Growing Tourism Industry: Bangladesh

The size of gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh was 6.4 billion US dollars in 1971. Bangladesh got
independence through a nine-month long bloody war in the same year. The size of the GDP of Bangladesh was 209
billion US dollars in 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During 1970-2013 GDP of Bangladesh
grew by 146.4 billion US dollars (in 21.6 times) to 153.5 billion US dollars; change occurred by 9.7 billion US dollars
by increasing population of Bangladesh by 90.2 million, as well as by 136.7 billion US dollars by increasing of GDP
per capita in Bangladesh by 873 US dollars. The average annual growth of GDP of Bangladesh was 3.4 billion US
dollars or 48%. Share in the World fell by 0.01%. Share in Asia decreased by 0.79%. Share in Southern Asia
decreased by 2%. Minimal GDP of Bangladesh was in 1971 (6.4 billion US dollars). Maximal GDP of Bangladesh was
in 2013 (153.5 billion US dollars). During 1970-2013 GDP per capita in Bangladesh rose by 873 US dollars (in 9.2
times) to 980 US dollars. The average annual growth of GDP per capita in Bangladesh was 20.3 US dollars or 19%.
Now GDP per capita of Bangladesh is over 1300 US dollars. The economy of the country has been maintaining 6
plus per cent growth since 2004. Westin Dhaka--country's first 5 star hotel in the private sector -- was launched in
2007 at Gulshan. In the last 10 years, Bangladesh has witnessed a boom in the construction of hotels and motels.
Ten more five-star hotels in Dhaka and Chittagong are going to be built in Bangladesh as demand for accommodation
increasing in Bangladesh Frequent visits by increased number of the foreign businessmen coupled with hosting of
international sports events has helped boost the demand. A number of international hotel chains and local
conglomerates will jointly establish the hotels likely by next 4-5 years. Of them, Le Meridien is now under construction
at the capital's Nikunjo along the Airport road, which is scheduled to be opened soon. Best Holdings Ltd, a local
concern of Metro Group, is constructing the building with 304 rooms. Other hotels include Marriott International,
Sheraton, Westin, Novotel and Hilton, among others. The US-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts acquired the
French Le Meridien recently. Besides, the local Jamuna Builders Ltd signed a deal with another US-based hotel chain
Marriott International to set up a 700-room luxury hotel in Dhaka. The company inked another deal in early 2012 with
Pacific Jeans for a 250-room luxury hotel in Chittagong. Unique Hotel and Resorts Ltd which owns Westin Dhaka will
also build a second Westin at Gulshan. Bangladesh at present has at least 8 five-star hotels with a total of nearly
1,500 luxury rooms. The annual occupancy rate on an average is 55-60%, said the industry insiders. According to
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) officials, roughly 500,000 foreigners arrived in Bangladesh in 2012 with
above 80% of them on business and official tours and the remaining as tourists. Political turmoil, violence, image
crisis, killing of bloggers and poor infrastructure stand in the way of boosting tourism in Bangladesh, said Kelly Lewis,
who has recently joined Amari Dhaka as its new General Manager. Kelly Lewis is a US citizen and has more than 16

years of experience in the hospitality industry. He's worked at renowned organisations all over the world. With his
strategic mindset and leadership skills, Amari Dhaka hopes to attain greater heights of sustainable business growth.
The tourism and hotel businesses suffered heavily during January-March political violence, hartal and strike as
tourists cancelled their trips to Bangladesh during that period. The killing of bloggers gives negative message
worldwide as it is an era of Internet, Kelly Lewis opined. In Bangladesh miscreants killed several Bangladeshis
bloggers including a Bangladeshi born US citizen. He demanded a cut in heavy duty on the liqueur as the
Bangladesh government has imposed several hundred per cent per cent duty on the item. He acknowledged that
hotel rents are high, particularly in posh hotel of Bangladesh compared to countries like India, Thailand, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Malaysia. He said Thailand has at least 100 'Five Star' hotels that can offer tourists and travelers hotel
rooms at low price. Even Thailand has several hundred three star or four star hotels offering tourists a low price
package. He also expressed hope that in the next 5-10 years, Bangladesh will also be able to offer room rents at low
price as a good number of hotels are being constructed in the Dhaka city. To attract tourists in great number,
Bangladesh needs to improve its infrastructure, construct a good number of hotels in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet,
ensure safe movement of tourists and improve road and rail networks. Bangladesh should also brand its name in the
world media to attract tourists, said Kelly Lewis who has vast experience in the hotel business in his career. About
flurry in the construction of five-star hotels in the country, Kelly Lewis said: "With the expansion of Bangladesh's
economy, the visit of foreign businesses is now on the rise, which increased the demand for luxury hotels." To a
question, Kelly Lewis, a US citizen said, a country should invest heavily on education sector to groom its citizens. To
a question on current hospitality industry in Bangladesh, he said ' Although the industry is successful, there are things
that are holding it back. These negative infractions hurt the industry. Dhaka is a location that is going to be an
extremely profitable destination in the future. However, the construction works of new hotels have not stopped.' Kelly
Lewis said "We will launch our signature restaurant, Amaya. It will have an Indian kitchen, a Thai kitchen, a Japanese
kitchen, Chinese kitchen, etc. You can get up and go to a kitchen of your choice, it is all A la Minute, where the chef
cooks everything fresh in front of you. It is going to be housed on the 13th floor, overlooking the entire city. Patios on
the outside will also be set up for a breathtaking view. We already have Deck 41 which outsiders can join with a
monthly silver/gold membership. The silver membership will allow you to drink and party at Deck 41, the gold will give
you access to Deck 41, the steam/sauna, the fitness center with a view of the city and the spa on the 18th floor. To a
question he said "I feel that room occupancy is the key source of revenue. But since food festivals and other events
are coming into prominence, all these promotions are bringing in substantial profits. It also exposes you to a whole
different client base. He also added that corporate clients occupy most of his hotel room. 'We have over 300 clients,
ranging from Coca Cola, JC Penney, Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Ericsson, Marks & Spencer, Western Union, etc. The

