Acknowledgement
As a part of our studying Business Administration, our course instructor of Strategic Marketing
had assigned us to prepare project on Marketing Strategy of travel and tourism in Bangladesh.
At first, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and respect to our honorable faculty Mr.
Samy Ahmed, for his valuable contribution and lessons. His painstaking effort at importing his
students with the necessary skills and expertise goes far beyond his responsibilities as a teacher,
and we are very grateful to him.
We would also like to thank our friends who helped us to gather information. We couldn’t do the
job without their help. To do that it requires a great deal of help from others, which we got from
our group mates. We are thankful to all the people who helped us in this report.
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Table of Contents
Topic No. Topic Name Page No.
01 Introduction 4
02 Objective 5
03 Tourists site in Bangladesh 6
04 Market Segmentation 9
05 Packages and Offerings 12
06 Types of distribution and promotion 17
07 SWOT analysis 20
08 Targeting Market 23
09 Current Market Situation & Competition 24
10 Financial Statement 29
11 Conclusion 33
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Letter of Transmittal
Date: 4th December, 2014
To
Samy Ahmed
Lecturer
School of Business Administration
North South University
Subject: Submission of project on Travel and Tourism in Bangladesh.
Dear Sir,
Here we are submitting our project on Marketing Strategy of Travel and Tourism in Bangladesh prescribed by you in your course Strategic Marketing. We would like to recall with gratitude, the tremendous support and encouragement, which we received from you. We have tried our best to implement the relevant theories that you have taught in this course.
As an Instructor and Advisor to the report, you provided valuable insights and academic training to improve the quality of the work. We are grateful for your stimulating guidance and encouragement during the period of preparation this project. Without your guidance, this would simply not have been possible.
There may have many omissions and errors on our part but we have tried our level best to prepare this report to the required standard.
We are looking forward for your kind appraisal on this project.
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Introduction:
Tourism is the largest and rapid growing industry of modern business world. It has a vital
influence on economic development of a country. For many developing countries like
Bangladesh, it is one of the main income source and creating much needed employment and
opportunities for development. Tourism is essential for our country due to its capacity to
generate income through the consumption of goods and services by visitors and tourists.
Bangladesh has natural, ecological, cultural and other tourism products to attract tourist. The
country has much to attract international and domestic tourists. Bangladesh's tourist attractions
include, historical and monuments, resorts, beaches, picnic spots, forests and tribal people,
wildlife of various species. Bangladesh offers ample opportunities to tourists for angling, water
skiing, river cruising, hiking, rowing, yachting, sea bathing as well as bringing one in close touch
with pristine nature. Bangladesh, as a vacation destination, has many facets and strengths.
Bangladesh is endowed with almost all the natural potentials that attract tourist. These include:
among the beaches, Cox’s Bazaar is the longest unbroken clean and sandy beach in the world.
Kuakata is another sea beach, known as sunrise and sunset. Sundarbans is the home of the
majestic Royal Bengal tigers. Rangamati is known as the heart of the panoramic Lake District.
Sylhet is known as the land of twelve spiritual Awuilia which fascinating hills and tea gardens.
Chittagong is the largest port city of the country and known as the city of shrines. Natural
reserved forests are great attractions. Above all, reverie beauty, colorful tribal culture and simple
village life are the main factors for attracting visitors.
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Objectives
Our main objective is to increase Bangladesh’s share of global visitor markets.
To offer visitors compelling destinations of distinction.
To champion a successful, thriving tourism industry.
To facilitate greater engagement between the visitor and the experience.
To promote responsible and community-based tourism so that locals can enjoy increased
socio-economic benefits and improved environment.
Promote the development of quality visitor experiences.
Raise the profile and understanding of tourism as a major economic contributor and of
the work of Tourism Company with stakeholders and wider industry
To minimize negative social, economic and environmental impacts of mass tourism and
promote tourism which is sustainable.
To promote and ensure the respect and dignity of people in tourism, marketing and
promotion of tourism.
To create and promote forms of tourism that provide healthy interaction opportunities for
tourists and locals and increase better understanding of different cultures, customs,
lifestyles, traditional knowledge and believes.
To provide tourists with authentic, educational and quality experiences by creating
opportunities for them to interact with locals in an unstructured, spontaneous manner
To deliver the services and resources that allow us to fulfill and maintain normal
business activities
Continuously provide enjoyable quality excursions/trips on time and on budget.
