The three-day 11th Asian Tourism Fair (ATF) will
commence tomorrow at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka,
with participation from eight Asian nations, including host Bangladesh and
prime partner country Maldives.
The event is organized by the local travel magazine Porjoton Bichitra, with
support from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Bangladesh Tourism
Board, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, and Tourist Police Bangladesh.
The fair aims to rejuvenate the tourism industry, which has faced significant
challenges in recent years, ATF chairman and editor of Porjoton Bichitra
Mohiuddin Helal told BSS today.
“The fair’s primary goal is to reinvigorate the tourism sector by increasing
the popularity of Bangladesh’s tourist destinations both domestically and
internationally while fostering regional cooperation,” he said.
The fair will showcase tourism businesses such as hotels, resorts, airlines,
cruise lines, theme parks, and tour operators, along with government tourism
a
gencies and several embassies, to promote regional tourism collaboration.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation chairman AKM Aftab Hossain Pramanik will
inaugurate the fair tomorrow with the presence of High Commissioner of the
Maldives and Ambassador of the Philippines to Bangladesh.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the title sponsor, with the Maldives as the
prime partner country and Intercontinental Dhaka serving as the hospitality
partner.
On the occasion, High Commissioner of Maldives to Bangladesh Shiuneen Rasheed
said the people-to-people connections between the countries are robust and
can be traced back to centuries.
“It is the essence of our current bilateral agenda. We are therefore excited
to witness an exponential increase in the number of tourist arrivals from
Bangladesh,” she said.
This is indeed the beginning of a new chapter of relations between Maldives
and Bangladesh, said the envoy, adding that the main purpose of having such a
strong presence at ATF this year is to show that Maldives
is ready to warmly
welcome our Bangladesh friends to our shores.
This year 23 companies from Maldives are participating in this fair.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha