The State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin said that Dhaka city presently has a limited number of standard hotels to accommodate tourists and visiting delegates. An improvement in the number of such hotels would help boost the tourism industry.

The Minister added that Bangabhaban is now open to tourists. He emphasised that places like these would attract tourists in the city.

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation has also acknowledged the importance of tourism sites in the city as more tourists come to Dhaka before dispersing to other parts of the country.

To develop tourism, the government considered the opening of places like Bangabhaban and Jatiyo Shangshad Bhaban to tourists in August this year.

"If tour operators applied to us in advance, we are in a position to obtain permission from the concerned authorities to visit these places," said Khalilur Rahman, the public relation manager of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.

In the keynote paper Shahabuddin Ahmad, the advisor to Pacific Asian Travel Association (PATA) said that after the independence in 1971 government has allowed as capital, loan and grant an amount of Tk.32 crores during last 32 years to the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), whereas the government had earned Tk.1,300 crores from 892,000 tourists during 1996-2000, according to a report published by BPC. It appears from the report that the earning from tourism per year far outweighed the investment made so far.

The minister also said that the tourism is the only sector that can guarantee profits although it has so far remained unexplored. He said private sectors should come forward in operating and promoting tourism and Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation should work as a regulatory body.

If visa procedures, immigration regulations and custom specifications are simplified this would help a steady inflow of tourist in the city, quipped the minister.

Abdul Mannan MP, former minister for civil aviation and tourism, said that tourism needs to be monitored by a separate ministry as it covers a vast area.

The speakers were critical about the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) slogan 'Poverty Alleviation through Sustainable Development" and said that as tourism has not yet developed in the country because of the lack of basic facilities like accommodation, transport and safety which are key factors in sustaining the tourism industry. If adequate measures were not taken to provide these facilities the slogan would be worthless.

Among speakers present were Chairman Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, President Tours Operators Association of Bangladesh, Chairman Tourism Developers Association of Bangladesh, President Bangladesh Hotel and guest House Owners Association.

The seminar was jointly organised by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Pacific Asian Travel Association-Bangladesh chapter, Bangladesh Hotel and Guest House owners Association, Fasntasy Kingdom and Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.