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Govt eyes a top-earner tourism sector

Star Business Report
The government will take every necessary step to turn the tourism industry into a huge income-earning sector, said the civil aviation and tourism minister yesterday.
"We plan to increase funds for infrastructure development. This year, the government increased the development budget for the sector too," said GM Quader.
"This allocation will be used to develop infrastructure of not only the destinations that are popular at present, but also the new and unconventional tourist spots."
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a two-day photo exhibition organised by the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation at Hotel Abakash in Dhaka.
The government made a budgetary allocation of Tk 292 crore for development of the tourism sector, a sharp rise
from Tk 234 crore in the budget for fiscal2009-10.
“The majority of the allocation will be used to develop infrastructure, including construction of better roads and highways. Simultaneously, large investment is needed to ensure better security for the local and foreign tourists, ” the minister said.
Quader said his ministry plans to allocate funds for promotional activities across the world to help the sector grow faster.
Earlier, the ministry demanded an allocation of Tk 1,000 crore in the national budget for 2010-11, of which Tk 10 crore was to be earmarked for campaigning to showcase the potential tourist spots and boost the inflow of foreign tourists.
However, the allocations for the promotional activities are yet to be finalised, said the minister.
According to ministry statistics, 4.35
lakh foreign tourists visited Bangladesh in 2009, which was a sharp rise from 3.82 lakh in 2008,2.65 lakh in 2007, 2 lakh in 2006 and 2.07 lakh in 2005. Most tourists came for business.
The industry insiders have been demanding more budgetary allocation for years for promotional activities in and around the world.
“The fund allocated every year to develop the sector is insignificant. Huge funds are required to make it a top revenue generating sector,” said Quader.
He also stressed combined initiatives by the public and private sector to attract investment from home and abroad to develop infrastructure.
A total of 149 photographs showing the scenic beauty and architectural heritage of Bangladesh were displayed at the exhibition.
Hemayet Uddin Talukder, chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, also spoke at the ceremony.