Alok Acharja

Tourism is one of the most important sectors that are being emphasized worldwide to increase the speed of the economic sector. Every country has many more tourist spots. There are world heritage.

Our beauty Sundarban is a part of world heritage. And humans naturally like to travel. When the pressure of work gets boring, the family goes to a sea or a mountain to calm the mind. World tourism has been progressing well since last decade. This tourism industry is on the list of the most affected by the corona virus. Public gatherings were banned to prevent the spread of the corona virus. Along with many sectors, the tourism sector was stopped.

As a result, the tourist centers become empty of tourists. There are also many countries in the world whose economy basically depends on the tourism industry. For example - Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius can be mentioned. European countries also give priority to the tourism sector. There are many other such countries. Almost all countries have taken the tourism sector seriously as it provides employment to many people as well as contributes to the country's GDP. Many countries now want to increase the number of tourists in their country.

Various initiatives are being taken to attract domestic tourists as well as foreigners. To improve their safety, enhance their facilities, make the tourism more attractive and give them a detailed idea about the tourism in the country. The reason for this is to advance the tourism industry of the country and develop this industry. In the 51 years of independence, the number of tourists has increased almost a hundred times.

Bangladesh is a land of heaven naturally. Now new tourist centers are being developed. In addition to foreign tourists, a large number of domestic tourists are visiting these spots. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, in 2000 there were between 3 and 5 Lakh domestic tourists. In 2012-13, this number increased six times to 25 to 30 Lakh. Bangladesh has appealing tourist centers.

Foreign tourists are comparatively to other countries of the south Asia few in numbers. Domestic tourists are mainly the lifeblood of tourist spots. According to the latest data of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), despite the tourism sector being heavily damaged due to Corona, in 2021, India received 8,800 million dollars from foreign tourists, Thailand 3,900 million dollars, Maldives 2,160 million dollars, Sri Lanka 305.2 millions of dollars. Where Bangladesh earned from this was only 167.2 million dollars. And in 2021, the tourism sector of Bangladesh received 6 thousand 739.4 million dollars worth of money from domestic tourists. On the other hand, before Corona, in 2019, Bangladesh earned 369.6 million dollars from foreign tourists.

According to information, 73 percent of the tourism sector in the world has been damaged due to Corona. And the loss in the Asia Pacific region is 96 percent. In 2019, 10.3 percent of global GDP ($9,630 billion dollars) came from the tourism sector.

Due to Corona, in 2020 it decreased to 5.3 percent (4 thousand 775 billion dollars). 6.1 percent of global GDP in 2021 comes from tourism. In 2021, the contribution of Bangladesh's tourism sector to GDP was only 2.2 percent, while that of Maldives was 44.6 percent, India 5.8 percent, Thailand 5.8 percent, Nepal 4.3 percent and Sri Lanka 3.1 percent. In other words, it can be seen that the number of foreign tourists in our country is comparatively low. Where foreign tourists are going to Asia is much more than our country. So we must work to make our tourist centers more attractive and safe. Tourism is an important industry and plays vital a role in strengthening economies around the world.

Therefore, various countries are increasing the facilities of tourist centers keeping their tourists in mind. Tourists are trying to provide various facilities including accommodation business, security, and food and shopping, history and heritage.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the industry directly and indirectly contributes 8.9 trillion Dollar to the global economy. Tourism industry contributed 11.4 percent to world GDP in 2019. So development of this industry is necessary. There are world famous tourist centers in different regions of our country. Tourists from the country and abroad flock every year to visit Sea beach. One of these tourist centers is Cox's Bazar.

Apart from the world famous beaches, there are more tourist attractions here. There is Kuakata sea beach. There are numerous tourist centers in our hilly regions of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari. Tourists are fascinated by the beauty of Sajek Valley, Nilachal, Nilgiris, Bichanakandi, Tea Gardens, Ratargul. Apart from these, there are tourist centers in every district. Even the sightseeing opportunities that exist in the upazila can attract tourists if necessary initiatives are taken. Again, new tourist centers can be built in those centers where people who want to travel go on vacation with their families.

In particular, if the tourist centers are classified a little differently, it can be seen that there are ancient sanctuaries such as Landlord’s houses or historical sanctuaries which are numerous in the country and are located in different regions, hilly areas, sea beaches such as Cox's Bazar or Kuakata, famous sightseeing sanctuaries and forest areas such as the Sundarbans. Different classes of people like different kinds of places. He who loves history will go in search of historical dreams. So it is important to preserve and maintain these. Every region of our country has different beauty. There are different famous tourist resorts.

A lot of jobs opportunities have been developed around these tourist centers. This sector needs to run at full speed for business and employment to flourish. In this the tourism industry should be made world class so as to be able to attract more tourists both home and abroad. According to a statistic, the number of tourists in the world was 25 million in 1950, which has increased to about 1335 million today.

If the tourism industry develops, it is possible to solve most of the employment problems of our country. In order to fulfill the goal of making the country a developed country by 2041, the country's tourism industry should be fully developed to keep peace with the rest of the world. Contribution to GDP should be increased from here. If the tourism sector advances, it will be possible to solve a part of the unemployment problem.

This tourism industry will be an important regulator in the development of people's living standards and the development of the country's economy.

Essayist is a freelance writer, Pabna