ED: Towards digital tourism

It is commendable to learn that, under the a2i program of the government, a new pilot project is being launched, with the aim of bringing tourism management in the Sundarbans under automation with a mobile app.

Using the app, “Sundarbans”, one can finish all the travel formalities for going to the Sundarbans sitting at home. This will not only save the time of travellers but also ensure hassle-free booking processes, and make it easier for the forest department to provide better services to tourists.

These are the sorts of initiatives we expect from a country that has, over the past dozen years or so, wanted to carve its image as a digital country through the Digital Bangladesh agenda. While the digitization of government services has slowly but surely evolved during this timeframe, it is encouraging to see the authorities concerned expand their reach, and address areas such as tourism which have, historically, been neglected.

The list of natural wonders in Bangladesh is endless, so much so that the utilization of said resources could propel Bangladesh to the same stature of travel hotspots like India and Malaysia. Sadly, that has not been the case.

From the development of travel infrastructure to the digitization of processes that make places like the Sundarbans accessible, there are a lot of things Bangladesh needs to do when it comes to building up our tourism industry.

We are some distance away from fulfilling our goal of becoming a truly digital country. Thus, digital initiatives need to be kept up, and the government needs to keep the momentum going, encouraging more and more people to offer innovative ideas without the fear of repercussions and failure.

However, with the launch of this app, there is reason to be optimistic that the government is on the cusp of a transformation process that sees sectors such as tourism embrace the boons of digital technology, which takes us one step closer towards truly becoming a Digital Bangladesh.