The World Tourism Day will be celebrated in the country on Tuesday (Sep 27) like elsewhere in the world highlighting the potentials of tourism.
The government and different organisations have chalked out various programmes to celebrate the day with the global theme 'Rethinking Tourism'.
President Md. Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the eve of the day wishing all-out success of the programmes marking the day, local media reported.
In his message, the President said Bangladesh has enormous potential to develop tourism industry and urged all the public and private stakeholders to carry out development activities in the tourism industry maintaining and preserving the environmental balance and the cultural heritage of the country.
If the tourism industry develops in these regions, employment opportunities will be created for a large number of people, which will become an important regulator in the development of the people's living standards and the development of the economy, he added.
"We celebrate the 'World Tourism Day' every year to create awareness about the social, cultural, political and economic importance of tourism as well as to inform everyone about the contribution of tourism in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and the national economy," he said.
The President said celebration of the World Tourism Day will encourage universal participation in tourism related activities as well as realizing the importance of the tourism industry in economic and social development.
He said tourism related public and private entrepreneurs and institutions must work in a coordinated and planned way for advancement of tourism industry.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her message said Bangladesh is a country with huge tourism potential. Magnificent natural beauty, rich history and diverse culture have made Bangladesh a unique tourist destination with multidimensional attractions, she added.
She said the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, Cox's Bazar, the world's longest beach, the pristine beauty of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet's green forests and many other natural beauty spots, Bangladesh's rich cultural heritage, historical and archaeological sites and hospitable people are equally popular to not only the domestic but also to the foreign tourists and visitors.
The greatest Bangalee of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took various steps to develop the tourism industry after independence, she said, adding that flowing the footprint of Bangabandhu, the Awami League government has taken a number of initiatives for the development of the country's tourism industry in the last 13 and a half year.
In addition to domestic and foreign investment for the development of tourism sector, the government has created various tourism facilities including infrastructural development to ensure participation of the marginalized people in tourism, she said.
She said all the government and private organizations related to tourism must work together for the national economic development in addition to the development of the tourism industry by upholding local culture, traditions and values.
"Let's work together for the development and evolution of tourism and build hunger-poverty-free Golden Bangladesh as dreamt by the Father of the Nation by effectively portraying the country's tourism industry in the world forum," she added.
