& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Mega plan to develop tourism soon

Minister tells AmCham meet

Star Business Report
The government will soon take up a mega plan to develop tourism campaign or festivals in rural, tribal and haor' (a water body) areas and arrange river cruises, aiming to enhance the country 's image through attracting more foreign visitors.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader spelt out this plan at the .AmCham monthly luncheon meeting in Dhaka yesterday.
To facilitate more tourist arrivals, the minister said, the government is contemplating to introduce police in all important tourist spots countrywide for the foreign visitors.
"We will put up this issue in the Cabinet meeting, as we attach importance to ensuring tourists' security," Quader said, pointing also to the fact that such police arc already working very efficiently in providing security to the local and foreign tourists at Cox's Bazar, world's longest seabeach.
"Bangladesh is now one of the safest places in the world for foreign tourists as a very few visitors complained of any major untoward incidents during their stay here.'' Quader said.
The minister said as per
foreign tourists' demand, the government has already given a go-ahead to on-arrival visas for the visitors of more than 20 countries.
The number of such favoured nations would be raised in near future, he said in his presentation at the function, chaired by Syed Ershad Ahmed, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh.
However, the presentation on 'Promotion of Tourism in Bangladesh: Potential and Challenges' lacked any statistics on the number of tourist arrivals per annum, or the govern-
ment revenue earnings from this potential sector.
The minister informed a group of local and international audience at the AmCham meeting that he had made a directive to the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation to launch a website as soon as possible where all data relating to tourism would be available.
On the formation of a tourism board, the minister said on making some corrections in a draft bill, his ministry will place it before the Cabinet meeting for the third time in the next 15 days. Earlier, such a bill was
turncd down twice by the Cabinet.
When asked on any possible impact of the present militancy on the arrivals of tourists, Quader said, "The government is alert on everything."
The minister also made an assurance about infrastructure development, underlining the need for more private sector involvement, as the government is not a good player to run a business.
US Ambassador in Bangladesh James F Moriarty was present among others.