By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The centuries old Kasteel De Wittenburg Wassenaar, a UNESCO site, served as the location for the First Bangladesh Tourism Networking Event on the 12th October 2016.
Referring to the venue Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal facetiously remarked, finding one’s way to the Kasteeel could be difficult, it is similarly difficult to find out about tourism opportunities in Bangladesh (laughter).
The event took place in a pleasant and lay-backed atmosphere. The organizer of the event was the Embassy of the Republic of Bangladesh in The Hague under the direction of H.E Sheikh Mohamed Belal, with support from their Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Participants in the seminar included; the Bangladesh Tourism Authority, tour operators. Other members of the Bangladesh delegation were representatives of Straightway tours, Escape Bd, Bengal Logistics and Golpata Ecotours along with their Dutch counterparts and tour operators from Belgium.
After the welcome remarks by Ambassador Belal, he introduced his subject – An introduction of Bangladesh as a country. The Ambassador spoke frankly, from the heart whilst the Ambassadors dwelled on the striking similarities between the Netherlands and Bangladesh, to note a few; water, wind and the scarcity of land. “Bangladesh can learn a great deal from the Netherlands in how to deal with these phenomena as Bangladesh finds itself in the same situation as the Netherlands did many years ago.” Regarding terrorism both are combating terrorism. Ambassador Belal noted, “IS is neither Islamic nor is it a State.”
Ambassador Belal was quickly followed by Dr Aparup Chowdhury; Chairman of the Government Tourism Organization in Bangladesh. Dr Chowdhury indicated how the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared the year 2016 as the year of Tourism, with Cox Bazaar being the country’s top tourist attraction due its 120km of unbroken sandy beaches. Dr Chowdhury also added the Shrines of Chittagong and the Mosques of Dhaka to the list of top attractions in Bangladesh. As for the government’s plans, policy and program in order to facilitate tourism to Bangladesh, the government envisages a simplified visa system that introduces a E-visa system. Dr Chowdhury called Bangladesh a “truly Asian” destination.
The following speaker was Mrs. Joke Wittekoek who touched on the factor Tourism in Bangladesh from a tour operator’s perspective. Mrs. Wittekoek is the owner of a tourism agency and in her speech she reflected upon the opportunities for Bangladeshi tourism and how it could prosper.
There were interesting short promotional films between the discourses.
- Beautiful Bangladesh School of life,
- Visit Bangladesh – Life happens here,
- Beautiful Bangladesh Land of stories
The seminar had a session in which tour operators from both sides met on a one-one basis. Towards the end of the event Mr. Karel Kipperi, a Dutch producer and actor in the film Land of Stories delivered a speech. Kuiperi has been to all corners of the land which he loves so dearly; Bangladesh.
The discourse delivered by the duo Karel and Joke, who have both been living in Bangladesh for many years could be considered as a summary of recommendations for the audience and Bangladesh in general to take on board for the future. Both provided an invaluable insight on what might be of interest to a Dutch tourist, how to entice the tourist to visit Bangladesh, a beautiful country with incredible natural and geographical beauties and above all their incredibly hospitable people.
The purpose of the seminar was to help the Dutch Tour operators to better understand Bangladesh. Simultaneously to enhance existing situations and develop new attraction that can compete on the growing global tourism market.
