Tour operators suffer losses as foreigners cancel trips

The tour operators in Bangladesh suffered financial losses due to cancellation of pre-scheduled tours by foreign tourists who sought to avoid travelling in fear of violence and unrest centring the quota reform movement.

Industry operators observed that inbound visitors started cancelling their tours from July 18. After that, all their trips till October this year were cancelled.

There is also uncertainty about the prescheduled tours of November and December.

If these tours are cancelled, big losses will be incurred ‍after which it will be very difficult to survive in business, they said.

Operators also said the interest of foreign tourists in Bangladesh had increased due to political stability over the last couple of years but now an image crisis has become a big issue.

Over these circumstances, tour operators have urged the government to bring back stability in the country as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it will take many years to restore the country's image, they said.

Taslim Amin Shovon, chief executive officer of Innoglobe Travel and Tours, said all his company's prescheduled tours from July 18 to October have been cancelled by foreigners.

"I suffered a financial loss of about Tk 8 crore due to this. This is a big loss for a businessman like me," he said, adding that the pre-scheduled tours of November-December have now become uncertain.

Students launched the quota reform movement on July 1 citing that it discriminated against general students seeking to secure public jobs.

The demonstrators started to stage sit-ins on the roads in different areas blocking traffic since July 15 and law enforcers later tried to disperse them by force, causing the movement to turn chaotic and violent.

The government slapped the curfew for an indefinite period from midnight of July 19 and deployed the armed forces to contain violence.

The Daily Star found that more than 204 lives have been lost in the violence since July 16.

However, the organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement yesterday announced a single-point demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet members.

Mahadi Hasan, chief executive officer of Bangladesh Eco Adventure, which was founded in 2016, said seven of their tours were cancelled from July to August.

Due to this, the company suffered a financial loss of about Tk 2 lakh, he said, adding that now there was apprehension over whether foreign tourists would decide against visiting Bangladesh.

Because if the tourists do not come to Bangladesh during the November-December period, the business situation will be very bad for the sector, he said.

It will be very helpful if the government starts working on the issue from now so that the image crisis is resolved quickly, he added.

"My company has four tours in November. Its value is like Tk 1.5 crore. These tourists will come from Belgium, Taiwan and Poland. If these tours are cancelled, we will be in big danger for the whole year," Hasan said.

Syed Sajjat Hossain Mahmud, chief executive officer of Deshghuri.com, which was founded in 2013, said they were expecting 20 foreign tourists to arrive from seven countries between August 3 and August 7.

But they cancelled the trip and this caused a loss of about Tk 8 lakh, he said.

Then another tourist group was supposed to come from Hong Kong and that trip too was cancelled. As a result, there was a loss of more than Tk 2 lakh, he said.

"There is another tour in September when eight tourists are expected to come. But the situation that I see, they are likely to cancel it," he said, adding that it takes a long time to confirm a tour.

"You must do a lot of campaigning. Then when it is cancelled, the matter is lost from all sides," he added.

Shiblul Azam Koreshi, a former president of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh, said he met the civil aviation and tourism minister on Thursday and highlighted the current crisis and uncertainty in their sector.

"I have requested him to involve the foreign affairs ministry and take necessary steps so that the situation normalises as soon as possible," he said.

Bangladesh is home to the world's longest sea beach as well as the world's largest mangrove forest alongside numerous places of outstanding natural beauty. But despite its potential, the country still could not explore the global markets and attract foreign holidaymakers.

Even 53 years after its independence, Bangladesh's tourism sector lags behind many South Asian countries.

More than 6.55 lakh foreigners, including holidaymakers, visited Bangladesh in 2023, according to data of the immigration wing of Bangladesh Police provided by Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB).

Most of these visitors were from India, the UK, the US, the UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Russia and Japan, said the BTB.