Tourism sector eyeing bounceback on Eid

The country's tourism sector, which has been one of the worst-affected sectors amid the pandemic, is planning to make an upturn during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival, as the virus-outbreak situation has improved significantly here.

However, outbound tourism from Bangladesh is likely to be limited due to high airfare and COVID-19-related issues in some international destinations, except for India.

Still the number of holidaymakers of both categories (inbound and outbound) in the country would be higher than the last two years, when people had been struggling to cope with the pandemic, opined sector insiders.

Among the domestic tourist destinations, Cox's Bazar draws the highest number of holidaymakers in any vacation, including Eid. Besides, holidaymakers usually visit a number of spots in Sylhet, the Sundarbans, Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari.

Several domestic tour operators said they have sold a number of packages, targeting the Eid vacation, while some hotels and resorts said the lion shares of their accommodation facilities have already been booked.

However, domestic tourism contributes to lower revenue generation - comparing to outbound tourism - for the organised tour operators, said Syed Shafat Uddin Ahmed Tomal, an entrepreneur of tourism and hospitality sector.

"Holidaymakers are showing lesser interest to travel to overseas destinations, except for India, during this year's Eid vacation, as travel costs have significantly increased," said Mr Tomal, also a director of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

Plane fares have increased by two to three times in the recent times - depending on travel destinations, which has escalated tour costs, he added.

Talking to the FE, Managing Director of Amazing Tours Mohsin Iqbal said the number of outbound tourists has declined to around 25 per cent than usual.

"You could say the situation has improved comparing to the last two Eid vacations, but the number of holidaymakers is far lower than the pre-pandemic level."

He added that most of the local India-bound tourists do not take help of the tour operators; rather they make their tour plans by themselves.

Outbound tourists from Bangladesh mostly visit the neighbouring India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, while well-off holidaymakers go to Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and some European countries.

Sources said many tourists choose to visit India for its geographical location, scope to travel by road, and a wide range of tourism attractions.

According to estimation by the industry people, around 0.5 million people would travel to India this year, as far-distant tourist destinations have become costlier.

Considering the surge in number of visa expectants, the Indian Visa Application Centres (IVAC) in Bangladesh have extended their schedule.

All IVACs are operating from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm from April 13, of which the time span from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm is for VISA application submission and from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm is for passport delivery.

A private sector service-holder Jahirul Islam is planning to visit Kolkata and neighbouring areas during the Eid vacation.

Talking to the FE, he said: "I was planning to visit Nepal. But I have had to change the plan from Nepal to India, as there is a scope to cut the cost through travelling by road."

According to a recent research - published by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), the country's hospitality and tourism sector (HTS) lost around Tk 600 billion in the last two years due to the pandemic.

The study also revealed that some 141,000 workers in the sector lost their jobs during the period.

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