Prospects and Problems of Tourism Sector in Bangladesh: a focus on Sreemangal

Abstract

Tourism industry has a tremendous opportunity to contribute to our GDP. As the economies grow Bangladesh needs to develop its tourism sectors to make this industry a profitable one so that more and more supportive industry emerges. Government and private sectors have to come forward hand in hand to develop this sector. Sreemangal has tremendous opportunity to grow as one of the popular tourist spot of this country. Sreemangal has some competitive edges than other places in Bangladesh. In brief it is a complete package. Nevertheless, the most important issues that most of tourists consider are safety and security issues, accommodation, transportation, adventure, wildlife and natural attraction etc. Therefore, sound infrastructure should be built to satisfy the target customers' need. The visitors or tourists love excitement to enjoy their leisure time. Bangladesh possesses rich heritage and culture. Bangladesh needs to utilize its manpower to sell these tourists spot to formulate a long term strategy to create a unique brand image. The business environment of the tourist place is highly competitive. These competition are not only from the other local tourist spot like cox's bazaar, rangamati, kuakata, sundarban and but also from the outside of the country. The strength of Sreemangal is the local customer base, product variety and unique characteristics. The brand name Sreemangal is memorable, meaningful, transferable and also adaptable. The slogan of Sreemangal has been recommended in the report is "explore the paradise" this slogan gives an adventurous feeling and imagery. These non- products related attributes are necessary for the establishing the Sreemangal as strong brand. The promotional campaign has to be redesigned and television commercial (NTY, Channel'!', ATN, BTY) can be introduced for the first time. Billboards must be placed on strategic locations to gain maximum attention. Paper advertisement could be placed with regular frequency and before the vacation, after the SSC & HSC exam and festival like two Eids and Pooja the frequency will be increased. The impact of the promotional tool should be both on recognition and recall of the brand, which will aid the purchase decision. The recommended strategies, if implemented properly, will make Sreemangal a very strong brand in the tourism industry of Bangladesh.