Develop consciousness among customers about Bangladesh’s environment and culture.
We are fully committed to supporting growth and development in the tourism and overall
economy.
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Tourists site in Bangladesh
Dhaka:
Sonargaon: Cultural Capital of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Institute of Arts and Crafts, Central
Shahid Minar : The Symbol of Bengal, The Dhaka Zoo, The Suhrawardy Uddyan, National Art
Gallery of Bangladesh, Chota Katra, Bara Katra, Mausoleum of National Leaders, Ahsan Manzil
Museum, National Museum, Science Museum, Mukti Juddha Museum, Bangabandhu Memorial
Museum, Bahadur Shah Park, National Memorial of Dhaka, The Lalbagh Fort .
Chittagong
Port City of Chittagong, Himchari, Moheskhali, Inani Beach at Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachari,
Chandraghona (Biggest Paper Mills in Asia, Kaptai Lake, Buddish Temple at Rangamati,
Sitakunda, Patenga and Fouzdarhat Beaches, Mercantile Marine Academy at Juldia, Foy's Lake,
Shrine of Shah Amanat, Tomb of Sultan Bayazid Bostami, Cox's Bazar (The Longest Sea-
Beach), Saint Martin, Court Building Museum,
,
Cox’s Bazar:
Cox's Bazar beach Miles of golden sands,towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells,
colorfulpagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes, delightful sea -food--this is Cox's Bazar, the
tourist capital of Bangladesh. Havingthe world's longest (120 kilometers.) beach sloping
gentlydown to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar isone of the most attractive
tourist sport in the country.Other places deserve visit by the tourists like TheAggamedaKhyang,
Cox's Bazar, Himchari, Inani, Maheshkhali, Ramu,Sonadia Island, Teknaf etc
Bandarban
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Bandarban has been one of the most beautiful tourist destination of Bangladesh.nature has
adorned this region with it’s magnificient and splendis green ornaments.Beauty is scattered
everywhere of Bandarban. In Bandarban there are places like Meghla parjatan, Nilachal and
Shuvronila, Shoylo prapot,Chimbuk, Nilgiri, Boga lake, Golden temple, Rijuk Fall, Mirinja
parjatan, Upaban parjatan,Shoila Propat, Shornomondir etc.
St. Martin island
St. Martins Island is the most beautiful Coral Island where you will find live corals. Its only 30
km from Teknaf and can go there by local motorboat, tourist boats, or sea truck. This is a small
coral island with beaches fringed with coconut palms and bountiful marine life.
kuakata:
Kuakata, locally known as Saga rKannya (Daughter of the Sea) is a rare scenic beauty spot onthe
southernmost tip of Bangladesh. Kuakata in Latachapli union under Kalapara Police Station
of Patuakhali district is about 30 km in length and 6 km in breadth. It is 70 km from Patuakhali
district headquarters and 320 km from Dhaka. At Kuakata excellent combination of the
picturesque naturalbeauty, sandy beach, blue sky, huge expanse of water of the Bay and
evergreen forest in really eye-catching
Rangamati:
From Chittagong a 77 km road amidst green fields and winding hills will take you to Rangamati,
the headquarter of Rangamati Hill Districtwhich is a wonderful repository of scenic splendours
with flora and fauna of varied descriptions. The ownship is located on the western bank of the
Kaptai Lake. For tourists the attractions of Rangamati are numerous, tribal life, fishing,
speedboat cruising, water skiing, hiking, bathing or merely enjoying nature as it is. Some of the
Offers: Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation provides suitable hotel and cottage accommodation,
catering,speed boat, paddle boat and other facilities at Rangamati.
Sundarban:
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In the south-western part of Bangladesh, in the district of greater Khulna, lies the Sundarbans,
the beautiful forest. It is a virgin forest which until recently owed nothing to human endeavour
and yet nature has laid i t out with as much care as a planned pleasure ground. For miles
andmiles, the lofty treetops form an unbroken canopy, while nearer the ground, works of high
and ebb-tide marked on the soil and tree trunks and the many varieties of the natural mangrove
forest have much to offer to an inquisitive visitor. Here land and water meet in many novel
fashions, Wildlife presents many a spectacle. No wonder, you may come across a Royal Bengal
Tiger swimming across the streams or the crocodiles basking on the river banks.
