The suggestion was floated at a press conference organised by Festive and Cultural Tourism Consortium (FCTC) at Jatiya Press Club in the capital.
Mokhlesur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Tourism Foundation, said it was time to establish a separate tourism ministry to develop the sector and attain developed country status by 2040.
“There are huge resources of tourism in Bangladesh. We should utilise these properly. Around 17 ministries are involved in tourism sector but they have no coordination to boost the sector. So a separate ministry is needed now,” he said.
Mokhlesur Rahman said huge employments can be created in tourism sector and it would increase GDP growth.
Masudul Hasan Jaiedi, Managing Director of FCTC, said tourism is a potential sector of the country. “So, a ministry is very needed to work cordially for the tourism sector. We should work together and implement all concerned laws to develop the tourism sector,” he said.
He added that they are going to tour Buriganga, Dhaleswari, Shitalakhhya, Meghna and Padma rivers on January 3 as the part of second river tourism festival 2020 to encourage people.
“We’ll arrange a programme in February with 13 ministries and two city corporations in Dhaka where they’ll discuss ways to keep different rivers including Buriganga clean,” he added.
Kishor Rihan, managing director and CEO of Parents Aviation Ltd and others also spoke there.