Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

Introduction
Interest in the concept and practice of nation branding has proliferated in
recent years, as more and more governments around the world attempt to
attach the power of commercial branding techniques in order to improve
their countrys image and reputation across a wide range of sectors.
Bangladeshis have a persistent grievance that Bangladesh is not justly
portrayed in international forums. It has become commonplace for the
country to be associated with natural calamities, wavering political
situation, corruption and other negative attributes. So, it is necessary to
remove the negative perception about Bangladesh & to spread out the
positive news to enhance the image of Bangladesh in the world.
Bangladesh, as a LDC, faces a reputation challenge which is popularly
known as its image problem. Bangladesh has gained the image of a
country with too many people, too much poverty, too little resources, too
frequent disasters, too little ability to change for better (Yunus, 1992).
Whenever the international community thinks of Bangladesh, negative
impression flashes into their mind and factors like corruption, child labor,
underdeveloped human assets, internecine politics, bad investment
climate, poor law and order, and recently Islamic terrorism had killed its
image. Even, according to some people image crisis is the number one
problem for Bangladesh. Hence, this study focus shifted to the questions
like, how the image could be developed. From secondary study we have
found that branding, particularly nation branding is one of the way to
develop the image of Bangladesh. In fact, the secondary study suggested
the proposition that, in the competitive era of globalized world Bangladesh
should concentrate on nation branding to uphold its image to the people,
i.e. the tourists, investors and other stake holders of the country. The
biggest question lies which will be the ideal product/ service that have
unique characteristics for Bangladesh and can bring the positive image of
Bangladesh internationally.

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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

Branding:
Marketing Guru Philip Kotler defined brand as a name, term, sign,
symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the
goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them
from those of competitors.
He explains that a brand is basically a sellers promise to deliver a specific
set of features, benefits, and services consistently to the buyers. The best
brands convey a warranty of quality. Branding can convey up to six levels
of meanings; attributes, benefits, values, culture, personality, and user.
The branding challenge is to develop a set of positive associations for the
brand.
Much of the definitions of branding focus directly and more on explaining
what brand means. Cowking & Hankinson (1996) state A brand is simply
a product or service which can be distinguished from its competitors.
According to John Murphy in Hart & Murphy ed. (1998), such distinguishing
aspects and brand features could be tangible and intangible.
Nilson (2000) writes that a brand is really just a symbol with tremendous
potential, and that this symbol can be expressed in many different ways.
This is particularly true as such symbols such as the Nike swoosh, the
Mercedes star and the McDonalds' golden arches come to mind. The
brand symbol can also become a distinctive feature from other competing
brands.

Brand Equity:
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

The term brand equity is a prominent one in the theory and practice of
branding. Fundamentally, brand equity refers to the value of a brand. The
notion of equity is borrowed from the field of finance. One approach may
be characterized as the consumer perspective, wherein brand equity may
be evaluated in terms of consumer awareness of the brand in question,
consumer judgments regarding brand quality, uniqueness, prestige and so
on.

Customer-based Brand Equity:

Aaker states that brand equity represents a set of brand assets and
liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to or subtract
from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and that firms
customers.
One of the leading proponents of the consumer perspective on brand
equity, Kevin Lane Keller, uses the term CBBE (customer-based brand
equity) which he defines as the differential effect that brand knowledge
has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand. He proposed
six building blocks for measuring brand equity.

Resonance

Judgment

Feelings

Performance

Imagery

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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

Salience

Figure: Customer Based Brand Equity Pyramid

Nation Branding:
Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure,
build and manage the reputation of countries. The concept of nation
branding was elaborated by Simon Anholt in 1998 through his article
Nation Brands of the 21st Century in the Journal of Brand Management
where he pointed out that brands create a value that is invisible. Anholt,
a market researcher from the corporate sector, reckons that brand is a
multiplier of value and as such represents a substantial advantage for its
owner; it is as good as money in the bank.
Compared to products and services branding, country branding is the
process whereby a country actively seeks to create a unique and
competitive identity for itself, with the aim of positioning the country
internally and internationally as a good destination for trade, tourism and
investments.
In this regard, countries such as South Africa, Wales, Spain, Colombia, and
Ireland have succeeded in attracting FDIs and tourists to their countries as
a result of carefully managed country branding programs.
It is said that a country cannot be sold like toothpaste. Thus, nation
branding is not about pretending that everything is fine in a country, nor
is it about discouraging investors and tourists from coming into the
country. It is about letting others know about the talents and the
opportunities that a country is endowed with. Accordingly, nation branding
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

