INTERNSHIP REPORT ON

Tourism Marketing-Bangladesh Perspective

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. Rashed Al Karim

Associate Professor

School of Business

East Delta University

SUBMITTED BY:

Mohammed Sharif Sarwar (132001802)

Date of Submission 29th December 2019

 Abstract

Bangladesh is a country with rich history and culture. The splendid beauty of its rivers,
forests, lush green grass lands and the breathtaking view of its sandy beaches are
capable of drawing attention of millions of tourist from around the world if
communicated and portrayed properly. This study tries to understand the current
situation of the tourism industry, the impact of promotion on tourism and the challenges
and issues faced by the stakeholders in the tourism industry. For the purpose of this
research in-depth interview sessions were conducted from a pool of eight interviewees
who hailed from Chittagong, Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar. The results from the data gathered
were thematically analyzed. After thorough analysis and assessment the research results
showed that although Bangladesh is blessed with some of the richest and most beautiful
natural sites of the world but due inadequate promotion and marketing the tourism
industry of the country is making the expected significant gains. More over the lack of
promotional efforts and activities on the part of the government and relevant agencies
turned out to be a highlighting feature of the research study.

Key words: Bangladesh Tourism, Tourism Promotion, 2tourism facilities, Image of the
country.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study: ...................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Statement of Problems ........................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Research Question: ................................................................................................................ 7
1.4 Research Objective: ............................................................................................................... 7
1.5 Scope of study:....................................................................................................................... 7
1.6 Chapter Summary: ................................................................................................................. 8
Chapter 2: Industry Overview .......................................................................................................... 9
2.1 Introduction:........................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Facts & Figures: ................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Notable Tourist Places in Bangladesh ................................................................................. 13
2.4 Problems of Tourism Sector in Bangladesh ......................................................................... 15
2.5 Prospect of Bangladesh tourism industry: ........................................................................... 17
Chapter 3: Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 20
3.1 Introduction:......................................................................................................................... 20
3.2 Definition of Tourism .......................................................................................................... 20
3.3 Classification of Tourism:.................................................................................................... 21
3.4 Some of the major Stakeholders of tourism and Hospitality sector of Bangladesh: ............ 23
3.5 Promotion: ........................................................................................................................... 27
3.6 Classification of promotions with relevance to Tourism Industry: ...................................... 28
3.7 Tourism Promotion: ............................................................................................................. 30
3.8 Some Promotional Practices of Tourism in Bangladesh: ..................................................... 31
3.9 Some Promotional Practices of Tourism Internationally: .................................................... 32
Chapter 4 (Research Methodology) ............................................................................................... 35
4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 35
4.2 Purpose of Research:............................................................................................................ 35
4.3 Research Data: ..................................................................................................................... 36
4.4 Research Design................................................................................................................... 36
4.5 Sampling .............................................................................................................................. 37
4.6 Classification of Sampling: .................................................................................................. 37
4.7 Interview Protocol:............................................................................................................... 38
 4.8 Chapter summary: ................................................................................................................ 39
Chapter 5: Findings & Analysis ..................................................................................................... 40
5.1 Introduction:......................................................................................................................... 40
5.2 The Profile of the interviewees: ........................................................................................... 40
5.3 Qualitative Data Transcription:............................................................................................ 41
5.4 Qualitative Data Analysis (Thematic Analysis): ................................................................. 42
5.5 Branding Themes and Sub-Themes: .................................................................................... 42
5.6 Sub-Theme: Tourism Fair .................................................................................................... 43
5.7 Sub-Theme: Online Promotion ............................................................................................ 45
5.8 Sub-Theme: Increased tax and cost ..................................................................................... 46
5.9 Sub-Theme: Infrastructures Impact on marketing ............................................................... 47
5.10 Sub-Theme: Facilities Impact on promotion ..................................................................... 49
5.11 Sub-Theme: Unconventional marketing practices ............................................................. 50
5.12 Sub-Theme: Image of the country ..................................................................................... 52
5.13 Chapter Summary .............................................................................................................. 53
6. Conclusion & Recommendation ................................................................................................ 54
6.1 Conclusion: .......................................................................................................................... 54
6.2 Recommendation for further study: ..................................................................................... 55
References:..................................................................................................................................... 56
Research Questions ........................................................................................................................ 64
Appendix........................................................................................................................................ 65
 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study:

Tourism is a unique product composite with tangible service by tourist’s experience
(Kadampully, 2000). Tourism comprises of sights, services and experience that helps to
generate an interesting sensation in the mind of an explorer. Through tourism marketing
the targeted segment of audience or people gain a great opportunity to get exclusive
insight into the features and details about a place, the exciting experiences in offer and
the potential services that can be explored. While marketing is creating irresistible
experiences that connect with people personally and create the desire to share with others
(Colt, 2015), tourism on the other hand is a leisure and unique experience that draws
people’s attention and also instigates interest amongst the people, if promoted in the right
way. Image of a country has significant effect on decision making process of tourists and
hence it is one of the vital areas of tourism studies (Laws, 2002); so, it is imperative for a
country with great tourism opportunity like Bangladesh to give even greater emphasis on
building a positive and unique image of the country through proper promotion and
marketing.

It is quite evident that in recent time’s tourism industry development is a high priority
agenda for most of the nations and communities everywhere in globe (Tabibi&Rohani,
2011). In this regard it can now be undoubtedly noted that the tourism sector has become
a very important and dynamic sector both in the world economy and particularly in the
developing countries (Islam, 2012).Travel and tourism is the second largest global
industry (Balakrishnan, 2009) and it is also considered as one of the fastest growing
industries (WTTC, 1995). But for a country to become successful in tourism and also to
be able to make its own mark in this competitive global industry it needs to focus on the
importance of a favorable image for its tourist destinations in order to attract tourists
which would enable it to create the highest value of positive image hence increasing its
chances to be considered during the destination selection process (Beerli, 2004).
Moreover in the changing world dynamic and due to the effect of globalization, the focus
of tourists are not fixed on popular destinations of west only, remote and exotic
destinations of Asia is also attracting growing number of attention every year (Zahra,
2012). So, marketers of the concerned tourism industry’s must look to market their
products with a global perspective in mind; as each market can have different
requirement, motivation and expectation from particular destinations therefore offering
products which acknowledges these differences can ultimately help the product to stand
out from other similar products for its unique characteristics (Zahra, 2012). Bangladesh,
as a tourist destination, has many facets. It is painted with almost all the natural potentials
that can attract tourist (Shahid, 2004). So, promotion and branding of Bangladesh as a
Tourism destination is extremely important because promotion and branding in tourism is
associated with the unique history, heritage and culture of a particular destination
(Hankinson, 2004).

1.2 Statement of Problems

Today tourism can be termed as one of the fastest growing industry in Bangladesh
(Sultana, 2016). It is stated that Bangladesh basically has three sectors of generating
revenue: industry, agriculture and service (Bangladesh Economic Review, 2010). In this
case tourism is part of the service sector and as we all know appropriate marketing is vital
for the sustainable and significant growth of this service industry. So far, there seems to
be a significant research gap existing in Bangladeshi tourism market for discovering
tourist’s perception towards selection of a destination (Rahman, 2012). Although a lot of
devotion has been given to the promotion and branding of the RMG sector of Bangladesh
in the international market which has made its mark in the global apparel market being
ranked only second to China despite all its shortcomings. On the other hand, if
contemplated closely the tourism industry of Bangladesh has some of the best naturally
gifted destinations and sights that a country could have but sadly it is not being marketed
or promoted in the required way which would have helped this industry to reach up to its
true potential.

Unlike technology or IT based industry which has a shorter life span due to the fast
advancement in modern technology around the world, tourism proposes to be a long term
sustainable industry given that it is planned, executed and preserved with a farfetched
plan and strategy. In this case tourism industry must need proper exposure by means of
well designed marketing and promotional techniques. We can see countries with better
tourism marketing and promotional strategy who makes the best usage of their tourist
sites are able make significant gains from this industry; statistically it is observed that in
2004, US, Spain, France, Italy, China, Australia earned US$74.5 billion, US$45.2 billion,
US$40.8 billion, US$35.7 billion, US$25.7 billion, and US$13 billion from this industry
(UNWTO, 2005). Bangladesh, on the other hand is missing out on the opportunity of
drawing the valuable attention of foreign tourist on its shore due weak and bleak
marketing and promotional activities internationally. This study will explore the current
promotional activities practiced by the tourism industry stakeholders and also highlight
the challenges faced by the stakeholders in this field.

1.3 Research Question:

1. What is the perception of different stakeholders (hoteliers, tour Agencies and

government agencies) about the promotional aspect of Bangladesh tourism
marketing?
2. What are the current issues and challenges faced by the stakeholders of the
tourism industry?

1.4 Research Objective:

1) To explore the promotional activities practiced in promoting the tourism industry

of Bangladesh.
2) To analyze or asses the current issues of tourism in Bangladesh.

1.5 Scope of study:

The study will focus on the promotional activities of the Bangladesh tourism industry
especially in terms of attracting the international tourists. It will also include the study of
the existing problems of the tourism industry. The perception of the tourism industry
experts will be taken by means of questionnaire interview. By analyzing these interviews
thematically, it will help to generate vivid idea about the current condition of promotion
and state of Bangladesh tourism industry. The limitation of the survey is that the survey
will be done based on the information, point of view and data collected from Cox’s
Bazar, Chittagong and Dhaka as a result the findings and analysis might not depict the
picture of tourism in other parts of the country.

1.6 Chapter Summary:

This chapter discusses about the background of the study and the problem statement of
the study. The research objective and the research questions along with the scope of the
study have been narrated here in this chapter.
 Chapter 2: Industry Overview

2.1 Introduction:
Bangladesh a country of exotic natural beauty, rich culture and heritage; it has got
tremendous potential to make its mark in the global tourism and hospitality sector. Even
before the birth of Bangladesh its landscape always truly depicted the essence of its
natural beauty, peace and in addition to this the people of Bangladesh has always been
ever welcoming and hospitable to visitors from around the world.

According to an article published in the Financial express (2019) Bangladesh received

around 0.6 million foreign tourists in the year 2018. Where else India received 10.04
million and Nepal received 1.4 million foreign tourists in the same period of time. So, it
is very evident that Bangladesh legs far behind from its South Asian neighbors in terms
of effectively attracting foreign tourists on its shore. It is important to note that the
spending capacity of a western tourist is at least ten times higher than that of South Asian
tourist, as per Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC). According to Bangladesh Parjatan
Corporation (BPC) earning from the travel and tourism sector were recorded at 145.74
million US dollars in 2015 compared to 158.09 million US dollars in 2014, 121.45
million US dollars in 2013, 100.75 million US dollars in 2012, 83.73 million US dollars
in 2011. World Travel & Tourism Council data depicted that the domestic tourist
spending clocked at 87% of the total tourists spending compared to the miniature foreign
tourist spending figure of 3% in the year 2018 (WTTC, 2019) .

In 2014, visitors export is expected to grow by 4.8%, and the world is expected to attract
1,134,130,000 international tourist arrivals. By 2024, international tourist arrivals are
forecasted to total 1,762,110,000, generating expenditure of USD 2,052.4bn, an increase
of 4.2%.This proves that an increasing number of people are travelling around the world
at different destinations and there is a huge potential for Bangladesh to solidify its
footstep in this positive market trend. Although travel and tourism sector contributed for
4.4% of Bangladesh’s economy for the year 2018 (WTTC, 2019) but, ironically the
growth of Bangladesh’s economy outpaces the growth of its travel and tourism sector
while globally the situation is quite the opposite; global economy grew by 3.2% but
travel and tourism grew significantly more at 3.9% rate. Besides the economy, tourism
sector contributed with 3.9% of total employment in the year 2108 (WTTC, 2019).
Banking on the high influx of domestic tourists travelling around the nation’s prime
tourist spots like Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban and Sundarban etc; the domestic tourists rose
to 70 lakh in 2017 from 60 lakh a year earlier. Earlier data from 2009 by BPC showed
that majority of the visitors comes to Bangladesh from abroad for travel and tourism
purposes followed by business purpose and other reasons for visit to Bangladesh such as
study, religion, office etc are relatively very low in numbers.