Sylhet:
Jaintiapur Town (The Capital of an Ancient Kingdom), Gour Gobinda Fort, Shahi Edgah of
Sylhet, Temple of Sri Chaitanya Dev, Tea Gardens of Srimongal, The Border Post of Tamabil-
Jaflong, Madhabkunda, Hairpur Gas Field, The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal, The Shrine of
Hazrat Shah Poran, Lawachara, Madhabpur Lake,Bangladesh Tea Board at Srimongal.
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Market Segmentation:
Market segmentation recognizes that people differ in their tastes, needs, attitudes, lifestyle,
family size, composition etc. For decades market segmentation has been a useful way for
companies to divide buyers into homogenous groups that differ from each other in some
meaningful regard such as age, gender, place of accommodation, lifestyle or brand loyalty.
Every tourist is different. Every tourist feels attracted by different tourist destinations, likes to
engage in different activities while on vacation, makes use of different entertainment facilities
and complains about different aspects of their vacation. Both tourism researchers and tourism
industry use market segmentation widely to study opportunities. Market segmentation can be
applied by any unit operating in tourism industry. A tourism industry is entity for which market
segmentation is conducted
For Bangladesh tourism industry, we can segment the market into different variables. Those are
discussed below in detail:
1) Geographic Segmentation:
Under geographic segmentation we can group potential customers based on their
location, region and city.
We will segment our tourist industry based on location. There are discernable differences
in consumer preferences, purchase patterns, and behaviors across different geographic
location in world. So we divide the market into South, West, North and east location all
over the world. Most of the tourists coming from Europe, South Asia, USA, Gulf
Cooperation Council Countries, East Asia and the Pacific Rim, USA, England, Australia
and New Zealand and others.
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2) Demographic Segmentation:
Demographic segmentation is usually large because in that segment tourist product can
attract a limited. Under demographic segmentation we can divide the market into
different variables. We can divide the tourist market into ages, gender, income,
occupation and social economic classes.
Age: All age’s people may not respond same on different tourism packages for example
people of 20-30 will not respond same as people of 40-60. Tourists groups are usually
young and middle age people; sometimes families with children and even retired people
are coming too visited at different locations.
Family life cycle: Some Bengali UK and USA immigrants like to visit Bangladesh with
their children to get familiar about culture and its heritage.
Gender: both male and female are equally like to visit our country Bangladesh. Religion:
Muslims, Hindu, Buddhists’ and Christian all are interested in their concerned religious
sites in Bangladesh.
Income level: People at different income levels like different packages for example
people of high income level may like luxurious packages, luxurious hotels, and luxurious
tourist location.
3) Psychographic Segmentation: Under psychographic segmentation, we will segment our
market into lifestyle. For psychographic segmentation customers special interests, hobby,
opinions, and attitudes towards different types of vacations are important.
Sports –oriented: As many people like sports, so during world cup people from different
countries like to visit Bangladesh.
Cultural-oriented: In Bangladesh there are many places which in cultural heritage. So
people who like cultural places would definitely visit in Bangladesh.
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4) Behavioral Segmentation:
We can divide the behavioral segmentation into different variables such as occasions,
user status, user rate, loyalty status etc.
Special occasion: Some people may visit on special occasion. Many people visit at Saint
Martin, Cox Bazaar during winter.
We can also segment tourist industry bases upon user’s status, user rate, and loyalty
status.
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Packages we offering
Here we have divided our tourist market into 5 categories which are Students, couple, corporate,
family, foreign tourist and one option for customize your packages.
Packages
Student packages
Couple Packages
Corporate Packages
Family packages
Foreign Tourist packages
Bandarban: From Bandarban to Dhaka
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Tour areas we will cover: Nilgiri, Shoilopropat, Sonomodir,Nilacho, Mandir, , Nilgiri
Duration: 2 days and 3 nights
Food: we will provide with breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Available accommodation & tents
Package price: BDT4999/- per person
Saint Martin: From Dhaka to St. Martin
From Dhaka to Saint Martin
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Duration: 2 days and 3 nights
Food: we will provide with breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Available accommodation and tents
Package price – BDT 6300 per person
Bandarban: From Dhaka to Bandarban
Tour areas: We will cover Ruma bazaar,boga lake,chingri jhorna,kuakaradong,jadepai jhorna
Duration: 4 nights 3 days
Food – we will provide breakfast lunch and dinner.