requires a broader definition of the term branding that includes a plan

for earning reputation. Indeed, one needs to inspire and induce majority of
the citizens to act in a way that helps the country to earn a reputation and
make sure that the world knows about it and believes in it.
Nation branding aims to measure, build, and manage the reputation of
countries.

It

applies

some

approaches

from

commercial

brand

management practice to countries, in an effort to build, change, or protect

their international reputations or external perception. It is based on the
observation that the brand images of countries are just as important to
their success in the global marketplace as those of products and services.
With products, such tangible and intangible values are easily identifiable
by the consumers, as they can feel, touch, sample and judge the product
before purchasing, however this becomes a bit difficult with services,
which the consumers can only judge after experiencing or based on their
prior knowledge and information about the service, a decision process
which can be aided by a strong brand identity.
With countries, the decision making process is even more difficult because
the objectives and costs are different, whereas a consumer could easily
afford to spend money on a product without much considerations and with
potentially less consequences as a result of dissatisfaction, it is not so
simple with companies wishing to invest in a country or with tourists
wishing to go on holidays in the country. Both the companies and the
holidaymakers are influenced by a lot of other factors; this is because of
the huge sums of money involved. For holidaymakers this will run into
thousands of dollars or pounds, they will also consider the relative safety
of the social and political environment of the country.
For companies, the figure becomes even higher, often running into
hundreds of millions of dollars or pounds, at the back of the minds of such
potential investors will want the security of their investments as well as
the rate of return on such investments compared to the rates of return on
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

investment in other competing countries, the investors decisions will also

invariably be influenced by the political, social and economic stability of
the country in question.
This view is shared by Randall Frost (2004) who wrote that There's no
arguing that the image we have of another country says a lot about how
we view it as a tourist destination, a place to invest or a source of
consumer goods.

Why Countries Engage in Nation Branding:

The application of branding techniques to nations is a relatively new
phenomenon,

but

one

which

is

growing

in

frequency

given

the

increasingly global competition that nations now face in both their

domestic & external markets. Nations are making increasingly conscious
efforts to sharpen their country branding in recognition of the need to
fulfill three major objectives:
To attract tourists,
To stimulate inward investment &
To boost exports.
A further objective for many nations is talent attraction, whereby
countries compete to attract higher education students, and skilled
workers. A wider set of potential rewards to be gained through nation
branding has been proposed by Temporal (14), who suggests that in
addition to the key goals of attracting tourists, stimulating inward
investment and boosting exports, nation branding can also increase
currency stability; help restore international credibility and investor
confidence;
international

reserve
political

international
influence;

ratings
stimulate

downgrades;
stronger

increase

international

partnerships and enhance nation building (by nourishing confidence,

pride, harmony, ambition, national resolve).
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

The way a country is perceived can make a critical difference to the

success of its business, trade and tourism efforts, as well as its diplomatic
and cultural relations with other nations.

With the rising trend of

globalization and the breaking down of international barriers of trade,

competition for consumers and inward investments, also known as Foreign
Direct Investments (FDI) are getting more intense amongst the countries
of the world.
Charles Braymer of Interbrand, in his paper Branding A Country (2003)
writes that countries will compete daily with neighbors or block regions for
tourism, inward investment and export sales, theres only so much
business that can go around. Those countries that start with an unknown
or poor reputation will be limited or marginalized. They cannot easily
boost their commercial success.