2.2 Facts & Figures:

Fig 1: Total Number of Inbound Tourist to Bangladesh over the period from 2015-
2017

Inbound Arrivals
Rest of the World
7%
United States
4%
Pakistan
6%

Myanmar INDIA
14% 50%

China
19%

Source: https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/country-analysis/country-data/
Fig 2: Total Number of Outbound Tourist from Bangladesh over the period from 2015-
2017

OUTBOUND DEPARTURES

Rest of the World

24%

Thailand
4% India
52%
Bahrain
4% Saudi
Malaysia Arabia
5% 11%

Source: https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/country-analysis/country-data/

Fig 3: Visitors Arrival to Bangladesh by Purpose of Visit, 2009.

Source: Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (2009). “Tourism Statistics”.Retrieved on

November 26, 2019.
Fig 4: Contribution of Travel & Tourism on GDP, Contribution of Travel & Tourism on
Tourism Employment, International Visitor Impact.

Source: https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/country-analysis/country-data/

Fig 5: SECTOR CHARACTERISTICS (Domestic & International Tourist Spending-2018).

Source: https://www.wttc.org/economic-impact/country-analysis/country-data/
 Fig 6: Contribution of travel and tourism to Visitor Exports

Visitor Exports
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC): Annual report-2014: The Economic
Impact of Travel and Tourism 2014.

2.3 Notable Tourist Places in Bangladesh

Table: Tourist spots in Bangladesh

Table: Tourist spots in Bangladesh

Retrieved From: Roy, S.C. & Roy, M. (2015)
Some of the tourist spots in Bangladesh

Jaflong: It is one of the most sought after tourist sight in Bangladesh situated in Sylhet. It
is only a two hour drive from the city and also offers visitors the opportunity to know
more about the lifestyle Khasi Tribe.
Satchari National Park: This Park is in Habiganj District. Wildlife in this park is rich.
Bisanakandi: It is situated at the border area of Bangladesh and Inida. The landscape
around that place is surrounded by beautiful gardens and hills and naturally occurring
mountain stones.
Srimongal: Srimongal is the land of tea gardens it is known as the tea capital of
Bangladesh. Visitors can enjoy the greenery of the tea gardens; get to know about the
history of Tea and its origin from the Tea Museum situated there and the lifestyle of the
tea pluckers.
Lawacherra Rain Forest: Well-reserved forests in Bangladesh. Prime attraction of this
forest is rare Chloroform tree of Asia. It is like "A Piece of Paradise".
Patenga Sea Beaches: it is located at the outskirts of the Chittagong city near
Bangladesh Naval Academy. Located near the bank of Karnaphuli River the short span of
sandy beach along with different water rides in offer can create a sense of joy among
visitors. More over river cruise service offered by The Boat Club can add additional
touch of serenity in the mind of the visitors.
Cox's Bazar: It is the world’s longest beach stretching for a distance of 120km. It is the
prime tourist destination of the country where influx of local and some foreign tourists
visits throughout the year.
St. Martins Island: St. Martins Island is a beautiful coral island covering an area of
8 km2 only. It is situated at the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south
of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula. Visitors can enjoy the beauty of its sandy
shore, fresh watery coconut, corals, and transparent clear waters etc.
Himchori :Himchori is famous for waterfall. Visitor can reach there by jeep from Cox’s
Bazar.
Parki beach: It is situated in Anwarathana under southern Chittagong region just a short
drive crossing through the landmark Karnaphuli bridge can give visitors a beautiful
glimpse of its sandy beach and breathtaking view of the surroundings.
Lalmai, Moinamoti and Shalbon Bihar: They are famous historical and archeological
places around Comilla city.

Rangamati: It is one of the three hilly districts under the Chittagong division and is
widely famous for landmark hanging bridge at above the Kaptai Lake. Visitors can get a
glimpse of the rich culture of the local tribal groups and their lifestyle. The area is
covered with greenery and hilly regions.
Khagrachari: Khagrachhari is the the land of natural beauty. It is a hilly area
comprisisng of few rivers and has rich tribal culture which will undoubtedly impress the
vistors.
Kaptai Lake: Built in early sixties Kaptai Dam and the lake are the main attractions of
Kaptai.
Bandarban: It is one of the most famous tourist destination of the country where visitors
can enjoy trekking through forests on various hills and small mountains. Visitors can also
enjoy the natural beauty of different tourist’s spots of Bandarban which includes Boga
Lake, Buddha DhatuJadi, Chimbuk Hill and Tribal Villages, Keokradong, Nilachal
Tourist Spot, Nilgiri and Tanchi, Tajingdong etc.
AhsanManzil: Ahsan Manzil is located in parts of the old city of Dhaka and it was the
residential palace for Dhaka Nawab Family.
Sundarban: The Sundarban is the world largest tidal mangrove forest. The Sundarbans
cover approximately 10,000 square kilometers, of which 60 percent is in Bangladesh with
the remainder in India. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the
natural home the world famous Royal Bengal Tiger.
Kuakata: Kuakata is a panoramic sea beach located in the Patuakhali district. Kuakata
has a wide sandy beach from where one can see both the sunrise and sunset.

2.4 Problems of Tourism Sector in Bangladesh

Tourism sector is not just about offering beautiful places to the tourist to visit. There are
other important provisions that combines together to create a complete and adequate
structure for a sustainable and thriving tourism industry. Starting from tourism spots, easy
communication service, state of the art accommodations and entertainment facilities rich
culture, diverse and appealing cuisines, adequate infrastructure, hospitable and
welcoming attitude of the native people and security are some of the notable ingredients
for creating a tourist friendly environment (Mahboob, 2008).

The infrastructure facilities of the Bangladesh don’t adequately serve the tourism sector
well. Experts in this field say that the most notable problem the tourist face which may
put off the tourists from travelling to enjoy the attractions is its weak communication
service (Khan, 2013). Extreme condition of its roads and transportation service does
create a negative perception among the visitors. Although in the recent years some efforts
from the government is visible to improve the transportation and communication service
but in the long run an organized and planned development of the communication service
must be implemented keeping in mind about the tourism sector among other important
and relevant factors.

Accommodations facility and the cost related to it is another important drawback that the
tourism industry faces. Most importantly it is imperative to note that the accommodations
cost in Bangladesh are high enough for the average domestic and international tourists.
Although different facts and figures from different relevant studies shows the growing
tendency of the local people towards tours and travel but it also draws our due attention
towards the critical issue that Bangladesh is not being able to attract high number of
foreign tourists. More over an increasing number of local tourists who are exhausted and
tired of the clichéd tourist sites, activities and facilities are increasingly inclining towards
foreign tours in order to gain new experiences and views. In relation to this growing
trend, in the past years it was observed that level of satisfaction with the overall tourism
facilities and services is at a level of 51% .The tourists judged very poorly the level of
night entertainment, tour information, advertisement, and traveling agency services
(Nath, 2007).
A country’s image plays an extremely important role for the tourist’s to choose a
particular destination to visit (Laws, 2002). The tourism industry of Bangladesh failed to
grow at a phenomenal rate like its South Asian neighbors namely India, Nepal and Sri
Lanka etc not because it lacks adequate attraction sights but mostly because of the
ineffective promotional activities (Hasan, 2005). Foreign tourists visiting the website of
Bangaldesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) to know more about Bangladesh tourism will be
utterly disappointed with its view as it sufficiently lacks both the attractiveness and
adequate information such as well captured appealing pictures of the famous tourist sites,
accommodation facilities, transportation modes and distance from the country capital. On
the other hand if we take a look at the tourism webpage of some of our neighboring
countries for instance; Sri-Lanka Tourism Development Authority or Tourism Council of
Bhutan, these WebPages are equipped with ingredients that portray a very appealing and
welcoming feeling to the visitors with scenic view and modern touch to its web design
(Afroz, 2016).

2.5 Prospect of Bangladesh tourism industry:

The tourism industry in Bangladesh is a very promising industry which has potential to
be one of the major foreign currency earners by means of attracting foreign tourist. It is
imperative to note that the growth of the industry can effectively prove to be the solution
to eradicate the unimpressive unemployment condition of the country. In context of
developing the tourism sector to make it vibrant and successful, infrastructure
development is vital. In this case development of local and national infrastructure to aide
tourism and hospitality industry would eventually have positive impact in benefiting the
local population and the population of the country as a whole. It is believed that by 2024,
international tourist arrivals are forecasted to be 611,000 generating expenditure of BDT
15.5 billion. Travel and Tourism’s contribution to total national investment will rise from
1.5% in 2014 to 1.6% in 2024. The potentials of the tourism industry is very high and
equally positive. As a country of the Asian region Bangladesh holds high potentiality in
achieving greater heights in the international tourism industry. But currently its position
is insignificant in this regard (Islam and Islam, 2006).

Tourism provides a great opportunity for cultural exchange between people of different
origins and nations. Bangladesh tourism can also help to enhance this exchange of ideas,
culture and thoughts between the foreign guests or tourists and the local people; which
would ultimately help the local community, people with new and unique ideas and
thoughts. Moreover it would also help to promote the authentic and hospitable culture
and morals of the local people. Irrespective of all the shortcomings and barriers the
tourism industry of Bangladesh has a positive trend. So it is believed that the future
prospect of Bangladesh tourism industry is very bright and it will grow more in the future
by creating public awareness, proper infrastructure, getting rid of all the problems
associated with the country; most notably the political and security situation of the
country which is extremely important. The versatility of Bangladesh’s tribal and local
culture is worth sharing with the people of the world by means of tourism and hence
along with its scenic beauty this particular factor can also help to create a new and bright
perception about the country.
 Chapter 3: Literature Review
3.1 Introduction:
The chapter discusses about the definition and classification of Tourism along with
drawing some attention towards different stakeholders of the tourism & hospitality
industry. Furthermore the literature review section analyzes the studies related to this
topic and also highlights the theoretical concept about different aspects of promotion.

3.2 Definition of Tourism

The term tourism emerged from the very word tourist. Wahab (1977) pointed out that the
first academic definition of tourism was created in 1911 by Herman von Schullern in his
work Fremdenverkehr und Volkswirkschaft (Tourism & Peoples Activity) where tourism
was defined as: “the sum of the operations, mainly the economic ones which are directly
connected to the entrance, permanence and displacement of foreigners in an out of a
country, city or region” (Wahab, 1977: 3).

On the other hand World Tourism Organization of United Nations defined tourism as: “a
collection of activities, services and industries which deliver a travel experience
comprising transportation, accommodation, eating and drinking establishments, retail
shops, entertainment businesses and other hospitality services provided for individuals or
groups traveling away from home” (UNWTO statistics, Guidelines:2010).

In his study Jafari describe tourism as: “the study of man [the tourist] away from his
usual habitat, of the touristic apparatus and networks, and of the ordinary [non-tourism]
and non-ordinary [tourism] worlds and their dialectic relationship” Tribe (1997: 640).

In modern times the term tourism is highly related to leisure, entertainment, and socio
and business activity this trend can be noted in a research work on “Different aspects of
Tourism Marketing” done by Prof. Mr.MuhammadMahboobAli,Ph.D. where he defined
tourism as an activity by those who travel or visits different places for the purpose of
recreation, leisure beyond his or her normal surrounding and atmosphere for a maximum
duration of one year. By doing so, he might look to attain mental or physical satisfaction
(Mahboob, 2008). “Tourism destination” was expressed as a collection of facilities and
services, which are probably similar to any other consumer product and also consists of
multi-dimension attributes (Hu & Ritchie, 1993).

