fair will be launched in Dhaka on May 24.

Amazing Holidays, a travel agency, will organize the fair under the banner 'Bangladesh Travel and Tourism Mart (BTTM) 2008' at level seven of Bashundhara City Expo Centre in the capital.

Tour operators, travel agents, hotels, motels, aviation, transport companies, tourism and hotel management training institutes and local and foreign banks, among others, will participate in the fair, Mamun Ashraphi, chief executive officer of Amazing Holidays, said at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday.

The fair will remain open from 10 am to 8pm, the entry fee beingTk 10 per person.

“Our tourism sector has a great potential for improvement, but the government is so reluctant to develop the sector that there is no mention of the word 'tourism' in our national budget, Hasan Mansur, president of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).said.

M A Muhaimin Saleh, president of Association of Tour Operators of Bangladesh, among others, also spoke at the function.