Bangladesh is losing far more foreign currency through outbound tourism than it earns from inbound visitors despite possessing tourism assets comparable to many competing destinations, according to Mohsin Iqbal, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Outbound Tour Operators Association (BOTOA).
The imbalance reflects a branding and policy failure rather than a shortage of attractions, he said in an interview with TIMES of Bangladesh’s Mahfuz Ullah Babu.
Before Indian visa restrictions imposed after the uprising reduced outbound travel, more than four million Bangladeshis travelled abroad annually. That has since fallen to about 2.5 million. With each cross-border traveller spending at least $1,000, outbound tourism represents a significant foreign currency outflow, Mohsin estimated.
Official statistics cite about five lakh foreign tourists a year, but those figures include non-resident Bangladeshis visiting family, he said.
“In reality, bona fide foreign tourists number only around 60,000 to 70,000 annually.”
He said Sri Lanka alone received about 60,000 Bangladeshi tourists in 2025 and aims to increase that number to one lakh this year.
Mohsin believes Bangladesh Travel Mart (BTM) 2026, the country’s first international travel marketplace, can help reverse the trend by connecting Bangladeshi tour operators with overseas travel companies.
Unlike conventional travel fairs, foreign participants will not operate exhibition booths. Instead, around 40 to 50 international hosted buyers and about 60 overseas sellers will take part in dedicated business-to-business networking sessions, while the 130 exhibition stalls will be occupied by Bangladeshi airlines, hotels, resorts and tour operators serving consumers.
The event is designed to help overseas travel companies package and sell Bangladesh while enabling local operators to market foreign destinations through agency partnerships.
Mohsin said Bangladesh’s strongest inbound tourism assets are the Sundarbans, its people and culture.
“Foreign visitors often come to experience local lifestyles, not only landscapes,” he said, arguing that Bangladesh should promote experiences competitors cannot easily replicate rather than compete solely on beach tourism.
Besides the Sundarbans, he said Bangladesh’s underutilised assets include archaeological sites, cultural heritage and community-based tourism.
Bangladesh could also attract more long-haul travellers already visiting India, Nepal and Bhutan by positioning itself as part of regional multi-country itineraries, provided connectivity, promotion and cooperation improve, he said.
Branding remains the country’s biggest weakness, Mohsin said. Countries become synonymous with iconic attractions such as the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower and Petronas Twin Towers because governments consistently promote them.
Bangladesh, he argued, has internationally recognisable attractions but has failed to build comparable global brands.
“Tourism grows through branding. The world needs a reason to remember Bangladesh,” he said.
While welcoming recent government initiatives to simplify visas and strengthen tourism coordination, Mohsin said further improvements are needed in immigration services and destination marketing.
On arrival visa processing in Bangladesh often takes over one and a half hours, which tourists do not encounter in other popular destinations.
“Tourism is ultimately a business of perception,” he said.
