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Tourism promotion: An innovative suggestion

S.M. Ruhul Alam
"WHY do you stay in rain? When there is no rain in Ukraine."
When I read these lines, I thought it was rhyme. But later I realised that it was an advertisement to attract British tourists to Ukraine, a very cold country of Eastern Europe. The weather of the UK is famous because of the sudden rain and wind! Can you imagine wet and windy weather in winter? It's common in the UK, which is why many people go overseas to get relief. You will find such advertisements for tourist attractions of some small countries like St. Lucia, the Maldives, and Mauritius in public transports in London. Unfortunately, no tourist will find any information regarding Bangladesh though many British people know about Bangladesh because of our restaurants.
What do European tourists look for? Obviously they look for sunlight, and Bangladesh winter means lovely sunny day. Moreover, in Bangladesh, the days are comparatively longer than in Europe in winter. We have the longest sandy beach in the world where tourists can even drive a car. It's God's gift to us. Brighton beach is a very famous tourist attraction in the UK. There are many facilities for tourists and everything is very organised. But it is a strugge to walk on the beach as it is full of stones, not sand. I talked to some of my British colleagues about our beach; they were surprised to hear that there is nice sandy beach in Bangladesh where they can run and even can drive car. While attracting overseas tourists, we have to highlight 'the advantages of our sandy beach. So far we have ignored it. Malaga of Spain is the most attractive tourist place in Europe but it is only suitable for summer. But Bangladesh can welcome tourists throughout the year. How many overseas tourists know of it?
How to attract the British or European tourists? Do we need lots of money to advertise? It's very easy to attract them if we use Bangladeshi restaurants as tools for tourism
promotion in the UK. There are ten thousand Bangladeshi restaurants (though these are known as Indian restaurants) in the UK. If ten customers come to eat at each restaurant everyday, there will be 100,000 people visiting these restaurants per day. We must grab this opportunity. We can put up pictures of our tourist attractions on the restaurants' walls and keep flyers to inform tourists. Waiters may also give flyers to the customers while delivering menu. I talked to some restaurant owners and community leaders and they appreciated the idea. They said that if the government of Bangladesh took any initiative, they would think seriously about it. The great news is that the restaurant owners will not ask for any money for the use of restaurants as a tool for advertisement. They will do it voluntarily as they love their country. The government can take the initiative by inviting the leaders of the Bangladeshi restaurant owners association, community leaders (Mayors of London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Camden and Croydon), and Ruksana Ali MP to Bangladesh to discuss development of tourism sector.
By presenting a project proposal, the government can seek their advice and opinion. It must the remembered that the role of the private sector is also very important to run the tourism industry. So while preparing a project proposal on overseas tourists, the views of the private tour operators should be considered. As the restaurant owners and leaders of the Bangladeshi community have been helping the country generously, their involvement in the tourism sector will be a big boost for the sector.
There are Bangladeshi restaurants throughout Western Europe, the US and Canada too. If the government can successfully involve Bangladeshi restaurants in the UK as tool of tourist attraction, the same can be applied in Italy, Germany, the US, Ireland, Canada and other places.
The writer is Researcher and Development Specialist, Integrated Development Association of Bangladesh (INDAB).
E-mail: dtar.development@gmail.com