Branding Bangladesh:
Nation branding is not yet given much attention in the middle and low
income countries. But if a country opts not to have a branding strategy, it
does not mean that others will leave it alone.
Rather, disadvantaged countries like Bangladesh will be left to the
discretion of others and get branded based on limited and partial or
biased information. Remaining cognizant of this, emerging economies are
increasingly addressing the issue of nation branding in a pro-active
manner. For instance, in the region, India is recreating its image as the
hub of IT based industries and services as well as a major source of skilled
manpower. Even small countries, like Bhutan, may use their image of
being small, unique, and fragile that is envied by the developed world.
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

Till date, Anholt Index does not include Bangladesh. But as Bangladesh
progresses, it will definitely generate enhanced interest in the global
community and the sponsors of the index will be inclined to include the
country in its exercise.
It is not needed to make a replica of Disney World in Dhaka to attract
foreign tourists to visit our country with the whole lot of their families
including their grandchildren. We don't need to offer loans worth billions of
American dollars to allure foreign entrepreneurs to set up their shops and
industries on our soil. What we need to do is an assurance that we as a
nation are hospitable and we love nature. What the government has to do
is do whatever is possible with our limited resources to upgrade our
capital city's present status of being the second least-livable city in the
world to a reasonably better rank tolerable to a foreign tourist for his
enjoying a break for a couple of days and to make our investment climate
attractive by offering durable infrastructures, quality labor forces and
hassle-free utility services needed for industrial efficiency, safety, growth
and sustenance in the long term.
Despite significant achievements made in reducing infant mortality rate,
tree plantations, enrolment in primary education, standard education
policy, stipends for female students, women empowerment, freedom of
press, sanitation, population control, innovation of micro-credit, game of
cricket, disaster management, export-oriented industries, remittance
inflows, resilience in weathering global financial crises, ridding the nation
of the image of fundamentalism, giving the idea on introducing the
International Language Day and many more achievements like the recent
conquering of Mount Everest, Bangladesh is yet to win a room in the
hearts of global communities to convince tourists and investors to visit our
home, the biggest deltaic land in the world enlaced by the Earth's longest
mangrove forests and bestowed upon by cheap labor forces.
Hence, the branding of Bangladesh is crucial for her development through
trade, tourism, investment and international cooperation. And branding
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

has to be done through amplification of what we actually have achieved

and what we naturally have but not through any fabrication of what we
don't have or by any jugglery of words in making tall promises that we can
never fulfill.

The Perception of People about Bangladesh:

Branding is a kind of creating imagery in people's mind. As Kevin Lane
Keller said that brand knowledge has two components: brand awareness
and brand image. Brand awareness is related to the strength of the brand
node or trace in memory. On the other hand brand image is peoples
perceptions about a brand, as reflected by the brand associations held in
peoples memory. Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and
recall performance. Brand recognition is the peoples ability to confirm
prior exposure to the brand when given the brand as a cue. Brand recall is
peoples ability

to retrieve the

brand

from

memory

given

the

when

category.

So it is important to know what lies in the peoples mind when they think
of Bangladesh. As AlRies and Jack Trout (1981) said, the perceptions of
people in a place are often different from those visiting it. That is why the
study is aimed to find the similarities and differences between the
perceptions of native people and foreigners to understand the divergence
of their perceptions.
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Nation Branding: Story of Bangladesh

Chart 1 reveals that in terms of the TOM (Top of Mind), it is found that 26%
of the native respondents say that over population comes to their when
they think about Bangladesh. It is followed by rich in natural beauty
(13.2%), corruption (13.2%).

However, when all the perceptions are

ranked based on the first four recognitions, Bangladesh is rich in natural

beauty (19.2%) is found at the top of the list followed by over population
(15.4%), traffic congestion (9.6%) and load shedding (9.6%).

Chart 2 reveals that in terms of the TOM (Top of Mind), it is found that
when foreigners think about Bangladesh, they think it is the country of
friendly people (20.0%), poverty (20.0%), over population (20.0%) and
traffic congestion (20.0%).

However, when all the perceptions are ranked

based on the first four recognitions, it is also found that they think
Bangladesh is a country of friendly people (20.5%) followed by poverty

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(20%), over population (20%), load shedding (20%) and traffic congestion
(20%).