Package price –BDT 5500 per person
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Cox’s bazaar
Cox’s Bazar- from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar
Tour areas: tour areas will be Inani beach
Duration: 4 nights 3 days
Accommodation- hotels will be provided
Package price- BDT10000
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Sylhet – Dhaka to Sylhet
Tour areas- we will be covering 5 spots
Duration- 3 nights and 3 days
Food- we will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner
Package price- BDT 5600 per person
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Types of distribution and promotion
By distributing directly: A direct channel of distribution describes a situation in which
the producer sells a product directly to a consumer without the help of intermediaries. A
direct chain of distribution may involve face-to-face sales, computer sales or mail order
but does not involve any form of distributor other than the original producer. Chains of
distribution that involve nonaffiliated retailers or wholesalers cannot be described as
direct channels of distribution and are instead classified as indirect chains of distribution.
By distributing indirectly: A chain of intermediaries through which a product moves in
order to be made available for purchase by a consumer. An indirect channel of
distribution typically involves a product passing through additional steps as it moves
from the manufacturing business via distributors to wholesalers and then retail stores.
Through direct distribution and promotion we can include:
Website
Telephone
Billboards
Mobile billboards
TVC
Media like television, radio, magazine
Event coordinator
Website: One of our direct distribution and promotion tool is the website. Through this websites
our customer can easily enter and check out every details as it will be easily accesible. All
information of our facilities, programs, works, networks and service points are given in the
website. We shall make our website easily accessible through promotion through Google and
many other national and international Bangladeshi websites moreover social medias like
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Facebook, twitter. As a result potential tourists from both inside and outside of Bangladesh can
reach.
Telephone: Another direct mean of communication and distribution is through phone. We are
planning to set our own call center through which we would be able to contact our customers
directly. To our potential customers we will give updates of our recent offers through calling or
through sms.
Mail: Through mail we will distribute information and other services like discount coupons to
our existing and potential customers. Through this they will be aware of our latest offers and
services..
Billboard: It is a form of general promotion and distribution. Attractive billboards of our
company and services will be place outside airports, major railway and bus stations of all
regions.3D billboards will be there too to grab more attention of our services.
TVC: Through TVC our customers can know about our existence. Attractive TVC containing
beautiful scenes of our country and how we provide our facilities will attract local customers.
Event coordinator: Through this we can attract newly married couples. This is because newly
married couples have a great tendency of visiting beautiful places. They can be our potential
customer. We can provide them with our ‘holiday booklet ‘or holiday magazines of our company
to let them know of our services and which places are best to visit.
Mostly we can say that this direct distribution process is not that effective to reach customers of
geographical region. Since our business involves covering the whole or major parts of country, it
is not entirely feasible. Therefore the most cost effective way of distribution would be indirect
distribution. They are:
Travel Agents: Retail travel agents sell holiday products to the public. They get a
negotiated commission from the tour operator on sales. Some travel agents also organize
specialist or group travel.
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Market Based Tour Operators / Wholesalers: The tour operator or wholesaler designs
and compiles the ingredients of the holiday. He publishes his programs on his website
and / or prints the details in a glossy brochure which he distributes through selected retail
travel agents or directly to the customer.
Hotel Representatives: One of the major distribution strategies is the hotel
representatives. Al most all of the major hotels in the country, especially around airports,
and major railways and bus stations will be our distributors. Our representatives will be
hired from these hotels to make it easy for our customers to travel as tourists.
University Representatives: One additional distribution channel would be occasional
major university representatives. Because not all our customers will be foreigners but
also students and local people. As we know, travel culture is booming in Bangladesh
among the youths, it would be a major initiative to capture them under our service.
Transportations: Major transport facilities will also be included in our services.
Our main distribution center will be the main tourist spot in the country which is Cox’s
Bazar and a second department will be Dhaka. In addition our agents, distributors, wholesalers
will be all over the country, especially Sylhet, Dhaka, and Chittagong districts.
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SWOT analysis
Strength:
Bangladesh is unique for its natural resources.
She has the largest sea beach in the world.
Bangladesh is renowned for its archaeological and historical places.
She has unique natural beauty and greenery.
Nation famous for hospitality.
