Tourism fair begins tomorrow

A three-day international tourism fair titled US-Bangla Airlines Dhaka Travel Mart (DTM) 2017 will begin at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel tomorrow. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon will formally inaugurate the fair. Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor, The Bangladesh Monitor and Chairman of the US-Bangla Airlines DTM 2017 Organising Committee, came up with this disclosure at a press conference held on Tuesday at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. Imran Asif, CEO of US-Bangla Airlines, Dr Md Nasir Uddin, CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board, Dr Aparup Chowdhury, chairman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, and Md Abu Taher, DGM, Sales, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, spoke on the occasion. The orgniser said a total of 50 organisations from different countries and host Bangladesh are taking part in US-Bangla Airlines Dhaka Travel Mart 2017. The participants include national tourism organisations, airlines, tour operators, hotels, resorts, online booking portals, healthcare service providers, etc. Visitors will be able to visit the fair from 10am to 8 pm from Thursday to Saturday, paying an entry fee of Tk30. Raffle draw will also be held on the concluding day on April 1 at 7:30pm at the fair venue in front of visitors. Prizes will include airline tickets to various destinations at home and abroad, exciting tour packages, star hotel accommodation, lunch/dinner coupons and others. “With a view to unlocking the country’s tourism potential, we launched this event 16 years back, and since then we are holding this fair as a regular annual event,” said Wahidul Alam. “We believe that Dhaka Travel Mart has been playing a very supportive role in the development of country’s tourism sector.” For a sustainable tourism sector and for attracting more foreign tourists, a lot more things need to be done, he said, adding that first of all appropriate tourism products need to be identified and promoted them worldwide.