3.3 Classification of Tourism:

The type of tourism depends on the reason for travel. Travel can be to destinations that
are domestic or international. Domestic tourism involves residents travelling only within
their country. International tourism may be inbound or outbound. Inbound tourism
involves non-residents travelling within a country. Outbound tourism involves residents
travelling within another country. Based on the purpose of visit, tourism is categorized
into the following:

i) Leisure Tourism

Tourists may travel to experience a change in climate and place and learn something new
about the culture of a destination. Tourists, who seek break from the stress of day-to-day
life, devote their holiday to rest, relaxation and refresh themselves. These tourists prefer
to stay in some quiet and relaxed destination preferably at a hill resort, beach resort or
island resort.

ii) Cultural tourism

Culture is one of the most important factors, which attract tourists to a destination.
Cultural tourism gives insight to away of people’s life of a distant land, its dressing,
jewelry, dance, music culture, as well as architecture, customs and traditions, fairs and
festivals.

iii) Religious tourism

It is a form of tourism, where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage.

Modern religious tourists visit holy cities and holy sites around the world.

v) Health Tourism
Health tourism is also called as medical tourism. Today, many people travel great
distances to exotic locations in search of medical treatment. Medical tourism is an old-
aged concept that hasgained popularity in the recent times. Many developing countries
are emerging as hot medical tourism destinations capitalizing on low cost advantages.
Many hospitals have specially designed packages including resorts facilities.

vi)Sports Tourism

Sports Tourism refers to travel which involves either viewing or participating in a

sporting event staying apart from their usual environment. Normally these kinds of events
are the motivators that attract visitors to visit the events like Olympic Games, FIFA
World Cup etc.

vii) Educational Tourism

Educational tourism developed because of the growing popularity of teaching and

learning of knowledge and the enhancing of technical competency outside of the
classroom environment. In educational tourism, the focus of the tourist visiting another
country to learn about the culture, such as in Student Exchange Programs and Study
Tours, organizing specialized lectures of the eminent personalities and visiting for
research.

viii) Business Tourism

Tourists visit a particular destination for various reasons pertaining to his work such as
attending a business meeting, conferences, conventions selling products, meeting with
clients. Business tourism is popularly called as MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences,
and exhibitions) tourism.
3.4 Some of the major Stakeholders of tourism and Hospitality sector of
Bangladesh:

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC):

It is the government owned tourism authority which is considered to be the most

important player for promoting Bangladesh’s tourism industry. BPC was established right
after the country gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971 and became operational
from 1973 with a small budget of 10 million BDT and the assets gained from the former
Pakistan Tourism Corporation. Although by the courses of time this very organization
grew up in its operation and size but in this period of time it could not effective in
withstand the waves of expectations with which it was founded and also could not
effectively establish Bangladesh as the sought after tourist destination in the world map.
Currently BPC has a number of hotels and motels and exclusive tourist spots under its
jurisdiction; source: ("Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation-People’s Republic of
Bangladesh" n.d.). They are as follows:

Dhaka
➢ Hotel Abakash
➢ Joy Restaurant, Savar
➢ Secretariat Executive Cafeteria
➢ Parliament VIP Cafeteria
➢ Eagle Restaurant
➢ Moyuri Restaurant
Gopalganj
➢ Hotel Madhumoti
Rangpur

➢ Parjatan Motel
Chittagong

➢ Hotel Shaikat
Cox's Bazar

➢ Hotel Shaibal
➢ Motel Upal
➢ Motel Probal
 ➢ Hotel Labonee
Teknaf

➢ Hotel Ne Taung
Rangamati

➢ Parjatan Holiday Complex

Bandarban

➢ Parjatan Motel
Khagrachhari

➢ Parjatan Motel
Rajshahi

➢ Parjatan Motel
Bogra

➢ Parjatan Motel
Dinajpur

➢ Parjatan Motel
Kuakata

➢ Parjatan Youth Inn

➢ ParjatanHoiday Homes

Benapole

➢ Parjatan Motel
Mongla

➢ Hotel Pashur
Meherpur

➢ Parjatan Motel
Madhabkundu
 ➢ Parjatan Restaurant
Sylhet

➢ Parjatan Motel
➢ Parjatan Motel Jaflong
➢ Parjatan Restaurant Madhabkunda

Chapainbabganj

➢ Parjatan Motel

Bangladesh Tourism Board:

It was formed on September 27th 2010 through the National Tourism Act-27 by the
Government of the People’s Republic Of Bangladesh. It was established with the aim of
promoting the tourism industry of Bangladesh on the international arena. Keeping in
mind the growing contribution of the tourism industry in the national economy and the
endless bright possibilities of this industry the national Tourism Board have been
working hard for promoting and marketing of the country.

Functions of Bangladesh Tourism Board:

• Assist in formulating policies, providing recommendations and implementing

existing tourism policies for the development of tourism;
• To provide advice or guidance to those involved in the implementation of the plan
adopted for the overall development of the tourism industry;
• Identifying tourism attractions, conservation, development, development and
public awareness;
• To arrange for the participation of governments, individuals, local communities,
local administration, NGOs, women's organizations and media in order to
implement responsible tourism;
• Coordinating and coordinating work with foreign tourist organizations to establish
communication with Bangladesh tourism organization;
 • Coordinating with various government agencies on matters related to other
interests including facilitating and securing the arrival and location of tourists in
Bangladesh;
• To maintain and co-ordinate regular contact between government and non-
governmental organizations or institutions, government departments or offices in
relation to the creation of tourism industry auxiliary facilities and assistance in the
development activities related to tourism and marketing abroad.

• To take necessary measures to ensure the quality control of tourist attractions and
provide quality tourism services to protect the interests of tourists;
• To ensure the benefits of participation of tourists with disabilities;
• Protecting women's rights and participation in the tourism industry;
• Take appropriate measures for the development of the tourism industry through
research, international market monitoring and analysis;
• Providing necessary guidance to support the tourism-infected industry;
• Providing guidance in organizing and promoting all tourism related fairs or
publishing activities;

Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB):

It is another major stakeholder in the country’s aviation and tourism industry beside BPC
another major stakeholder. It was founded in the year 1976 to protect business interest of
all the travel agents across the country and also to ensure healthy growth of travel and
tourism industry of the country as a whole. It has currently 3150 members registered
under its belt. All these travel agents facilitate the flight ticket booking and hotel renting
and booking service in some cases.

Tours Operator Association of Bangladesh (TOAB):

It is another key stakeholder who promotes the tourism industry of Bangladesh by

providing different segments of tour packages to the interested tourist and visitors. It
gained approval from the Government of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the
year 2002 and contributed positively towards upholding the tourism sector of
Bangladesh.

Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA):

It consists a member pool of more than 21 hotels is the official representative
organization of the hoteliers of the countries hospitality sector and its aim is to secure the
due importance of the hotel and hospitality sector of the country. It wants to promote and
facilitate the tourism industry of the country and create a vibrant and world-class hotel
and hospitality sector in Bangladesh.

3.5 Promotion:

Promotion is an extremely important tool used in marketing. Usually marketers use

promotion in order to communicate and let the public know about their product.
Moreover, through promotion the marketers try to influence the target market by means of
interpellation, promoting their products better than any other similar products, or by
changing the views, awareness, beliefs and feelings of probable customers. According to
(Mulla,2006), promotion is stated as “Marketing activity that involves the persuasion
contacting process through which the sender defines a commodity, service, idea, place,
person or a pattern of behavior for the purpose of influencing the members of a particular
audience’s mind, to appeal to their response behavioral about what promotes”. Promotion
can also act as the medium of communication to express the promoter’s vision or thought
to the targeted consumer. In this regard it can be said that marketing communication is
applied to acquaint or persuade the target market segment about the features and
worthiness of the product, service brand or issues. The ultimate goal of promotion is to
instigate likeness towards a product or service which can potentially transform into sales
or in the creation of brand loyalty (McCarthy, 1964). Promotion, as one of the
components of the “4 P’s” marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place) was
defined as a “company’s total marketing communications program” (Kotler, Bowen,
Makens, 1999). Promotion being one of the most significant elements of marketing mix
must be consistent with the overall marketing plan of a business. The aim of promotion is
to discover the target group to which promotion is conducted, to find the effective
advertising sales support and public relation programs to be planned and to select the
appropriate action that needs to be taken to control and evaluate the promotion operation
(Baldemoro, 2013). Therefore promotion acts as one of the prime facilitator for initiating
sales of a product or service. According to (Padhy, 2011:21) “promotion may be defined
as “the co-ordination of all seller initiated efforts to set up channels of information and
persuasion to facilitate the sale of a good or service”. The father of modern marketing
Dr.Philip Kotler described promotion as the practices used to connect and attract
consumers to the products or services and their merits (Kotler, 1999). In case of
marketing of s product, promotion if done adequately and through the right means can
help to communicate the marketing proposition for a product. Marketers work hard to
create a unique proposition for their product and service (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan,
2010).

3.6 Classification of promotions with relevance to Tourism Industry:

The promotional mix elements of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion public
relations and direct marketing does help organizations and businesses to communicate
with their target market (Kotler, Armstrong, 2011). But in case of tourism marketing the
promotional elements of Above The Line (ATL) promotion, Below The Line (BTL)
promotion and Through The Line promotion (TTL) showcases more relevance

Above The Line Promotion (ATL):

Above the line promotions or ATL are widely practiced promotional activities carried out
by companies through mass media (McCabe, 2010, p.205).ATL promotions are
conducted through placement of advertisements in newspapers, magazines and cinema,
and on television, radio, billboards and on the internet etc. As a company tries to get
access to mass audience through ATL it tries to convey uniform and undistorted message
to the audience that would eventually help to reinforce the image of the brand or create
brand identity. It will also help to communicate the product or interpret information that
the marketers are willing to communicate and would also aim to gain an emotional
response or raise some sort of feelings among the targeted audience’s (Miller, Vandome,
& McBrewster, 2010). In case of ATL promotions the range and span of the promotional
and advertising campaigns are long term in nature. As the message or information needed
to communicate can reach the mass audience or the targeted audience in quick time so
ATL method of promotions are widely used for new product or service launch.
Promotions through ATL are largely untargeted; and this medium tries to convey the
message to the people who has access to it (Pahwa, 2019).

Below The Line Promotions (BTL):

Below The Line promotions or popularly known as BTL refers to non-media forms of
communications or advertisement. Such promotional method consists of consumer
promotions, point of purchase promotions, promotions through exhibitions, sponsorship
activities, public relations and sales promotions such as: competitions, price promotions
etc. (McCabe, 2010, p.205). BTL promotions are indented to establish relationship with
the targeted customers and are generally consistent with the respective company’s mass
media promotional efforts. As BTL promotional efforts are short term in nature so, any
promotional activity under its realm does not last for a much longer span of time; in fact
very rarely sales promotional efforts extends more than six months. Instead of building
the brand and reaching the humongous crowd of audience, BTL aims to reach targeted
segment or selective pool of consumers directly through the required level of promotions
by means of conducting extensive market research to identify theniche market segment.
Such characteristics of BTL help marketers to understand the targeted customers better as
it draws instant reactions from them. As modern marketing activities require more time,
effort and money so, companies are increasingly looking for the right mode of
promotions which would be worth financing. In regard to this, wide range of companies
are using BTL promotional methods as it is less expensive compared to ATL; and as BTL
promotions can directly influence sales numbers so, marketers are able to get valuable
insight to their return on investment (ROI) situation (Miller, Vandome, &McBrewster,
2010).

Through The Line Promotions (TTL):

Through The Line Promotion which is also commonly known as TTL is a blend of both
Above the Line (ATL) and Below The Line (BTL) promotional tool and strategies. The
modern marketing trend which is increasingly getting diverse as people are continuously
being bombarded with clusters of promotions, and advertisements demands marketers to
look for more than one way of promotional strategies or policies to make a mark in this
globalised competitive market. So in order to gain better results the integration of both
ATL and BTL promotional strategies are exceptionally essential. In this regard, 360°
promotional campaigns consistently communicate a uniform message through all their
promotional campaigns to create maximum impact. Such campaigns are developed with
the vision of brand building as well as conversions. Cookie based advertising in websites,
social media and other digital platform appears to be BTL promotional technique while
essentially offering ATL promotional benefits. TTL method of promotions has better
return on investment situation similar to BTL promotional method (Pahwa, 2019). More
over as this approach enhances brand engagement at multiple points so it helps to reach a
wide range of audience while also keeping the door open for its targeted nature and
conversation focused promotional opportunity. Some of the TTL methods of promotions
which are widely used by increasing number companies today are: participation or
organizing fairs/events, web marketing, and social media promotional campaigns etc.

