The government has formed a high-level Cabinet Committee on Tourism, headed by the finance minister, to speed up the development, expansion and quality control of the country’s tourism sector.
The Cabinet Division published a gazette notification on the matter on Friday, although the order was issued on 21 May.
According to the notification, the 17-member committee includes ministers, state ministers, advisers and senior officials from several key ministries and government agencies. The finance minister will chair the committee.
The members include the ministers for local government, home affairs, foreign affairs, environment, cultural affairs, land, civil aviation and tourism, commerce, housing and public works, Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs, railways and shipping.
State ministers for civil aviation and tourism and planning have also been included in the committee, alongside the adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and the executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
The notification said senior secretaries, secretaries and relevant officials from 15 ministries will provide secretarial and technical support to the committee.
The ministries include land, home affairs, finance, railways, housing and public works, foreign affairs, cultural affairs, planning, road transport and highways, Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs, local government, civil aviation and tourism, shipping, environment and commerce.
The Cabinet Division assigned three major responsibilities to the committee. It will recommend policies for the overall development, expansion and international standard control of Bangladesh’s tourism industry.
The committee will also identify untapped potential, new opportunities, existing problems and local and global challenges in the tourism sector and suggest measures to address them.
It will further determine areas for domestic and foreign investment, including public-private partnership initiatives, to strengthen the sector and prepare effective implementation strategies.
The notification, signed by Additional Secretary (Committee and Economic) of the Cabinet Division Md Humayun Kabir, said the committee may include additional members if necessary for smooth operations. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism will provide secretarial support to the body.
It also said the previous notification regarding the tourism-related committee, issued on 8 February 2024, has been cancelled and the new order has taken immediate effect.
