The three-day long Bangladesh International Travel and Tourism Expo will begin tomorrow (Thursday) at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the city's Sher-E-Bangla Nagar area aiming to boost cross-border tourism in the country.
The Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) organises the exposition.
The event will greatly help interactions among the stakeholders, including tourists, tour operators and travel agents, hoped the organisers at a press conference held at ATAB office in the city's Purana Paltan.
ATAB President SN Manzur Murshed, it's Secretary General Abdus Salam Aref, Joint Secretary General Abdul Hamid, other office-bearers, private airlines Air Astra's General Manager Mozammel Haque, and a General Manager of US Bangla Airlines Kamrul Islam were present at the briefing, among others.
Air Astra is the title sponsor of the international expo.
Manzur Murshed said Bangladesh has witnessed a significant infrastructural transformation in recent years, which is crucial to attract more tourists from abroad.
"Proper branding of the local places and heritage is a must for development of the cross-border tourism here," he added.
The event will help the stakeholders acquire knowledge about tourism-related products and services at one place.
Stakeholders including travel agents, tour operators, and airliners from 15 countries like India, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, The Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates will take part in the fair.
Abdus Salam Aref said the international event will help travel agents, tour operators and the tourists to have ideas about local and global travel destinations, packages and air tickets.
The exposition will continue till December 3 (Saturday) from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm, while three seminars will be held in the sideline, he said.
The seminars are 'Investment opportunities in Bangladesh tourism sector' to be held on Thursday, 'Aviation and tourism opportunities, connecting Bangladesh to the world' on Friday and 'The impact of 4th industrial revolution in tourism industry' on Saturday.
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