3.7 Tourism Promotion:

Tourism is mainly service based sector and intangible too so it is quite difficult and
challenging task to market the intangible product than tangible product like FMCG and
automobile (Ray, N., & Das, D. K., 2011). In case of tourism promotion the aim is to
encourage the actual or potential customers to tour and travel different tourist sites,
locations and destinations through the spreading of information. In order to market tourist
product, service or destination promotion is one of the most important marketing mix
element that is being used(Hasan, M., 2015).In order to market a destination it is
imperative to identify what tourists would like to see and do. Then apply effective
methods to meet those needs. Generally, any potential tourist would wish to know about
the tourist products, services, facilities and destination in advance. Moreover, promotion
in case of tourism can assist to attract the attention of the prospectus tourists, revamp the
current buyer’s attitude and entice them to tour a destination again (Mill, Morrison,
2009). Promotional activities or promotional measures can contribute to provide the
much needed appealing message or information to the potential tourists and influence
them to visit the destination (Christian, 2016).
3.8 Some Promotional Practices of Tourism in Bangladesh:

The most important aspect of tourism marketing is promotion and in this regard BPC’s
effort is not something that it can brag about when compared to other related
organizations operating internationally. BPC or the Bangladesh Tourism board
participates in international tourism exhibition through which it intends to offer tour
packages to international tour operators and individual visitors in the fairs (Mortuza. A.,
2014).In 2016 the government introduced “Visit Bangladesh Year” campaign which will
be observed throughout the next three years, until 2018. In that regard BPC organized
various programs such as: like raising awareness among the locals about tourism and
hygienic food preparation, marketing, surfing programs in Cox's Bazar, food festivals,
kite festivals, cultural programs, and folk music soiree etc. Parjatan Bichitra also
organized Asian Tourism Fair, which was participated by Bangladesh Parjatan
Corporation and the civil aviation and tourism ministry (Howlader, 2016). Celebrating
with a lot of programs, full of pomp and grandeur, inside the country does not prove to be
very effective to help attracting more international tourists rather the focus should be
towards the international market. In the local market, BPC rarely advertise in different
newspapers, magazines, television and radio. (Hasan, 2016).Members of the association
“Tours Operator Association of Bangladesh (TOAB)” promotes the tourism businesses of
Bangladesh to attract inbound and outbound tourists (Siddiqi, 2006). For the past few
years internet became the prime source of information for tourist, travel agencies all over
the world. Travel agents of Bangladesh should be able to apply their skills in promoting
the tourism sector and make good use of this modern internet technology in order to
attract current and future tourists (Maselli, 2002). It is now evident that, high number of
stakeholders of the tourism industry is focusing on the digital platform for promotion
besides the traditional alternatives present. Advertising is the best way for initial publicity
of tourist attractions (Al-Masud, T.M.M., 2015). Sadly, Bangladesh Tourism Board
doesn’t put advertisement on international television channels such as BBC and CNN the
two most viewed TV channels in the world. On the other hand, Macedonia a poor, small
country (area: 9,779 sq mi) in Europe puts ad of its tourism on the BBC Television on
regular basis. Maldives our small neighbor does the same thing (Hasan, 2016). Although
the scope of promotion and the effectiveness of it is deeply felt by the relevant
stakeholders but ironically not enough effort or steps are taken or made in this regard.

3.9 Some Promotional Practices of Tourism Internationally:

Neighboring country India which is gifted with diverse and contrasting landscape and
natural beauty and historical monuments understood the importance of promotion and
launched the “Incredible India” and “AthithiDevoVava” campaigns (English: “The guest
is God” or “Guest become God”). It understood the importance of promoting itself as
hospitable nation besides promoting its tourist destination. The term “The guest is God”
which was taken from an ancient Hindu scripture became its code of conduct to deal with
foreign tourists. The significance of creating positive frame of mind among tourists in a
third world country where tourist might hesitate about the level of hospitability was
smartly portrayed by the Indian Tourism board. Hence, India Tourism Board can be
credited due to the successful promotion, selling, repositioning and revitalizing the Indian
tourism industry through world class tourism promotion campaigns and effective selling
strategies (Ray, N., & Das, D. K. (2011). Famous and most watched television channels
of the world portray the richness of India as a tourist destination through well-crafted
TVC made by Indian Tourism Board. Whether we name BBC, CNN, National
Geographic Channel or Discovery and Travel & Living channel (TLC) etc. all of these
channels frequently play the “Incredible India” TVC on their channels which help India
to get access to huge number of potential or actual tourists stationed around the world. In
addition to this the series of TVC and print advertisement under the banner of “Incredible
India” depicts India as a one of a kind land which provides special opportunity for
physical invigoration, mental rejuvenation and cultural enrichment and spiritual elevation
(Singh, S., &Turan, M. S., 2007). In case of hospitality industry which complements the
tourism industry; India has eclipsed far ahead of Bangladesh and its neighboring SAARC
countries. The strong and vibrant private sector along with new IT based entrepreneurs
and firms with unique business models are helping to go beyond the geographical
boundary of India. One appropriate example for this is the emergence of Trivago an
online based hotel booking platform which essentially works as a hub for 53 booking
sites for 400,000 hotels worldwide. Additionally Trivago integrated over 15 million hotel
reviews and shows the overall rating for each hotel. Now international tourists can
compare, evaluate and book hotels anywhere around the world most notably at any tourist
destination in India.Trivago carries out extensive promotion through electronic media,
print media and through different online platforms and social networking sites. Another
notable element of the Indian tourism industry is its diversification away from traditional
scenic and beautiful sightseeing aspect of tourism. Rather the country has now made its
mark as sought after destination for medical tourism. India emerged as the affordable or
low cost medical tourism destination as patients came from privately funded health care
system or from countries where there are lack of quality medical treatment (Burkett,
2007; Connell, 2008; Ramirez de Arellano, 2007; Unti, 2009). Medical tourism is
actively promoted by the Government of India and is fuelled by the private or corporate
sector. Promotion of medical tourism is done through various means some of which are:
conducting trade shows, conferences, broachers, and leaflets and through assigning
promoting or commission agents in different countries around the world. Besides India
other notable countries who are promoting affordable medical tourism are Cuba, Costa
Rica, Hungary, Lithuania, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia
(Aniza, I., Aidalina, M., Nirmalini, R., Inggit, M., &Ajeng, T., 2009). Drawing the
attention towards Malaysia, it has emerged as one of the most highlighted tourist
attractions in the world. As of now, tourism became one of the major foreign exchange
earning sources for the country’s economy. With the tag line “Malaysia Truly Asia” the
government’s aim is to promote the country as a land of diverse culture as it is also home
to some of the major civilization in Asia such as Malays, Chinese and Indians.
Promotions aim to consolidate the country’s image as the most likable or preferred tourist
destination. Promotional materials such as tourism brochures, billboards, and
advertisement on the international magazines and television channels help to catch the
attention of international tourists. Besides this, with the collaboration of Singapore joint
promotions and marketing campaign aimed at promoting both the destinations were also
conducted. Furthermore, in order to promote its attractions Malaysia regularly
participates in worldwide exhibitions, travel conferences and meetings and events; hence
effectively establishing close bonding and partnership with major travel players of the
world media houses of the target market (Mosbah, A., & Al Khuja, M. S. A., 2014).
Nepal, the beautiful country consisting the Himalayan range; celebrated tourism year in
2011.The celebrations culminated in the organizing of the Nepali Diasporas in different
cities of Europe and America and also organizing of tourism road shows (Hasan,
2016).The small island country of Mauritius with exotic beach and breathtaking sites is
expected 89000 Indian tourist in 2018 and hopes that this number will increase to even
astounding figures of 1,20,000 by the year 2020. A significant portion of these tourists
are Indian entertainment and Film industry people who are choosing Mauritius to shoot
their movies. A top official of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) said that
they offer 30 per cent rebate on all expenses incurred in Mauritius by a movie producer
for shooting the film in Mauritius (The Pioneer, 2018). China, another Asian powerhouse
and also the world’s second biggest economy. With the increase in the number of middle
class and upper class people in the country, who are increasingly finding the Western
culture as a powerful motivating factor; China is experiencing an exceptional level of
outbound tourist traveling away from the country (Kim, Hwa-Kyung & Lee, Timothy,
2018). In 2018, China was placed as the 5th largest overseas market for the United States
tourism industry. Influx number of tourists continues to visit U.S. and as a result major
U.S. destinations are able to tap into this lucrative market by means of contract agreement
and partnership with marketing and PRcompanies to promote their destinations or
organizations (Travel and Tourism China, 2019, July 30).
 Chapter 4 (Research Methodology)

4.1 Introduction

This chapter contains the purpose of the research and research. The chapter also
elaborates the research approach and the design of the research which was followed to
gain the aims and objectives of the research. It also justifies the reasons for using the
methods over others and also the limitations of the study.

4.2 Purpose of Research:

On the basis of Purpose Business research can be classified into 3 types. They are:

1. Exploratory research is a type of initial research which is conducted to clarify and

define the nature of a problem (Zikmund, 2013). The purpose of exploratory
research is to constructively narrow down the broadness of the research topic and
convert the uncovered problems into defined ones by incorporating specific
research objectives. The researcher can slowly sharpen the concepts by reviewing
any existing studies on the subject, speaking to knowledgeable individuals and
informally investigating the circumstances.
2. Descriptive research is designed to describe the characteristics of a population or
a phenomenon (Zikmund, 2013). After the researcher has gained firm grasp of the
situation being studied then the descriptive research is conducted. This
interpretation which is partly formed from the exploratory research, guides the
analysis to specific issues. Through descriptive research it is often possible to
describe market segments.

3. Causal research is conducted to identify cause and effect relationships among

variables when the research problem is already been narrowly defined (Zikmund,
2013). The researcher typically has already gained good understanding of the fact
or situation being studied before conducting the causal research. Due to this it is
possible for the researcher to make educated predictions about the cause-and-
effect relationship that will be tested. Often causal research design can take long
 time to implement and can also prove to be very expensive due to intricate
designs.

This research is exploratory research as it explores the current promotional and marketing
aspects of Bangladesh tourism industry and also highlights the current situation of the
tourism industry as whole.

4.3 Research Data:

There are two types of research data, they are:

Primary Data:

These are the information that the researcher generates or gathers exclusively for the
current research project (Malhotra, 1998).

Secondary Data:
Data previously obtained by someone other than the researcher for a different research
purpose or the current research project (Zikmund, 2013).
For this research primary data was used. Data were collected by interviewing the
respondents directly by providing them with a collection of questionnaires and later
asking them about them; which were further recorded by a mobile phone.

4.4 Research Design

There are 3 types of research designs. They are:

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative Research
• Triangulation Research

Qualitative research design was applied on this research process. It is a type of social
science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to
interpret meaning from these data that help us understand social life through the study of
targeted populations or places (Dörnyei, 2007). A qualitative research process involves
the collection, analysis and interpretation of data by means of observing what people do
and say. This type of analysis includes stronger, comprehensive and in-depth findings.
The data collection process for such kind of research is unstructured in nature and the
analysis of data is also non-statistical. The aim of the research is to establish an initial
understanding.

4.5 Sampling

Sampling is the process of using a small number of items or parts of a larger population
to make conclusions about the whole population (Zikmund, 2013). Sampling adds several
benefits in a study, as it saves time and helps to avoid clichéd activities and things in a
research work. By usage of appropriate methods high level of accuracy can be achieved
in terms of results in a comparatively short span of time. Furthermore, elaborate and rich
information can be gained from less amount of available resource.