So, it is found that Bangladesh is rich in natural beauty and is country of

friendly people are ranked first in the perceptions of native people and
foreigners respectively. But there are several negative things like over
population, poverty, traffic congestion, load shedding are also in the
minds of both foreigners and native people. This can be shown by the
following diagram:

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But the real fact is Bangladesh has much to offer foreigners, but it does
not have the right image. When people think of Bangladesh, they think of
poverty, flood and micro credit. This is the image most foreigners see on
their television screens. The Bangladesh government has traditionally
pushed the sad image of Bangladesh in the media. Who wants to visit a
poor, flood stricken and thereby depressing place? Thus it is the time to
take initiatives to change the perceptions of people about Bangladesh.

Tourism:
Tourism is often synonymous to traveling for pleasure and education. It is
also

business

of

attracting

tourists

and

providing

for

their

accommodation and entertainment. In many countries, tourism is an

industry for earning Inland Revenue and foreign exchange. The many
businesses that grow along with development of tourism include airlines,
shipping, hotels and restaurants, finance companies, tour operators,
travel agents, car rental firms, caterers and retail establishments and
together, they contribute significantly to the overall development of a
country's economy and to its cultural diversification and assimilation.
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Bangladesh had always attracted tourists. Travelers from different parts of

the world had interest in this part of the world since very ancient times.
They visited Bengal with varied purposes. Some came with missionary
objectives, some with motives of exploring business opportunities; some
came to attend seats of learning and some for meeting curiosity.
Bangladesh is one of the few countries in South Asia, which remains to be
explored. Bangladesh has a delicate and distinctive attraction of its own to
offer. The traditional emphasis of the tourist trade has always been on the
material facilities offered by a country rather than on its actual charms.
It's a land of enormous beauty, hundreds of serpentine rivers, crystal clear
water lakes surrounded by ever green hills, luxuriant tropical rain forests,
world's largest mangrove forest preserved as World Heritage, home of the
Royal Bengal Tiger and the wild lives, wind in the paddy fields, abundance
of sunshine, world's longest natural sea beach etc.
Country branding means the earning of reputation for a country by
utilizing its inner resources and opportunities, which are original and
inspiring to the outer world. The official brand name of our beloved
country is Beautiful Bangladesh. The goal is to establish a positive
image of our country and attract foreign tourists to visit its panoramic
landscapes, seascapes and the natural beauties. There is a great
opportunity to brand this country, which can be done through attracting
foreigners to the tourist spots -- Cox's Bazar, the Sundarbans, Jaflong,
Kuakata, and historical sites like Bagerhat, Sonargaon, Moynamoti,
Mahasthangar etc.
Tourism in Bangladesh is a slowly developing foreign currency earner.
Since the year 2000 tourists arriving in Bangladesh have been swelling in
numbers. Not only is it international visitors but locals are also taking their
holidays. All these travelers require appropriate accommodation and the
demand in hotel beds and restaurants are now being met for every taste
and every budget. Many of the visitors are expatriate Bangladeshi coming
to Bangladesh not only to visit their families, but for a holiday and to
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experience the vibrant and culturally rich country of their forbearers.

Catering for all these people has seen an increase in the demand for new
hotels and restaurants in Dhaka and other tourist locations.

The Tourist Spots of Bangladesh that the Native People

and International Visitors have Visited or Want to Visit
in Future:
In terms of the TOM (Top of Mind), Coxs Bazar is found to take the first
position by 11 (73.3%) native people that they have visited or want to
visit in future. It is followed by Saint Martin (13.3%), Bandarban (6.7%)
and Kaptai (6.7%). However, when all the tourist spots are ranked based
on first three recognitions, it is also found that Coxs Bazar is observed in
first position by 34.1% of the native people followed by Saint Martin
(19.5%),

Sundarbans

(9.8%),

Kuakata

(9.8%),

Rangamati

(7.3%),

Bandarban (4.9%) and Mahasthangarh (4.9%). (Chart 3)

In terms of the TOM (Top of Mind), Coxs Bazar is found to take the first
position by 12(80.0%) foreigners that they have visited or want to visit in
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future. It is followed by Sundarbans (6.7%), Sonargoan (6.7%) and

Chittagong Hill Tracks (6.7%).
However, when all the tourist spots are ranked based on first four
recognitions, it is also found that Coxs Bazar is observed in first position
by 46.9% of the foreigners that is followed by Sundarban (21.9%),
Sonargoan (6.3%), Old Dhaka (6.3%), Chittagong Hill Tracks (6.3%),
Rangamati (3.1%), Kuakata (3.1%), Sylhet (3.1%) and Bandarban (3.1%).
(Chart 4)

Sundarbans:
The Sundarban () is the largest single block of tidal mangrove forest
in the world. The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful
jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language (Sundar, "beautiful"
and ban, "forest" or "jungle"). The name may have been derived from the
Sundari

trees

that

are

found

in

Sundarbans

in

large

numbers.

Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of

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Samudraban, Bengali: (Shomudrobn-"Sea Forest") or Chandrabandhe (name of a primitive tribe). But the generally accepted view is the
one associated with Sundari trees.

The forest lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the
confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across
southern Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The seasonally-flooded
Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove
forests on the coastal fringe. The forest covers 10,000 sq. km. of which
about 6,000 are in Bangladesh. It became inscribed as a UNESCO world
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heritage site in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions
constitute the same continuous ecotype, these are separately listed in the
UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National
Park, respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of
tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove
forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger
(Panthera Tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds,
spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. The fertile soils of the delta have
been subject to intensive human use for centuries, and the eco region has
been mostly converted to intensive agriculture, with few enclaves of forest
remaining.

The

remaining

forests,

together

with

the

Sundarbans

mangroves, are important habitat for the endangered tiger.

Saint Martins Island:

Saint Martins island is situated in the southeast of Bangladesh on The Bay
of Bengal. From the main land it is 9-10 km far. It is almost 7 km long
including "Chhera Dweep". Chhera Dweep is another attraction of this
island. This a torn part of this island but exclusively beautiful. "Chhera"
means Torn and "Dweep" means Island. The underwater colorful fishes
and live corals entertain the tourist in Chhera Dweep.
Local name of this island is "Narikel Gingira" means Coconut Island. The
total island is surrounded by thousands of coconut trees. The northern
part of the island is the mostly populated area and all the hotels, motels
and restaurants are there in the northern part. On the other hand
southern of the island is almost blank.

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It has become one of the most popular tourist places in Bangladesh.

October to March is considered as tourists season. Tourists are being
attracted for its natural beauty.
Black dead corals are all around the island in the beach. When the water
level get down then the corals come out and show its beauty. The coconut
trees of this island made the island exclusively beautiful. These coconut
trees save the island from cyclones.
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Tortoises are there in the island and lay eggs in the island. To protect
those eggs from destruction there is a research center in the middle of the
island. Researchers come and stay there during the period when tortoises
lay eggs.
The people of the island are very hospitable. They are very simple and
very well mannered. They are very cordial to the tourists. Most of the
Italian restaurants and motels are being operated by the people of the
island. They do business during the tourists season.
In the island there are different souvenir shop there tourists get souvenirs
made of corals and snails. These souvenirs are very beautiful and tourists
collect these souvenirs for their friends and hold it as memory of this
island.
During tourist season there is a kite festival arranged and different types
of kite are made and fly in the sky. This kite festival is very colorful and its
a traditional festival of Bangladesh.
Tourist enjoys the sunrise and the sunset in the island. At the most
southern part of the island is the best location to enjoy the sunset.

Rangamati-The Lake City:

Rangamati, located 77 km. away from Chittagong, is a favorite holiday
resort because of its beautiful landscape, lake, numerous colorful tribes,
hanging bridge, homespun textile products, ivory jewellery, and tribal
museum and so on. For tourists the attractions are fishing, speed-boat
cruising, water skiing, bathing and much more. It is a rare spot for
ecotourism. The township is located on the western bank of Kaptai Lake.

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Bandarban-The Roof of Bangladesh:

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Bandarban, the district headquarters of the Bandarban Hill District, is

situated ninety-two km. from Chittagong. Bandarban Hill District is the
remotest and least populated district in Bangladesh. The lure of the tallest
peaks of Bangladesh, treks through virgin forests and chance to meet
more than 15 tribes of the region up close is growing both among
Bangladeshis and tourists from other countries. Since the insurgency
ceased in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (a cluster that includes all three hill
districts of Bangladesh) it has opened up for tourists more than a decade
back, though some of the western tourist guides may still describe the
area as a major security risk.

