Tourism minister pins hope on private investment

Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon is optimistic about successful implementation of the ‘Tourism Year.’

The minister has exuded optimism despite the sector being allotted less budget in the current fiscal compared to the year before.

The government has decided to celebrate 2016 as ‘Tourism Year’ to promote Bangladesh’s tourism sector.

The estimated spending for the sector for three years, starting from 2015-16, has been fixed at Tk 2 billion.

Menon, speaking at a programme in Dhaka on Saturday, said his ministry had got the lowest allocation in the new budget.

“This allocation is lower than what is needed to kick start the ‘Tourism Year’,” he said. “But we want to achieve our goal and for this, we are pinning our hopes on private investment.”

The minister admitted that the necessary infrastructure needed for this purpose was not developed.

He said a committee was being formed with stakeholders for celebrating the ‘Tourism Year’.

Construction of an international airport in Cox’s Bazar would be completed within the next two and a half years, he added.

The airport will have a re-fuelling station and will be connected by rail.

“An exclusive tourist zone will be set up in Cox’s Bazar,” the minister said, adding that a tender would be floated on July 30.

At Saturday’s programme, he handed over fellowship certificates to 10 journalists working on tourism sector.

“It’s not that the development work will be completed within 2016,” he said. “What we can say is the development of tourism sector will start from 2016.”