4.6 Classification of Sampling:

Sampling can be classified on the basis of Sampling Techniques. There are two types of
sampling techniques:
1) Non-probability Sampling Techniques.
2) Probability Sampling Techniques.

There are 4 types of non-probability sampling techniques. In this research the convenience
sampling technique is used to conduct the research as interview of the respondents were
taken based on their most convenient time.

Convenience sampling:
It is the sampling procedure which is used to obtain those units or people most conveniently
available. Researchers generally use convenience samples to obtain many completed
questionnaires quickly and economically (Zikmund, 2013). For example, for this research
interview were conducted from 8 persons by giving them a questionnaire at their most
convenient time which generally takes 10 to 25 minutes.
In total 8 persons were interviewed in order to gain firsthand information for this research
purpose. Questionnaires were provided to them in advance and interviews were later
conducted after securing their appointments at their convenient hours. Generally, it took 10-
25 minutes to conduct the overall in-depth interview process.

Sample size:
The sample size of this research is 8. Out of these 8 samples, 6 are Management officials of
renowned private hotels and 1 is official from government owned organization and the last
interviewee is an official from private tour operating agency.

4.7 Interview Protocol:

Prior to conducting the interview the questionnaire was provided to each interviewee
mentioning the reason for conducting the interview and illustrating the topics that should
be asked before the questionnaire. Later, at their convenient time and place the interviews
were successfully conducted. Before beginning the interview each interviewee was
explained about the intent behind conducting the interview and the purpose for the
research. Due permissions were taken from the interviewee for recording the interview
and using it for further analysis. In the interview, apart from the questions set out in the
questionnaire, several probing questions were also asked in order to have a clear
understanding of a specific issue.
Time of Interview:
Date:
Place:
Interviewer:
Interviewee:
Position of Interviewee:
For the research of Tourism Marketing Bangladesh Perspective, a semi-structured in-
depth interview will be taken for the purpose of exploring the promotional activities
practiced in promoting the tourism industry of Bangladesh and to analyze or asses the
current issues of tourism in Bangladesh. The data will be kept confidential and used
further for the thematic analysis of the study. The interview will take for 10 to 25
minutes.
Questions:

1) What is the present situation of tourism in Bangladesh?

2) What are the current marketing and promotional techniques or strategy
adopted\practiced by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation?
3) How successful or unsuccessful is this current marketing and promotional
strategy?
4) How important is promotion in terms attracting foreign tourists to Bangladesh?
5) What are the challenges faced by the stakeholders in case of promoting or
marketing the general or specific tourist’s sites or destinations?
6) What are the future prospects of Bangladesh tourism sector given that the right
marketing is done in this field?
Thank you for your co-operation and participation in the interview.

4.8 Chapter summary:

The chapter thoroughly discusses the way the research has been designed and the
methods that have been put into effect to conduct the analysis. Furthermore the process of
collecting the data was mentioned. Besides this, the interview protocol based on which
the interviewees were conducted from the related interviewees’ was also highlighted.
 Chapter 5: Findings & Analysis

5.1 Introduction:

A thorough analysis of the respected study has been elaborated in this particular chapter.
The findings were thematically analyzed which were retrieved from the collected data.
The findings of the data were narrowed down to a particular theme which further
comprised of some more sub-themes under its belt and were thematically analyzed to find
out the perception of the related stakeholders about the promotional aspect of Bangladesh
tourism marketing and the obstacles relating to this.

5.2 The Profile of the interviewees:

The research study about the perception of the related stakeholders about the promotional
aspect of Bangladesh tourism marketing and its obstacles consists of 10 semi-structured
interview questions and the interviewees were the officials of different 3-5 star hotels,
tourism agency and government organization.

The interviewees were divided into 4 demographic profiles; they are: gender, occupation,
Job Experience, Location. All the interviewees were male. Categorizing them on the
basis of nature of occupation we have found that 6 were top officials from private 3-5 star
hotels, one worked as the marketing head of a tourism agency and the last interviewee is
also a top official of a government owned tourism organization. In terms of job
experience 2 interviewees had 1-5 years of experience in the related field of work, 3
worked in the related industry for a period between 5-10 years and the other 3 had a work
experience of 10-15 years. The current job placements of the interviewees were as
follows: Dhaka- 1 interviewee, Chittagong- 4 Interviewee, Cox’s Bazaar- 3 interviewee.
The demographic details of the interviewees are presented below:
Table: The demographic profile of the interviewees

Demographic Features No. of interviewees

Male 8
Gender
Female 0
Hotelier 6

Occupation Agency 1

Government Organization 1
1-5 Years 2

Work Experience 5-10 Years 3

10-15 Years 3
Dhaka 1

Location Chittagong 4

Cox’s Bazar 3

Total: 10 Interviewees

5.3 Qualitative Data Transcription:

The interviews were conducted at the best suited time of the interviewee for his or her
convenience. More over the interviews were recorded over the phone for further analysis.
The mode of communication for the interview process was verbal and both Bangla and
English languages were used with respect to the preference of the interviewee. After the
interview the audio files was converted into written transcripts for analyzing the gathered
data thematically. From the transcription, some speeches were highlighted under each
sub-theme which was expressed by the interviewees in their interview.

5.4 Qualitative Data Analysis (Thematic Analysis):

This research study as being a qualitative research, the data gathered from the
interviewees were furthered analyzed thematically.
Thematic analysis is a qualitative analytic approach aimed at identifying patterns
(“themes”) across qualitative datasets (Braun, Virginia; Clarke, Victoria 2019). It is also
viewed as a method of systematically identifying, organizing, and offering insight into
patterns of meaning (themes) across a data set. By means of focusing on the on the
meaning across a data set, the researcher gets the opportunity to view and give create
sense of collective or shared meaning and experience. Thematic analysis doesn’t focus on
identifying unique andidiosyncratic meanings and experiences available within a single
data set (Braun, 2014). TA can be an important and realistic method which depicts
experience, meanings and the reality of participants or can act as the constructionist
method, that helps to evaluate the way in which events, realities, meaning, experiences
and so on are the effect of a range of discourses operating within the society (Braun,V.,
& Clarke, V. , 2006).

5.5 Branding Themes and Sub-Themes:

In order to explore the promotional aspect of Bangladesh tourism sector “The Perception
of Hoteliers, BPC and Agency” was selected as the theme. In this case the mentioned
stakeholder’s perception will help to identify the actual findings of the following sub-
themes

Theme: Perception of stakeholders about

• Tourism Fairs
• Online Promotion
• Impact of infrastructure on promotion
 • Impact of facilities
• Unconventional marketing practices
• Image of the country

Table 2: Summary of Theme and Sub-Themes

Theme Sub-Themes Interviewees

Tourism Fairs 7
Online Promotion 6
Impact of infrastructure
4
on promotion
The Perception of Hoteliers,
BPC and Agency Impact of facilities 8
Unconventional
3
marketing practices
Image of the country 5

5.6 Sub-Theme: Tourism Fair

Conducting interviews in this qualitative research process helped to highlight the

perception of interviewees regarding the first sub-theme Tourism fairs. Out of 8
interviewees 7 of them overwhelmingly pointed out their opinion in this regard. They
highlighted the current and future ways of conducting tourism fairs as it is thought to be
the prime tool for promoting Bangladesh tourism industry and they have also expressed
their satisfaction or dissatisfaction in this regard. One interviewee rightly pointed out the
present activities of such kind in order to promote the country’s tourism industry.

“For the purpose of promotion and marketing of Bangladesh tourism the

government established another organization which is named Bangladesh
Tourism Board. Through this Tourism Board the government is organizing
different fairs in different countries around the world where delegates from
different organization of the country and stakeholders participate”-(Interviewee:
1)
Contrastingly another notable interviewee conveyed his frustration and deep
dissatisfaction while sharing his view about the promotional practice of BPC or Tourism
Board in this regard. On his part he specifically said:

“They don’t do anything significant in terms of marketing and promotion. But

they should do the marketing in the abroad; minimum 2 or 3 or even more fairs in
the abroad regarding our Bangladesh Parjatan spot” (Interviewee-6)

The significance of this most important promotional activity which has the potential to
create impactful contribution on the future of Bangladesh tourism industry was again
highlighted by another interviewee. He pointed out that:

“If government and we promote conscious like branding our country as well as
our tourism spot, our resource and our historical point and natural beach and all
other things, if we promote to the outside of the country as well as the branding to
world expo or something like that, or world tourism and international events it
will be more successful.” (Interviewee-7)

Another interviewee aligned this particular promotional factor with that of the current
marketing practice of the industry. He said

“Actually you know year in Bangladesh tourism fair is an ongoing process like
Asian Tourism fair and Bangladesh tourism fair is part of this so this is actually
government and private sector collaborating to explore on this thing in order to
explore our country’s tourist place.”(Interviewee-4)

According to the above finings it is imperative to say that organizing tourism fairs both
internationally and locally has significant importance but according to the industry
experts the frequency, numbers and structure of such fairs should be greatly increased.
Fairs of such kind have been the highlight of the promotional practice for a very long
time where the related stakeholders come under one roof and try to lure tourists to the
country. Eventually, if such fairs are conducted more often than it will boost this
industry.
5.7 Sub-Theme: Online Promotion

An interviewee on the other hand had a measured approach towards the promotional
practices of BPC in portraying the beauty of Bangladesh to a larger audience. From a
pool of 8 interviewees 6 of them responded about this factor. In order to have high
frequency of viewing of promotional materials by the targeted audience it needs equal, if
not more vigorous promotional activities. In this regard his exact words were:

“I have seen in the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) information on

Facebook and online. But I think they have more scope to advertise to encourage
the people and give more information to the people. You know, this is the era of
information technology. So, maximum marketing is based on IT.”(Interviewee-2)

The later interviewee conveyed the need of online promotion a matter of priority due to
the changing or current trend or behavior of people in this regard he said:

“Focus on Facebook, online and digital marketing has become our current
priority because in Bangladesh almost maximum people are using Facebook so it
is easy to get in touch with them without any hassle we can give timeline stories
which can reach maximum people to see it.” (Interviewee-8)

Another interviewee opted for crediting the government tourism organization for its role
in the promotional activity through the online platform. He said:

“Social media promotions are being done by BPC and it has been playing good
role for promoting tourism in the country through uploading teaser on its pages.”
(Interviewee-5)

From the analysis of the above data it can be concluded that the contribution and
application of social and online media promotion is extremely important and has turned
out to be a mandatory promotional practice of the modern times due to the increasing
number of rate at which people are using them. Bangladesh tourism is no exception to
this growing trend of promoting through social and online media and needs to improve
their presence in this respective field of promotion to attract people and targeted audience
who are far away from our geographical boundary.

5.8 Sub-Theme: Increased tax and cost

The stakeholder’s perception regarding the tax and cost structure of the service related
activity of the tourism industry is another notable finding of this study. It is imperative to
say that for any service related industry the cost saving factor works as a trump card
which can eventually help the stakeholders of the Bangladesh tourism industry to triumph
over the competing forces of other countries. Regarding this sub-theme 4 out of 8
interviewees provided their valuable feedback. One interviewee made a bold statement
about the reality of the situation in this regard. He said:

“But the hospitality industry, when a foreigner comes in they are giving the
foreign currency and as well as not only the hotel and foods and logistic things
,they are coming through the airlines, they are using our local transport, they are
buying from the shop and they want when they enter the country they spend the
foreign currency. In that case when guests come to any hotel, the government is
not giving any kind of exemption like other industry they are giving, they are
promoting to encourage the business for the foreigner. But in this sector they are
not giving. We are paying the foreign guests vat. In the foreign currency earners
company they should exempt the vat as well as the tax holiday. If they give the tax
holiday there will be more investment and this will be promoted to others.”
(Interviewee-3)

Another interview pointed out that getting taxes form hotels motels and other businesses
of this industry needs to be reinvested back into this sector in order to benefit the industry
as a whole. He highlighted this issue with a short but relatable example. He said:

“This is the government mechanism. They can do the needful; they are getting the
taxes and they are cutting all the bills but the facilities should be given to the
stakeholders but they are falling behind” (Interviewee-2)
Another interviewee viewed this particular factor of tax imposing practice of the
government as a positive one. In his view it is not unusual for the government to gain tax
benefit from this sector but also believes that there are always rooms for improvement.