Rich cultural heritage and religious harmony.
Bangladesh can be reached by air from any part of the world. Biman, the Bangladesh
Airlines connects Dhaka with about 30 major cities of the world.
She has the accommodation facilities available throughout the country. Sheraton,
Radisson, Westin and Pan pacific hotel chains are in operation in the capital city
Weakness:
Tourism sites are not properly explored, extracted and managed.
Lack of investment.
Low quality services.
Lack of safety, security and hygiene.
Lack of infrastructural development.
Visa requirement and complex visa procedures.
Absence of sales plan and public relation activities.
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Lack of private initiatives in tourism development.
Bangladesh cannot offer tourist products and destination packages exclusively to local
and foreign tourists. As a result, tourists have to go back to their home with low level of
satisfaction.
Shortage of professional guides.
Price of some tourism components like the star and standards hotel rooms, food items,
package tours and river cruise programs are much higher than those of neighboring
countries like India and Nepal.
Lacking of promotional and marketing activities of tourism by both public and private
sectors.
Opportunities:
Due to globalization scope for dissemination of information and communication media.
Scope of making the tourist spots more attractive.
Research and development to attract more tourist and making favorable tourism policy.
Development of tourism culture.
Arrangement of international events like World Cup Cricket.
.
Threats:
Instability of political situation.
Harassment by the police and the broker in the airport.
Language barrier of the people of the country.
Conservative social and religious systems.
Strong competition within the region, barriers to overcome the image crisis of the
country.
Lack of awareness among the mass people regarding the benefits of tourism both locally
and internationally.
Illegal hunting and fishing in Sundarbans create loss of valuable wildlife.
Absence of sufficient trained safe guards in the beaches to aware and save the
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Tourists in case of emergency.
Shortage of sufficient accommodation, food and beverage services and other amusement
services.
Tourists presently hold misconceptions about Bangladesh as a tourist’s destinations.
Foreigners now know Bangladesh as a country of poverty, baggers, flood, political unrest
and corruption
Absence of proper tourism policy
Political collision between tribal and Bengali people
Targeting Market:
Target marketing involves evaluate each market segment attractiveness and selecting one or
more segments to enter. We will concentrate our marketing effort on Beaches, Hills & islands,
Forest & Jungle, Historical places, Archaeological Sites and other.
MARKET POSITIONING:
Positioning is the way the product is defined by tourists on important attributes; it is the place
the product occupies in tourists’ mind relative to competing products. It is difficult to promote
specific tourists product when that product have several attractiveness. That’s why we will
promote bundle of tourist’s product for the tourists. These are:
1. Beaches
2. Forest, Hills and islands
3. Historical place
4. Archaeological Sites
1. Market for Beaches:
The Beaches product assortment includes Patenga, Parki, Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf, Saint Martin
Island and Kuakata. Among these Cox’s bazaar, Teknaf and Saint Martin attract more local and
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foreign tourists. The tourists who want to stay relax, rescue from mental problem, physical
fitness for body disorders and visit for open air are included in this target group.
2. Market for Forest, Hills and Islands (Eco-tourism):
Hills and Islands includes Sundarban (the home of the majestic Royal Bengal tigers), Rangamati
(the Lake District), Kaptai (the lake town), Bandarban (the roof of Bangladesh) and
Khagrachhari (the hilltop town). Tourists who are looking for natures and different cultures of
different tribes’ people are included in this target group. These sites covered tourists eco-tourism
needs. So Bangladesh eco-tourism met the interest of target group.
3. Market for Historical place:
Mostly attracted historical place includes National Museum, Central Shahid Minar, Curzon Hall,
Martyred Intellectual Memorial, Baldha Garden, Subrawardy Uddayan, World war II Cemetery,
Old high Court Building, Nator-Rajbari etc. Bangladesh has rich history about its heritage.
Tourists who want enrich their knowledge about history are included in this target group.
