Speakers at a workshop on Tuesday called for creating greater awareness to conserve and preserve the country's heritage sites, especially archaeological ones, to promote those as tourism attractions.
Bangladesh Tourism Board organised the workshop titled "Conservation and Preservation of Heritage Sites and its Promotion as the Tourism Attractions" at the Cirdap Auditorium in the city.
Speaking at the programme as the chief guest, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal said the country's tourism sector is losing a great amount of revenue for lack of conservation and maintenance of the ancient establishments and archeological sites.
Many archaeological sites have been destroyed and many are in the verge of destruction for lack of proper conservation, he said, adding that proper technique needs to be determined to conserve and preserve these heritage sites.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Chairman Akhtaruzzaman Khan Kabir said if donors can be attracted to patronise the sites, the development and marketing of the heritage sites as tourism attractions will be possible, reports UNB.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mohibul Haque called for changing people's mentality first. "Many historical establishments have been destroyed due to our ignorance. We don't conserve our heritage sites; rather we ruin them," he added.
"The heritage sites need to be conserved first. Then those can be promoted not only to attract tourists but also to uphold the country's tradition," the secretary further said.
He said the government is planning to establish a tourism centre in a safe distance of the Sundarbans without affecting its environment and declare Cox's Bazar as a special tourism zone to prevent building hotels and establishments haphazardly.
While presenting the keynote paper, Dr AKM Shahnawaz, Professor of Archaeology department at Jahangirnagar University, stressed the importance of making people understand the significance of the heritage sites so that they can feel the urge to protect the history. "Private tour operators are doing a great job to attract tourists. If they can use the knowledge of the ancient history of the sites, more tourists can be attracted," he said.
Nikhil Ranjan Roy, Chief Executive Officer (Additional Secretary) of Bangladesh Tourism Board, chaired the inaugural session.
In the daylong workshop, a total of 80 representatives from different government and private organisations, agencies and stakeholders took part.