“The taxes and vat is not much if you actually abide by it. The rules are not hard
for the obedient; the obedient person achieves what he wants to achieve. So, rules
are always good. Yes, things can get lenient and we might expect the government
to look into rooms for improvement.”(Interviewee-8)

In the end of the study regarding this particular sub-theme it is evident that the
importance of government support and a private stakeholder friendly tax and vat practice
that mutually benefits both the parties involved can help to boost more investment and
increased business activity. Tourism industry as a whole needs proper attention for
sustainable future growth.

5.9 Sub-Theme: Infrastructures Impact on marketing

Moving forward, the second sub-theme highlights the importance and impact of
infrastructure in terms of carrying out effective marketing campaign in order to promote
the tourism sector of Bangladesh. In this regard 8 interviewees out of 8 had shared their
opinion while conducting the interview. One interviewee had aligned the importance of
good infrastructure and its impact on marketing in the following fashion:

He said:

“In our area the problem is that when you come down we have the condition of
the road; so you see we have nothing to do about it. The tourists always feel like
having comfortable journey but don’t have it. So, for this road I am suffering. I
am doing marketing but when people are coming physically they are getting very
bitter experience.” (Interviewee-2)

Likewise the other interviewee also had the same feedback regarding the conditions of
the infrastructure of the country. Lack of infrastructures shows the backwardness of a
location and highlights its lacking to the visiting tourist community. Poor infrastructure
limits or reduces the satisfaction level of tourist as improved or adequate infrastructure is
like a basic necessity of the modern times. So the interviewee conveyed his valuable
thought in this regard.

He said:

“It is not just enough to attract foreign tourist, it is also important to create
proper infrastructure and train adequate number of manpower to make foreign
tourist’s stay in our country comfortable. Another notable problem that we have
is our country’s communication system.” (Interviewee-1)

The later interviewee unsurprisingly had similar tone while pointing out the impact of
infrastructure while promoting the tourism industry.

He said:

“People are always looking for easy communication. So in that case if the
government can do lot more things to improve this communication part from one
destination to another destination more easily then tourist movement will be much
more peaceful than now. We actually ask the government to improve the
infrastructural development so that smooth communication could be done.”
(Interviewee-4)

Another interviewee highlighted the significance of infrastructure maintenance and

development as a matter of relative significance. He said:

“Chittagong Sea Beach which is a very beautiful place but they are not
maintaining it like that” (Interviewee-3)

While almost all the interviewees who covered this particular sub-theme had raised
concern about the impact of inadequate infrastructure on tourism marketing. It is
imperative to say that one interview did highlight the initiative of the government in this
regard.

He said:
 “New train stations, airport, roads facilities and the dream project Padma
Bridge will add new dimension to the movement of tourists across destinations”
(Interviewee-4)

In the end of this very important sub-theme we can conclude that the importance of
infrastructure especially good communication and proper maintenance efforts play a
significant role for the stakeholders of the tourism industry to enhance and apply their
promotional and marketing activities. But evidently the current infrastructure condition of
the country is not satisfactory. Although the government on their part initiated some
projects to improve the infrastructures of the country but it seems that this is not enough.
More effort and improvement is extremely essential in this regard.

5.10 Sub-Theme: Facilities Impact on promotion

The importance and consequences of having or not having necessary tourism facilities is
another important discussion that has been depicted through the findings of the interviews
conducted in relation to this sub-theme. In this regard 7 interviewees out of 8 had shared
their opinion while conducting the interview. One interviewee in a melancholy tone
pointed out the sad reality of not having additional entertainment and leisure facilities
near the prime tourist spots of the country. In this regard he said that:

“In many of our hotels we don’t bar and swimming pool facilities. They are
interested in disco club or disco bar for enjoying their night life but we can’t
provide them with such facilities” (Interviewee-1)

Another respondent also echoed the same message of their promotions being effected for
not having enough tourist oriented facilities.

“As a destination we don’t have recreational facilities and foreign tourists might
like to sunbath and have privacy but they don’t get this here. Whenever anyone
makes a choice to visit any tourist destination they think about regarding
 everything related to the place; so if the place has not enough facilities than we
can’t promote well enough which affects our marketing strategy” (Interviewe-5).

The next interviewee viewed this very important topic in an optimistic way and
appreciated the effort of the current government about its effort in this regard and felt
inclusion of more facilities are rightly attracting more positive attention.

He said:

“The government is setting up special zones for foreign tourists. Earlier Cox’s
Bazar was only surrounded by the main city but now you know at Inani there is a
huge area to tourist sector. International properties started to come in Cox’s
Bazar so, all these shows good potential of tourist industry.” (Interviewee-4)

So, the important idea of having interesting recreational facility is of extreme importance
in this regard. Not having adequate facilities would back track the country’s tourism
industry in terms of promoting itself as a prime tourist destination. It is imperative to note
that tourists look into the complete package of a possible destination besides its naturally
present tourist spots. Hence, the government and related stakeholders needs to focus on
this particular issue with great importance.

5.11 Sub-Theme: Unconventional marketing practices

Almost all the interviewees spoke about the significance of promotion for shaping up a
positive impression of a tourist destination. In case of Bangladesh tourism industry which
is lagging behind from its more mature competitors; there is no choice but to allocate
overwhelming resources in promoting different sites, locations and facilities etc. In this
regard 3 interviewees out of 8 had shared their opinion while conducting the interview.
So, the interviewees provided a clear message about the importance of diverse
promotional practices during the interview. They discussed what could be possibly done
and how it is being practiced in other parts of the world. An interviewee said that

“You have to attract the people. We have all the scope. You can take the examples
from India, USA Miami Beach, even Pune India, Bangkok, Thailand, Malaysia,
 Indonesia. So they are promoting and they have strong earnings from this tourism
sector. So we can also adopt this”. (Interviewee-2)

Later, yet another interviewee had shared his thought with respect to the significance of
promotion; as he mentioned how other countries are benefiting from unconventional
promotions and how can we adopt or put into practice the same thing. He said:

“They have to bring foreigners as complimentary guests like India, USA and
other countries do as they conduct exchange program of people from other
countries. We can invite them and tell them look, come and see our place and then
they will spread the news and you have to have the record of all those things and
show it to the outside of the country like look how people coming to our place.”
(Interviewee-3)

On the other hand, another interviewee emphasized on the cultural aspect of promoting a
destination. In his view the culture and heritage of a country needs the right way of
portrayal during promotions as it can add a touch of authenticity and identity to the place.
In his interview he said:

“Emphasis should be given to promote the local culture especially that of local
tribes. It will help to demonstrate their own culture. Like Kolkata promoting their
local culture through Mother Terrasa and Rabindranath Tagore.” (Interviewee-
5)

The highlight of the above discussion and interviews shows that effective and creative
promotional activities is the necessity of the current condition of the country’s tourism
industry to make it a prosperous one. Future tourism potentials can only be achieved if
the tourist destinations, activities, and institutions; in short the tourism industry is rightly
promoted with multiple mode of promotions. In this regard through the line promotional
practices can be adopted. The expectations of the stakeholders of this industry is very
high and the government, BPC and the Tourism Board needs to take firm steps in this
regard as tourism is an international industry and almost all the countries are competing
to gain the maximum market share. If Bangladesh want to stand a chance in this stiff
global competition than it needs to focus on effective, integrated promotional policy as
rightly mentioned by all the interviewees.

5.12 Sub-Theme: Image of the country

The image of a tourist destination is a lot like the role of a hero in a movie. This is
because even if the script, music and budget of the movie is good but the poor or
undervalued image of the hero can hamper the success of the film at the box-office.
Similarly the image of a tourist destination plays an extremely important role in terms of
attracting tourists irrespective of how well facilitated, beautiful or developed the
destination is. Bangladesh has come a long way from its earlier days of birth when it was
termed as “bottomless basket” by Henry Kissenger. It is a developing nation now and has
massive scope to aid its tourism potentials with its improved image globally. In this
regard 5 out of 8 interviewees emphasized on the need for improvement of its image both
locally and globally. An interviewee said:

“We need to take effective measure to erode the negative perspective and image
that the international community have about Bangladesh such as: it is a poor
country, the country experiences a lot of natural calamities like cyclones and
flooding and presence of terrorism etc.” (Interviewee-1)

Another interviewee emphasized on the factor of portraying Bangladesh as safe haven for
the tourists as the political and security situation of the country has often tarnished the
image of the country in the past. He said:

“We are getting much local guest but they feel insecure because there is no
political safety and security. This is not good for the country’s image.”
(Interviewee-6)

The later interviewee had a unique take on this issue and interestingly emphasized on
refurbishing the image of the country from that of a business destination to that of a
tourism destination.
 “Right now a lot of people know Bangladesh as business destination thanks to our
well-known RMG sector but Bangladesh has huge potential as beautiful leisure
tourist destination. We need to brand Bangladesh in this regard so that foreigners
get a different perception about us.” (Interviewee-7)

With respect to the analysis of the above findings it can be concluded that the destination
image plays a very significant role in terms of attracting tourist. In this regard it has been
said that the behavior of travelers or tourists is highly influenced by the image of a
destination thus the selection process of a destination has the image factor ranked at the
top of the list as an influencing factor. The most popular destinations are those that have
been able to create a positive image among the tourists (Bonn et al, 2005). Bangladesh
has yet a long way to go to create a positive image internationally if it is compared with
the likes of south eastern Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore or with the likes of
more experienced western European countries such as France, Switzerland, and Spain
etc. creating a positive brand out of Bangladesh and portraying the country as a save
heaven and flag barrier of the modern ideology shall be the imminent concern for the
related authorities of this field of work. Authorities of the respected field shall take
appropriate measures to generate positive image of the country in the international arena
especially in the countries of Europe, America and Middle East (Mahboob, M. A. ,2008).

5.13 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, a broad analysis of this study is discussed through putting a thematic
analysis of the data gathered from the interviewees. For the validity and reliability of the
analysis some speeches from the interviewees were highlighted and were discussed upon
each sub-theme identified from the data of the study.
 6. Conclusion & Recommendation
6.1 Conclusion:

The study consists of an elaborate discussion about the tourism industry and the reasons
for which it holds significant importance in the modern world especially in the business
world. The discussions were backed by different facts and figures relevant to the study.
Furthermore, the current situation of the tourism industry and the problems present in this
tourism industry and the relevant stakeholders of this industry were rightly put forwarded
in this study. Moving forward to the literature review section, detailed information
regarding the definition of the term Tourism and more essentially the term promotion and
different local and international promotional practices were highlighted to showcase the
possible realistic image.

In order to find out the results of this study Qualitative research design was put into effect
and primary data were collected from the officials of the relevant stakeholders through
in-depth interview sessions based on semi-structured questionnaire which was discussed
previously in the literature review. Moreover the findings from the collected data were
thematically analyzed to conclude the results of the study. In the end it was concluded
that the tourism industry of Bangladesh lacks significant effort and allocation of
resources in terms of promoting different tourism sites, facilities, and destinations. The
contribution of the relevant stakeholders especially the relevant government agencies
must step up their contribution in this regard. The government through its agencies is the
primary most important promoter of a country and its image to the outside world. In
terms of tourism promotion adequate policies and guidelines, and support is extremely
important to help the positive growth of the tourism industry. In this regard there should
be long term planning and development of adequate infrastructure and facilities; private-
public partnership can help to address some of the current issues. Bangladesh is bestowed
with beautiful coasts and beaches, archeological sites, historical and religious places, hills
and islands, forests and jungles and rivers is waiting to unleash its true potential in the
tourism world but has a long way to go in order to make its mark in this vibrant and
competitive tourism industry.
6.2 Recommendation for further study:

• Further study can be done by collecting more sample size.

• Data can be gathered from different districts in Bangladesh.

• This research can work as an overview for further research but academically,
there is a big scope for more detailed research related to Bangladesh tourism in
future.

• International perceptive about the tourism industry of Bangladesh can be gained if

firsthand primary data can be collected from oversees in this regard.
 References:

• A balanced approach to tourism. (2019, April 15). The Financial Express.

Retrieved from https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/editorial/a-balanced-approach-

to-tourism-1555085106

• Afroz, F. (2016, November 22). Role of media in promoting tourism. The Daily

Sun. Retrieved from https://www.daily-sun.com/arcprint/details/185861/Role-of-

media-in-promoting-tourism/2016-11-22

• Al-Masud,T.M.M. (2015). Tourism Marketing in Bangladeh; What, Why and

How. Asian Business Review, 5(1), 13-19.

• Aniza, I., Aidalina, M., Nirmalini, R., Inggit, M., &Ajeng, T. (2009). Health

tourism in Malaysia: the strength and weaknesses. Journal of Community

Health, 15(1), 7-15.

• Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh. (n.d.). About ATAB. Copyright ©

2019. Retrieved from https://atab.org.bd/about-atab.html

• Balakrishnan, M.S. (2009). Commentary strategic branding of destinations: a

framework. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 43, No.5/6, pp.611-629.

• Baldemoro, J. (2013). Tourism promotion. Slide share.

• Beerli, A. & Martin, J (2004). Factors Influencing Destination Image, Annals of

Tourism Research, 31

• Bonn, A. et al (2005). International versus Domestic visitors: An Examination of

Destination Image Perceptions. Journal of Travel Research, 43

• Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (2009). “Tourism Statistics”. Retrieved on

November 26, 2019.

• Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation-People’s Republic of Bangladesh(n.d.).

Retrieved from http://www.parjatan.gov.bd/

• Bangladesh International Hotel Association (BIHA). (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved

from http://www.toab.org/index.php?action=page&page_id=6

• Burkett, L. (2007). Medical tourism: concerns, benefits and the American legal

perspective. The Journal of Legal Medicine, 28, 223-245.

• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology.

Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–

101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

• Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Terry, G. (2014). Thematic analysis. Qual Res Clin

Health Psychol, 24, 95-114.

• Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., & Terry, G. (2019). Thematic Analysis.

Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences, 843–

860. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_103

• China - Travel and Tourism China - Travel and Tourism. (2019, July 30).

Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://www.export.gov/article?id=China-

Travel-and-Tourism.

• Colt, S. (2015). What is marketing?. [online] Blog de Marketing. Available at:

https://blog.uchceu.es/marketing/what-is-marketing/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2019].

• Common, C. (2011). TOURISMOS–An International Multidisciplinary Journal

of Tourism. Vol. 6, no. 1. Chios: University of the Aegean.

• Connell, J. (2008). Tummy tucks and the Tajmahal? Medical tourism and the

globalization of health care. In A. G. Woodside, & D. Martin (Eds.), Tourism

management: Analysis, behaviour and strategy (pp. 232e244). King’s Lynn, UK:

Biddles.

• Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative,

qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Hankinson, G. (2004). The brand images of a tourism destination: a study of the

saliency of organic images. Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 13,

No.1, pp.6-14.

• Hasan SR (2005) Marketing publicity and sales promotion for tourism

development in Bangladesh Social Science Review 19, No. 2, Dhaka University,

Bangladesh.

• Hu, Y. & Ritchie, J.R.B. (1993). Measuring destination attractiveness: A

contextual approach. Journal of Travel Research. 32(2): 25-34.

• Hospitality Net. (n.d.). trivago. Retrieved from:

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/organization/17013229/trivago.html.

• Hasan, M. (2015). Promotional Activities in The Strategic Tourism Development

of Lapland: Case Study: Tour Operator’s appearance in social media.

• Hasan, F. (2016, February 25). Bangladesh Tourism Year 2016 and branding

Bangladesh. The Independent. Retrieved from:

http://www.theindependentbd.com/arcprint/details/35070/2016-02-25
• Howlader, Z. H. (2016, September 25). Parjatan Corporation takes campaigns to

boost tourism. The Daily Star. Retrieved from

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/parjatan-corporation-takes-campaigns-

boost-tourism-1289269

• International Tourism Highlights, 2019 Edition. (2019). BANGLADESH 2019

ANNUAL RESEARCH: KEY HIGHLIGHTS, 1. doi: 10.18111/9789284421152.

Retrived November 24, 2019, from https://www.wttc.org/economic-

impact/country-analysis/country-data/

• Islam, S. M. (2012). Tourism Marketing in Developing countries: a study of

Bangladesh (Doctoral dissertation, University of Strathclyde).

• Kozak, M., Crotts, J. C., & Law, R. (2007). The impact of the perception of risk

on international travellers. International Journal of Tourism Research, 9(4), 233-

242.

• Khan, S. (2013, March 31). Report on Tourism Marketing and Bangladesh

Prospect. Retrieved December 4, 2019

https://www.assignmentpoint.com/business/marketing-business/report-on-

tourism-marketing-and-bangladesh-prospect.html.

• Kotler, P., Bowen, J. T., Makens, J., Baloglu, S. (2017). Marketing for Hospitality

and Tourism. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

• Kotler, P. (1999). Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win and Dominate

Markets. Free press.

• Kotler, P., Bowen, J., &Makens, J. (1999). Marketing for tourism and hospitality.
• Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., &Setiawan, I. (2010). Marketing 3.0. Marketing 3.0:

From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit. doi: 10.1002/9781118257883

• Kotler. P, Armstrong. G, Principles of Marketing 14th Edition, 2011.

• Kim, Hwa-Kyung & Lee, Timothy. (2018). Brand Equity of a Tourist Destination.

Sustainability. 10. 431. 10.3390/su10020431.

• Laws, E. (2002). Tourism Marketing Quality and Service Management

Perspectives, Continuum, London

• Malhotra, M. K., & Grover, V. (1998). An assessment of survey research in POM:

from constructs to theory. Journal of operations management, 16(4), 407-425.

• Mahboob, M. A. (2008). Different aspects of Tourism marketing strategies with

special reference to Bangladesh: An Analysis. Published in Business Review, A

Journal of Business Administration, Khulna University, 6(1&2).

• Mulla,N. 2006. The origins of Marketing. Jordan: Wael Foundation for printing.

• McCarthy, E. J. (1964). Basic marketing: a managerial approach. Homewood, IL:

R.D. Irwin.

• Mosbah, A., & Al Khuja, M. S. A. (2014). A review of tourism development in

Malaysia. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(5), 1-9.

• Mill, R.C & Morrison, A.M. (2009). The Tourism System (6th e.d.). Kendall

Hunt Publishing, USA.

• Miller, F. P., Vandome, A. F., &McBrewster, J. (2010). Below the Line

(Advertising). ISBN 6134134430, 9786134134439.

• McCabe, S. (2010). Marketing Communications in Tourism and Hospitality.

London, England: Routledge.

• Mauritius expects 89,000 Indian tourists in 2018. (2018, September 3). The

Pioneer . Retrieved from https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/travel-with-the-

pioneer/mauritius-expects-89000-indian-tourists-in-2018.html

• Mortuza, A. (2014). An Analysis on Tourism Marketing in

Bangladesh. Almatourism-Journal of Tourism, Culture and Territorial

Development, 5(10), 162-168.

• Nath, Narayan Chandra(2007).”Tourism sector in Bangladesh: Insights from a

micro level survey”, paper Presented at the XVI Biennial Conference on

“Participatory Development :External and Internal Challenges” organized by the

Bangladesh Economic Association held on 12-15th December,2007 at Institution

of Engineers, Bangladesh ,Dhaka.

• Padhy, M. K. (2011). Advertising: A conceptual Framework. In Advertising

Management: Theory & Practice (p. 21). Delhi: University Science Press.

• Pahwa, A. (2019, October 18). Above the Line (ATL), Below the Line (BTL), &

Through the Line (TTL) Marketing. Retrieved from

https://www.feedough.com/atl-btl-ttl-marketing/.

• Rahman, M. S. (2012). Exploring Tourists' Perception: The Case of

Bangladesh. Tourismos: An international multidisciplinary journal of

tourism, 7(1), 81-98.

• Roy, S.C. & Roy, M. (2015). Tourism in Bangladesh: Present Status and Future

Prospects. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 1(8), 53-61.

• Ray, N., & Das, D. K. (2011). Marketing Practices for Promotion of Rural

Tourism: A Study OnKamarpukur, India. Journal of Business and

Economics, 2(5), 382-396.

• Ramirez de Arellano, A. (2007). Patients without borders: the emergence of

medical tourism. International Journal of Health Services, 37(1), 193-198.

• Shahid, M. (2004). “The tourism fair contributors to Bangladesh Economy”,

Holiday Aviation, August 31st, Dhaka Bangladesh

• Sultana, S. (2016). Economic contribution of tourism industry in

Bangladesh. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports, 1.

• Singh, S., &Turan, M. S. (2007). Indian Tourism in the paradigm of Incredible

India Campaign. JOHAR, 2(2),82.

• Siddiqi, S. (1999). Strategic geography and strategic corporate challenges: a

regiocentric perspective to the Middle East. Managerial Finance, Vol. 25, No.2,

pp.45-62

• Turner, R. (2014). http://ljournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/a-2017-

023.pdf. Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2014 World, 1–20. doi: 10.18411/a-

2017-023

• Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB). (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved

from http://www.toab.org/index.php?action=page&page_id=6
• TOURISM PROMOTION IN THE EU AND DESTINATION IMAGE. (2019,

April 29). Retrieved December from http://www.aalep.eu/tourism-promotion-eu-

and-destination-image.

• Unwto. (2005). Tourism Highlights Edition 2005 (English version). Retrieved

from https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284411900

• World Travel and Tourism Council. (1995). Travel and Tourism: A New

Economic Perspective, Elsevier Science, and Oxford

• WTTC, (2018). WTTC Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2018 Bangladesh.

Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.wttc.org/-

/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-

2018/bangladesh2018.pdf

• World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC): Annual report-2014: The Economic

Impact of Travel and Tourism 2014.

• Zahra, I. (2012). Destination image and tourism: A case study of

Bangladesh. European journal of business and management, 4(6), 18-27.

• Zikmund, W. G., Bablin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business

research methods. Cengage Learning.

 Research Questions

Name:

Address:

Mobile:

Interview Questions

1) What is the present situation of tourism in Bangladesh?

Ans.

2) What are the current marketing and promotional techniques or strategy

adopted\practiced by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation?

Ans.

3) How successful or unsuccessful is this current marketing and promotional

strategy?

Ans.

4) How important is promotion in terms attracting foreign tourists to Bangladesh?

Ans.

5) What are the challenges faced by the stakeholders in case of promoting or

marketing the general or specific tourist’s sites or destinations?

Ans.

6) What are the future prospects of Bangladesh tourism sector given that the right
marketing is done in this field?

Ans.
 Appendix

Sample: Interview Transcription

Interview of Bangaladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) (Mohammed Sarwar Uddin)

SHARIF: thank you so much for lending your valuable time. So, sir my first question to
you is; what is the current situation of tourism in Bangladesh?