4. Market for Archaeological Sites:
Mostly attracted archaeological sites are Mainamati, Paharpur, Shait Gombuge Mosque, Kantajis
Temple, Lalbagh Fort, Sonargaon, Ahsan Manzil etc. Tourists (researchers and students) who
want enrich their knowledge about archaeology are included in this target group. This product
met the interest of target group
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Current Market Situation & Competition
Historically it is proven that Bangladesh has got so many natural attractions. But because of the
lack of awareness it loosed its attractions. Places like Rangamati, Kuakata, Shundorban was so
underdeveloped that people loosed their interest to visit there. Day by day, with the improvement
of society and awareness, government found there is a very good scope of earning foreign
currency if they can improve tourism industries. It can also create employment opportunities for
the rural people. There has been many steps taken by the government to improve the quality of
our tourism industry. The number of tourist arrivals in Bangladesh has increased to 397,410 in
2007 from 113,242 in 1991 which shows an average annual growth rate of 9 percent. The tourist
arrivals increased in 2003 by 18 percent and 16 and within last five years, from 2006 to 2010,
Bangladesh received a total number of 15, 29,000 visitors and earned US$ 413.00 million
In order to make these figures more reliable, Bangladesh is introduced to UNWTO, as a
founding member of United Nations World Tourism Organization. Including all national &
political lags and flaws, Bangladesh is tending to move ahead. Some local godfathers & unlawful
activists tend to ruin the whole perspective of our country.
Percent in 2007 over the preceding year. In general, the statistics show a very good and positive
trend. This rate can be considered very high for those countries that have already matured in the
market, but for a new market entry, like Bangladesh, the above growth rate is not very
impressive.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism plays
an important role for the development of tourism in Bangladesh. Historically, Bangladesh has
been an attractive destination for various categories of tourists. But at present, its position is not
significant in terms of international tourism market (Islam, 2009).Tourism is one of the fastest
growing and single largest industries in the world. The contribution of tourism industry in the
global as well as individual perspective is really amazing. Many countries of the world at present
depend mainly on tourism as a major source of foreign exchange earnings. According to the
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World Tourist Organization (WTO), while 448.5 million tourists moved throughout the world
during the year 1991 (Davidson, 1994), about 593 million tourist arrivals were recorded during
1996 registering a 4.6% increase over 1995 (Bhattacharya, 1997) and 32.22 % growth in five
year. WTO also recorded a total number of 763 million international tourist traffic in 2004,
which is 10.58% higher than previous year and earned US$ 623 billion, which shows an increase
of 18.89% over 2003. Tourism continues to surge as a world economic force, contributing nearly
$5.5 trillion to the world’s economy in 2004 (WTO, 2005). The increasing trend of tourist
arrivals and earnings is continuing. In 2005, the world tourist arrivals rose to 808 million and it is
expected that the volume of tourists will reach 1,561.1 million in 2020. This continued growth in
tourism business throughout the world is encouraging and nations are becoming concerned to
attract more tourists to their own destinations. Today most of the countries in the world are
trying to promote tourism sector as a major source of income and thus important means for
national economic development. The tourism industry is frequently referenced in Bangladesh as
a highly important stakeholder with the potential to provide extensive benefits to the Protected
Reserved Forests (Hossain and Nazmin, 2006). Economic benefit for tourism is seen as a way to
reduce the level of dependence of local communities on natural resources, such as the
Park. In Bangladesh, there is hardly any in-depth research available on the impacts of tourism on
ecosystem and communities. There is also no effective national tourism plan to guide the
entrepreneurs and investors. Besides, there is serious lack of management in this sector at
national, regional and local levels. Bangladesh thus requires adopting a strong policy, if it wants
to utilize the potentials of tourism in national economic development and societal progress.
Bangladesh, as a vacation destination, has many facets. It is endowed with almost all the natural
potentials that attract tourist (Shahid, 2004). These include: Cox’s Bazaar, the longest unbroken
clean and sandy beach in the world; Sundarbans, the home of the majestic Royal Bengal tigers as
mentioned earlier, Dhaka, the capital known as the city of mosques and muslin; Rangamati, the
heart of the panoramic lake district; Shylhet, land of fascinating hills and tea gardens;
Chittagong, the largest port city of the country and known as the city of shrines; Mainamati,
Mahasthangarh and Paharpur, archaeological treasures of Hindu and Buddhist rule in the country
from
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300 BC to 1200 AD (Hossain and Hossain, 2002). Above all, riverine beauty, colourful tribal
culture and simple village life are the main factors for attracting visitors (Hasan, 2005). These
kind of things are need to be explored by the tourism marketing promotion and need to formulate
tourism marketing strategic plan either by
The Bangladesh government organization (public sector) or the private sectors. Therefore, the
objectives of the tourism marketing strategy in Bangladesh are now
Outlined (MoCAT, 2006; BTO, 2006):
i. To consolidate Bangladesh’s position as a tourist destination in the established generating
markets at regional and international levels by utilizing different marketing tools such as
websites;
ii. To target new and potential markets by identifying and monitoring changing designs and
needs for various market types such as China, Japan, East European and
South America, and South Asian countries (MoCAT, 2006; Hossain, 2006);
iii. To enhance Bangladesh’s competitive position in the intercontinental destination market by
mobilizing effective promotional measures supported by attractive
Proposals and appealing tourism products. The Bangladesh government promotes Sundarban and
Cox’s Bazar, St. Martin Island (these are the listed as international tourism heritage) and the Fort
William, and House of Ahasan Monzil, Sonargaon (which is a key factor in leading to the
marketing Bangladesh, regionally and internationally) as preferred tourism destination areas.