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The three highest peak of Bangladesh - Tahjindong (1280 meters, also

known as bijoy), Mowdok Mual (1052 meters), and Keokradong (883
metres) - are located in Bandarban district, as well as Raikhiang Lake, the
highest lake in Bangladesh. Chimbuk peak and Boga Lake are two more
highly noted features of the district. Though most Bangladesh sources cite
Keokradong as the highest peak in the country, but Tazing Dong
(sometimes spelled as Tahjingdong, and also known as Bijoy) lying further
east is recognized both by government and expert sources as a taller
peak.

Kuakata-Daughter of the Sea:

Kuakata, situated in the district of Patuakhali, is a wonderful picturesque
spot. The 25 KM long sea beach situated at the periphery of the southern
part of Patuakhali is a potential tourist resort. It provides a unique
opportunity to witness both sun rise and sun set.

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The local Rakhain population has rich cultural tradition and their
hospitality is well known. The 200 acres dense forest gives the beach a
pleasant look and it serves as a wall against tidal bore. A Buddhist pagoda
is located at the sea-shore and a Buddhist statue weighing over 1.5 metric
tons

is

preserved inside the Pagoda.

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Kuakata, locally known as Sagar Kannya (Daughter of the Sea) is a rare

scenic beauty spot on the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. Kuakata in
Latachapli union under Kalapara Police Station of Patuakhali district is
about 30 km in length and 6 km in breadth. It is 70 km from Patuakhali
district headquarters and 320 km from Dhaka. At Kuakata excellent
combination of the picturesque natural beauty, sandy beach, blue sky,
huge expanse of water of the Bay and evergreen forest in really eyecatching.
Kuakata is one of the rarest places which have the unique beauty of
offering the full view of the rising and setting of crimson sun in the water
of the Bay of Bengal in a calm environment. That perhaps makes kuakata
one of the world's unique beaches. The long and wide beach at Kuakata
has a typical natural setting. This sandy beach has gentle slopes into the
Bay of Bengal and bathing there is as pleasant as is walking or diving.
Kuakata is truly a virgin beach-a sanctuary for migratory winter birds, a
series of coconut trees, sandy beach of blue Bay, a feast for the eye.
Forest, boats plying in the Bay of Bengal with colorful sails, fishing,
towering cliffs, surfing waves everything here touches every visitor's
heart. The unique customs and costumes of the 'Rakhyne' tribal families
and Buddhist Temple of about hundred years old indicate the ancient
tradition and cultural heritage, which are objects of great pleasure
Kuakata is the place of pilgrimage of the Hindus and Buddhist
communities. Innumerable devotees arrive here at the festival of 'Rush
Purnima' and 'Maghi Purnima'. On these two days they take holy bath and
traditional fairs are held here. All these additional offers to panoramic
beauty make the beach more attractive to the visitors.

Tourism Word Associations:

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Chart 5 shows the adjectives that are most commonly associated with the
experience of visiting Bangladesh. Bangladesh is most associated with the
positive attributes of fascinating (42.0%), exciting (31.0%).

Although

some view the visit in Bangladesh are stressful (15.0%) and Risky (12.5%).
But overall Bangladesh is not seen as a stressful or depressing destination
and most of the respondents described the visit as fascinating and
exciting.

Total Tourist Arrivals in Bangladesh:

The following table shows the tourist arrivals in Bangladesh in different
years and the rate of growth of the same:
Year
2000
2001
2002

Total
Touri
sts
199,2
11
207,1
99
207,2

%
Chan
ge
15.3
4.01
0.02
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2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

46
244,5
09
271,2
70
207,6
62
200,3
11
289,1
10
467,3
32
267,1
07

17.98
10.94
23.45
-3.54
44.33
61.65
42.84

The table shows that the number of tourist arrivals in Bangladesh has
decreased to 267,107 in 2009 from 467,332 in 2008 which shows an
average annual growth rate of -42.84 percent. The tourist arrivals
increased in 2008 by 61.65 percent and 44.33 percent in 2007. In general,
the statistics shows it is a very bad and negative trend.