garment industry provides us with even more clients,' he added. He opined that the hospitality sector could be a
success story like readymade garment sector (RMG) sector, provided necessary budgetary allocation is given for
infrastructure development. The tourism industry is considered as a major source of foreign currency earnings for
countries like India, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, Spain, Switzerland, Nepal, UAE, the Maldives, Indonesia,
Singapore and many more. Bangladesh a number of attractive tourist places like ancient Buddhist monastery in
northern region, the largest sea beach in Cox's Bazar and the largest mangrove forest Sundarbans in Khulna district
in the southern part of the country. He also added "There are certain things that make a 5 star hotel what it is; size of
rooms, the bedding, the product - therefore what we concentrate on is the service. We have 231 employees for 136
rooms. According to its ratio, you get two people for one room.' Meanwhile, the World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTTC) has forecasted that total contribution of travel and tourism sector to Bangladesh GDP will rise by 7.9 percent
in the 2014. "The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was Taka 460.3 billion (4.4 percent of GDP) in 2013
and is forecast to rise by 7.9 percent in 2014 and to rise by 6.5 percent per year to Taka 935.5 billion (4.7 percent of
GDP) in 2024," WTTC said in its recently published Bangladesh Economic Impact Report 2014. In 2013, the report
said Bangladesh travel and tourism sector directly supported 13,28,500 jobs that is 1.8 percent of total employment
and it is expected to rise by 4 percent in 2014. In Bangladesh, travel and tourism investment in 2013 was Taka 40.5
billion that is 1.5 percent of total investment, it said adding that the investment should rise by 3.4 percent in 2014. The
report said Expenditure by foreign visitors are expected to grow by 7 percent in 2014 to Taka 8.9 billion and rise by
5.7 percent per annum to Taka 15.5 billion in 2024. The Leisure travel spending by both foreign and domestic tourists
generated 73 percent of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2013 in amount Taka 276.9 billion which is 26.9 percent
more compared with business travel spending of Taka 102 billion in the same period. Leisure travel spending is
expected to grow by 6.5 percent in 2014, it added. The report said business travel spending is expected to grow by
8.6 percent in 2014 to Taka 110.7 billion and rise by 5.5 percent per year to Taka 188.4 billion in 2024. About the
Domestic travel spending the report said it generated 97.8 present of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2013
compared with 2.2 percent for foreign visitors. The report said Domestic travel spending is expected to grow by 7
percent in 2014 to Taka 396.7 billion and rise by 5.8 percent by per year to Taka 699.9 billion in 2024. According to
statistics of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), a total of 276,583 tourists in 2013, 586,333 tourists in 2012, 593,722
tourists in 2011, 527,316 tourists in 2010 and 477, 026 tourists in 2009. India tops the list of inbound tourists in
Bangladesh, followed by British-Bangladeshis, Chinese, Australians and Canadians. According to BTB, a total of
160,230 Indians visited Bangladesh followed by 83,100 British-Bangladeshis in 2012. The number of outbound
tourists is much higher than the number of inbound tourists. 100,000 Bangladeshis every year visit Malaysia,

5,00,000 Bangladeshis visit India, 80,000 Bangladeshis visit Singapore and 70,000 Bangladeshis visit Thailand
spending several billion dollars a year.