However, the Bangladeshi government decided to; diversify Bangladeshi’s tourism products: to
meet the
demands of the general public; to increase its tourist’s market share in a competitive region; to
strive to realize the country’s potential in terms of, MICE, sport and
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adventure; to promote Bangladeshi’s scenic beauty, diverse wildlife, eco-tourism and diversity of
cultures and heritage; promote it in terms of its unique selling points as an all season destination
(UNSCO, 2002; Mo CAT, 2006; BTO, 2006; Hossain, 2006);
iv. To pay special attention (in terms of promotion and product diversification strategies in
particular) to tourist arrivals from Europe, South Asia, USA, Gulf Cooperation Council
Countries, East Asia and the Pacific Rim, Australia and New Zealand and others. BTO opened
new regional offices in these countries to support and enhance the value of Bangladesh as a
tourism destination (Mo CAT, 2006).
In search of current situations solution, we have come up with some basic points that can execute
& evaluate the situation & solution at the same time.
Our company will try to focus on the following matters that we think may help more on the
practical field.
Product development (place)
Training (proper)
Behavior towards tourists (guests)
Societal attitude towards foreigners
Acknowledgement of basic information
Market development
Association & co-ordination between Industry & Government
The world thinks of Bangladesh as poor, flood-ravaged, and more of a disaster zone than a travel
destination. In some respects, the world is right but hiding behind these
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Images is a country with a rich history, a strange beauty, and some interesting attractions but it is
not, however, a destination for everyone (Roaming around Bangladesh, undated) (Hossain,
2006). Bangladesh is a country with rich traditions, natural beauty, beaches, forests, lakes, hills,
wild lives, archaeological attractions, monuments, handicrafts, sanctuaries, religious festivals,
cultural heritage, tribal culture and architecture, incredible greenery, mighty rivers and attractive
river cruises, sunny beaches, colorful tribal life and attractive cultural functions that offer great
tourist attractions (Haque, 2005; Hossain and Nazmin, 2006). Tourism involves
Travelling for pleasure, enjoy and education. It is also a business of attracting tourists and
providing for their accommodation and entertainment. In many countries, tourism is an industry
for earning revenue and foreign exchange (Hossain, 2007). The many businesses that grow
concurrently with the development of tourism include airlines, shipping, hotels and restaurants,
finance companies, tour operators, travel agents, car rental firms, caterers and retail
establishments and together, they contribute significantly to the overall development of a
country's economy and to its cultural diversification and adaptation (Islam, 2009).