Steps

should

be

taken

to

Improve

Tourism

in

Bangladesh:
Chart 6 reveals that improvement of hotel and transportation system is
ranked first by 31.0% of the native respondents followed by increase
security (28%), promotional activity (28%) and make tourist friendly
environment (8.0%).

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On the other hand Chart 7 reveals that increase promotional activities to

create awareness about the tourist spots of Bangladesh and increase
security are ranked first by 29.4% of the foreigners respectively that are
followed by

improvement of hotel and transportation systems (14.7%)

religious and cultural liberty (11.8%) , ensuring neatness (8.8%) and

create tourist friendly environment (5.9%).

Here we are focusing on the Niche marketing strategy below:

Niche Market for Beaches:
The Beaches product includes Patenga, Parki, Coxs Bazar, Teknaf, Saint
Martins Island and Kuakata. The tourists who want to stay relax, rescue
from mental problem, physical fitness for body disorders and visit for open
air are included in this target group.
Niche Market for Forest, Hills and Islands:

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Hills and Islands include Sundarban, Rangamati, Kaptai, Bandarban and

Khagrachhari. Tourists who are looking for natures and different cultures of
different tribes are included in this target group.

Recommendation:
As tourism is one of the main possible sectors to enhance the image of
Bangladesh. So, to improve the tourism of Bangladesh the following steps
should be implemented.

Improvement in the security systems of the tourist spots is given

the most importance by both the native people and foreigners.

Improvement in the hotel and transportation systems should given

priority for the improvement of the tourism sector.

One of the main obstacles for the improvement of tourism sector is
that the foreigners are not aware of the tourist spots of Bangladesh.
Promotional activities can improve the situation by creating
awareness of the tourist spots. For this reason, like India,
internationally famous celebrities and spokespersons should use in

the promotional campaign.

The website of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation should be
developed and up to date. As the website promotes the slogan of
Discover Beautiful Bangladesh, the information provided in this
website is not sufficient. It should narrate all the important

information as well the low cost of travelling in Bangladesh.

Having an international airport in Coxs Bazar will ensure that
foreigners can fly there directly without having to go through Dhaka.
Besides, hotel and transportation systems should be developed to
meet the taste and income of every tourist. Coxs Bazar can be
branded as other international cities such as like Bali, Goa etc.
Separate entertainment policy may be formulated so that a strong
PPP can be implemented.

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The religious and cultural liberty should be ensured for the foreigner

tourists.
Ecotourism in Bangladesh should be introduced. Ecotourism refers
to tourism that is based on the natural environment but that seeks
to minimise the harmful impacts and better still, seeks to promote
conservation. It focuses on local cultures, wilderness adventures,
volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on our
vulnerable planet. Responsible ecotourism includes programs that
minimize the adverse effects of traditional tourism on the natural
environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people.
Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural
factors, initiatives by hospitality providers to promote recycling,
energy efficiency, water re-use, and the creation of economic
opportunities

for

local

communities

are

an

integral

part

of

ecotourism.
Participate in international tourism fairs.

Govt support to the private tour operators is necessary for the

development of this sector.

Conclusion:
Despite significant achievements made in reducing infant mortality rate,
tree plantations, enrolment in primary education, standard education
policy, stipends for female students, women empowerment, freedom of
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press, sanitation, population control, innovation of micro-credit, game of

cricket, disaster management, export-oriented industries, remittance
inflows, resilience in weathering global financial crises, ridding the nation
of the image of fundamentalism, giving the idea on introducing the
International Language Day and many more achievements like the recent
conquering of Mount Everest, Bangladesh is yet to win a room in the
hearts of global communities to convince tourists and investors to visit our
home. To lessen the negative image in the minds of the people around the
world the government, media, and people should work together and most
important of all patriotism to the motherland is essential to build a
distinctive positive image of Bangladesh around the world through tourism
sector.

Bibliography:

Keller, Kevin Lane, 2008, Strategic Brand Management, 4th

edition, Pearson.
Kotlar, Philip and Armstrong, Gary, 1999, Principles of Marketing,
12th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall

Ries, Al, and Trout, Jack, 1981, Positioning: The Battle for Your
Mind, McGraw-Hill Inc.

www.tourismboard.gov.bd

www.parjatan.gov.bd

www.google.com

www.wikipedia.org

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