BPC: Currently tourism industry in Bangladesh is growing very rapidly. As an industry it

is gradually becoming better and prosperous. In this case what we can say is that back in
the year 2000 the number of domestic tourists were maximum 5-10 lacks but now when
we look at this number in 2015 it has grown into 10-15 lacks and going forward to 2019-
20 about 50-60 lacks people now tours around the country in different tourist’s
destinations. With respect to this what we can see is that the tourism industry and the
number of tourists are growing at a phenomenal rate right now. With the increasing
number of tourists this industry is also positively contributing in the national GDP of the
country. Once people here were not used to tour a lot but now times have changed
increasing number of people are touring exploring the country. Moreover the numbers of
foreign tourists are also increasing day by day and this industry can be termed as an
income generating industry of the country. Bangladesh has huge man power and very
good number of human resource but we are not being able to use this human resource
effectively. It is an overpopulated country so, to engage and use this huge human
resource properly it is imperative for the development of the country’s tourism industry.
The tourism industry is increasingly generating growing numbers of jobs and
employment in the country. In this regard what I can say is that by the year 2026 the
tourism industry can directly or indirectly employ about 12 lacks and 97 thousand people.
According to one statistics it is shown that by the year 2020 around 2 trillion US Dollars
of income will be generated from the tourism industry of the world. By the year 2050
Bangladesh will be hosting tourist from around 51 countries of the world. In terms of
world tourist destination or country ranking of the year 2015, Bangladesh was placed 60
amongst 184 countries of the world. In the next 10 years Bangladesh is on track to reach
18th position on this ranking. The present government is taking a lot of initiative for the
betterment of this industry and is currently improving the infrastructure for the
development of this industry. The government is identifying and developing different
prospectus and present tourist destination throughout the country and are also working
hard to improve the communication system for the good of this industry. The hill tracts,
the longest unbroken sand beach at Cox’s Bazar, the biggest mangrove forest Sundarban
and the folk culture of our different native and ethnic people, the lakes, rivers and
mountains etc all these things does position Bangladesh to showcase itself as one of the
most attractive tourist destination of the world. Although we have such a beautiful and
diverse country but sadly it true that we are not being able to fetch the true positive
outcome from this lucrative industry of ours due to different problems and challenges. If
we can successfully overcome these challenges then I think Bangladesh can successfully
emerge as a prime tourist destination in the world map.

SHARIF: Sir if I may ask you about Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) and its
current marketing and promotional techniques or strategy adopted\practiced by it?

BPC: As you know that Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) has been founded by the
Father of The Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and it is the country’s
national tourism organization. This organization officially came into being in the year
1972 by the 143rd official decree from the president of Bangladesh and it started its
operation in the year 1973. The aim of Bangladesh Parjatabn Corporation (BPC) was to
make Bangladesh as one of the most attractive tourist destination of the world. The goal
of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation is to create international standard facilities and
services, ensure safety and security of the tourists, increase the promotion and marketing
of local and international tourist packages, develop adequate human resource for the
tourism industry of the country and facilitate and ensure a strong public and private
engagement in the tourism industry and create proper infrastructure for this industry.
Now, your question is what steps BPC took in terms of promotion and marketing of
Bangladesh tourism industry. In this regard it is imperative for me to inform you that for
the purpose of promotion and marketing of Bangladesh tourism the government
established another organization which is named Bangladesh Tourism Board. Through
this Tourism Board the government is organizing different fairs in different countries
around the world where delegates from different organization of the country and
stakeholders participate. In such fairs delegates from BPC and ministry of tourism also
participates. In these fairs we try to portray and promote the attractive tourist sites and
facilities available in Bangladesh. Locally BPC is working relentlessly to improve the
tourism sector of the country. BPC has an in house marketing department and centrally
the marketing activities are carried out by this dedicated marketing department.
Bangladesh Tourism Board carries out the marketing activities internationally. The
domestic marketing is carried out by BPC.

SHARIF: Sir as you said that The Tourism Board organizes different fairs abroad so does
the private stakeholders such as hotels and agencies takes part in such fairs?

BPC: Yes, hotels don’t participate in these fares but different travel agencies and tour
operators do participate in these fares. In every fair more than 2 to 5 tour operators and
agencies participates. They offer different packages and offers in these tourism fares to
tourist and foreign travel operators and agencies. They provide information regarding the
attractive tourist sites of the country, the available facilities and benefits for the tourist
and the possible cost needed for touring etc. they basically try to sell and market our
country and the countries tourism sector the tourist and others.

SHARIF: How successful or unsuccessful do you think is this current marketing and
promotional strategy that is practiced by the BPC or Bangladesh Tourism Board in order
to attract tourist to our countries?

BPC: I don’t think the current marketing and promotional efforts by Bangladesh Parjatan
Corporation and Bangladesh Tourism Board is enough, because I think that the marketing
and promotional efforts and strategies shall be boosted and increased. We can do tourism
marketing for our country through our embassies in different foreign countries, foreign
missions and consulates by creating a tourism cell out there. Through this means we can
promote our country’s endless tourism possibilities and also the existing tourism
elements present in the country. We see countries like Malaysia, Thailand and France etc
promoting their countries through television commercials in BBC and other international
channels which might not be possible by us due financial constrains. We need to take
effective measure to erode the negative perspective and image that the international
community have about Bangladesh such as: it is a poor country, the country experiences
a lot of natural calamities like cyclones and flooding and presence of terrorism etc. I think
we are not taking necessary steps or addressing the right causes at the right places to
signal out the fact that our country is in fact a beautiful country. If we do these than I
think Bangladesh will move forward taking huge strides ahead.

SHARIF: Sir, in accordance to you how important is promotion in terms attracting

foreign tourists to Bangladesh?

BPC: So as I said the number of local tourists has increased a lot in the recent years but I
also feel that attracting foreign tourist is a very important issue. In accordance to a data it
is said that one foreign tourist can provide employment or work facilities to around 4
local people. So, following this data we can say that if one lack foreign tourists visits our
country than around four lacks people will be employed. The current contribution of
tourism sector in the national GDP is only 1.5 % and if we convert it in monetary value
than the contribution stands for about sixteen thousand four hundred and nine corer BDT
only, but if we could have attracted increasing number of foreign tourist than our country
would have been able to create more employment opportunities. What are the needful
steps that we shall take to attract foreign tourist to our countries? I think we have a lot to
do in this regard; we have to boost and increase our marketing efforts. I don’t think our
current marketing strategy is strong enough; we need effective and successful marketing
strategy to attract foreign tourist. It is not just enough to attract foreign tourist, it is also
important to create proper infrastructure and train adequate number of manpower to make
foreign tourist’s stay in our country comfortable. Another notable problem that we have
is our country’s communication system. Sometimes it takes almost 12 to 14 hours of
journey to reach Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka.
SHARIF: Sir, in this regard my next question to you is that what are the challenges faced
by the stakeholders in case of promoting or marketing the general or specific tourist’s
sites or destinations? One of the obstacles that you rightly pointed out is our weak
communication system.

BPC: As I said pointed out earlier the communication system is an important issue.
Another important point is we need to create public awareness and public consciousness
regarding tourists and tourism. We also need to create a tourism friendly environment
which is also extremely important in this regard. Many of us don’t know or understand
what kind of environment and facilities do the foreign tourist want. I have been to many
countries around the world like Turkey, India and Germany etc.; over there the foreign
tourist gets a lot of freedom and lifestyle opportunity that they don’t get in our country.
We are not being able to give the foreign tourists the kind of exclusive and lucrative
environment that they look for. As the people of our country are not well adapted to the
lifestyle and culture of the foreign tourists so we are not being able to provide them the
lifestyle that they want to enjoy. We are not being able to fulfill the demand of the
foreign tourists the way they want to dress up in accordance to their preference. We are
not being able to fulfill the expectation of the foreign tourists. We are lagging behind in
terms of having proper infrastructure and facilities in our country you will see not every
zones or destinations of Bangladesh have got adequate facilities and infrastructure
available for the tourists. In many of our hotels we don’t bar and swimming pool
facilities. They are interested in disco club or disco bar for enjoying their night life but
we can’t provide them with such facilities. They are not used to the normal tendency of
roaming around a tourist site and going to sleep at their hotel rooms at night. So we are
not being able to create an enjoyable night life environment for the tourist, even if we do
it is not enough.

SHARIF: In this regard did our government agencies or private organizations took any
kind of initiative?
BPC: I think we have come forward a long way from the past in this regard. The present
government has a positive attitude towards this. We are looking to engage into different
public and private partnership projects. We have already started development works at
Parkir Char sea beach in Chittagong. At Cox’s Bazar Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation is
trying to build two five star category hotels named Labonno and Probal. I think in the
future we will be able to create a tourist friendly environment by constructing such
facilities and infrastructures and facilities. I think the government is willing enough to
develop the tourism industry of the country.

SHARIF (Probing Question): Sir, as you have mentioned about the issue of public
awareness and creating a tourist friendly environment; so, what are the necessary steps
that needs to be taken in this regard?

BPC: In case of creating awareness we need to do this locally. We need to aware the
people of that local community where the tourist spot is situated in. Cox’s Bazar is a
tourist destination, we need to motivate and gear up the local people out there regarding
the benefits that we need to provide to the foreign tourists in our country. We can
organize different seminars, meetings conferences to create awareness in them. We need
to gather them together and motivate them in this regard.

SHARIF (Probing Question): out of curiosity I would like to ask you a question. As you
have been able to meet a lot of foreign tourists so, from your personal experience can you
share with me their feedback or opinion about our country or our country’s tourism
sector?

BPC: Almost all of the foreign tourist whom I have met said that our country is a
beautiful country. They also say that we are a very hospitable nation. The only things that
they complain about is that our lack of facilities and our inadequate infrastructure.

SHARIF(Probing Questions): Sir, does the lack of inadequate facility hampers our
promotional efforts?
BPC: Lack of facility is one the main barrier in terms of promotion. But the current
governments have taken a number of measures to somewhat address this issue; such as:
constructing direct rail network from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar, the construction of Padma
Bridge. So, besides the construction of infrastructure isn’t enough; we need to promote
being the most hospitable nation of the world, we also need to create trained workforce
for this industry so that we are able to serve the expectation of the tourits in a manner
which would make them satisfied and happy. In doing so, we will be able to change the
perception of foreign tourists towards us.

SHARIF: sir, we are almost at the end of our interview session. Now, my next question to
you is that; what are the future prospects of Bangladesh tourism sector given that the
right marketing is done in this field?

BPC: Bangladesh is a country of natural beauty. In our country we have mountain, rivers,
favorable climate, longest beach and it is a country of six seasons. All these are rare
findings and thus all these can help to promote eco tourism, sustainable tourism and rural
tourism etc. our local lifestyle, archeological sites, historical sites all these are very
important. As you have asked in your last question about our future prospect of our
country’s tourism industry? I think the future of our tourism industry is very bright. As I
have told you earlier the tourism industry is growing day by day. The number of our local
and foreign tourists are also increasing day by day. The contribution of this sector in the
national GDP is also increasing along with the employment rate in this industry. So, we
can say that the tourism industry of our country have a positive trend. So what I believe is
that the future prospect of Bangladesh tourism industry is very bright and it will grow
more in the future if we can create public awareness, create proper infrastructure, get rid
of all the problems. If we can use the tourism elements of thecountry positively, change
the impression of foreign tourists towards our country by means of marketing or other
means than the future prospect of Bangladesh tourism is very bright.
SHARIF (Probing Question): Sir I would like to ask you a question personally, that is;
how does BPC or Bangladesh Tourism Board is supporting the private stakeholders of
the tourism industry?

BPC: We have always been supporting the private stakeholders of the tourism industry.
BPC has always been the first organization who establishes a hotel or motel at any new
found tourist sites in Bangladesh. At Cox’s Bazar once only we had 3-4 hotels when there
were few or no other hotels available out there. After establishing our hotel out there,
now there are almost 300-400 in operation there. In almost every tourist destination the
first organization to establish a hotel is BPC, we do this in order to encourage private
stakeholders to also get into the business out there. We also provide them the necessary
support. The government provide all kinds of support like land, space etc to the private
stakeholders to facilitate the creation of business friendly environment. The ministry
provides the star rankings of the hotels ranging from 3-5 star which is supervised directly
by the ministry officials in person. The ministry supervises or regulates the private
stakeholders like hotels or motels in order to ensure no foul practice is done in the
tourism and hospitality sector.

SHARIF: Thank you so much sir for lending us your valuable time. Concluding this
interview I would like to let you know that your feedback and information will be of
great help in our thesis and research work.
BPC: I also thank you for conducting this interview and I think through such interviews
and other means we will be able to identify the problems of the tourism industry and also
look into the future prospect of this industry. I wish you all the very best for your
research.