The following recommendations will help to the authority to develop its four Iconic Products:
Firstly, for beaches authority should establish more hotels, motels and security. Authority can
encourage local people to participate for their own economic benefit. Local authority should
upgrade the infrastructure of beach sites. Secondly, for eco-tourism authority should protect the
green environment and forest also. Local authority should initiative to involve tribal’s in the
process of eco-tourism. Thirdly, for historical place authority should promote its historical
places and marketing these places through promotional mix. It is so important to preserve
historical places. Finally, for archaeological sites authority should develop communication
(transportation) facilities to reach these sites and establish standard hotel and restaurants nearest
to sites
28
Financial Statement
Affinity Adventure & Tourism ltd Income statement given below:
Income Statement
For The Year Ended 2009-2013
*All Figures in Thousand
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Volumes 150 550 1870 5500 7000 10000
Net sales 9,455 42,340 1,02,834 3,89,421 5,91,399 8,83,846
Raw & pack (6421) (34,311) (91,576) (1,70,158) (2,60,980) (3,05,162)
Net sales % -86.5% -87,7% -75,1% -60,5% -47,7% -40,9%
Industrial (9,183) (12,067) (26,510) (49,611) (61,797) (83,812)
Margin on Operation (8200) (11,025) (7,050) (71,631) (1,35,310) (2,39,044)
Net sales % -81.2% -26,9% 5.9% 22,7% 25,4% 27,9%
Advertising and
promotion
(4,548) (7,983) (13,990) (64,327) (78,298) (87,585)
Sales overheads (3,482) (11,146) (23,233) (42,349) (55,582) (70,582)
HO overheads (5,407) (7,670) (17,342) (22,446) (35,769) (47,869)
Trading Operating
Profit
(21,923) (40,317) (44,590) (55,355) (28,375) (42,334)
Net sales % -194.5% -74,8% -31,1% -12,7% -5,1% 4,9%
29
Affinity Adventure & Tourism Ltd.
Balance Sheet
For The Year Ended 2009-2013
*All Figures in Thousand Taka
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Inventories 7,524 24,807 65,718 96,154 1,59,577
Accounts Receivable 5,331 23,746 62,315 95,459 1,40,353
Fixed Assets Suppliers (1,013) (1,013) (1,013) (1,013) (1,013)
Other Accounts Payable (52,334) (72,343) (1,12,349) (1,48,958
)
(2,13,540)
Rebates and trade payable ----------- (168) (455) (693) (821)
Other working Capital Items 59,307 2,792 37,552 61,942 97,324
Working Capital 18,962 21,055 21,055 21,022 27,055
Tangible & Intangible
Assets(net)
47 059 2,09,341 2,22,656 2,16,544 3,43,451
Other Financial assets
Non Amortized Brands
goodwill – Net Investment in
non-consolidated Companies.
Assets 44,019 2,05,881 2,23,668 2,17,974 3,46,501
Capital employed 67,961 1,83,846 2,02,654 1,94,516 3,22,445
30
Net Equity 1,04,670 47,343 1,50,216 1,14,832 1,25,341
Net Debt 37,459 1,33,546 50,860 75,435 1,92,579
Some Financial Ratio of Affinity Adventure & Tourism Ltd
Ratio 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Current Ratio 0.31 0.34 2.56 2.54 1.50
Profit Margin -0.70 -0.28 -0.13 -0.05 -0.05
Return On
Asset
0.81 0.19 0.23 0.17 0.13
Total Asset
Turnover
1.05 0.68 1.87 2.69 2.70
Conclusion
31
At present time, tourism has been treated as a powerful engine of growth for many developing
countries. The pace of growth in the developing countries, including Bangladesh, is faster than in
developed nations. The present study shows that the tourism industry of Bangladesh can
contribute to achieving the country’s vision for 2021 in many ways. However, it requires many
short, mid and long term projects with sufficient budgetary allocation. The sector also needs to
be prioritized in the national development plans and policy programmers.
Bangladesh tourism products have immense potentiality to attract most world tourists.
Nevertheless, this industry remains neglected for a long time. In world tourism, Bangladesh’s
share is very disappointing compared to other SAARC countries. However, the present study
shows excellent growth trend of Bangladesh tourism industry in SAARC comparison and its
share to GDP has been increasing.
Our Company’s target is to capture this large market and make our tourism site more enjoyable
for local and foreign people. As is it developing site and we are so eager to get success, so we
hope that we will be able to lead this market soon.
32
References
Page, Stephen J and Connell Joanne, (2006) Tourism a modern synthesis, second edition, Thomson Learning, London, UK.
David Weaver and Laura L, (2012) Tourism Management, Harlow
Alastair M. Morrison, (2013) Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations, London
Web Document:
http://www.scirj.org/papers-0813/scirj-august-2013-edition-05.pdf
http://fpd-bd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Sustainable-tourism-in-Bangladesh-development-
potential-and-the-role-of-a-tourism-policy2.pdf
http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/2011/annual-report-0910/Annexures%20-%20Item%2018/
Annexure%20K%20-%20The%20Johannesburg%20Tourism%20Company/JTC%20Annual
%20Report%202009-2010.pdf
33
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