TDS Desk:

Bangladesh’s tourism industry is currently facing a slowdown with much of the sector now depending largely on local tourists. Consequently, spending by foreign visitors has seen a noticeable drop. In the span of a year, earnings from foreign tourists have decreased by 13 million US dollars.

At the current exchange rate of 122 taka per dollar, this equals approximately 159 crore taka.

This data was revealed in a recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).The report was prepared based on various economic and social indicators of countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the report, in 2023, Bangladesh earned $453 million from foreign tourists. This income dropped to $440 million in 2024.

The spending by international visitors on accommodation, food, and travel within Bangladesh is counted as the country’s revenue from foreign tourism.

The ADB report also outlines tourism earnings and tourist arrival figures for South Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

According to the report, India attracted the highest number of foreign tourists in the region, followed by the Maldives and Sri Lanka. In 2023, India earned $322 billion from foreign tourists, which increased to $350.2 billion in 2024. Sri Lanka’s earnings rose by $1.01 billion within a year, reaching nearly $3.17 billion.

According to report, around 17.4 million tourists visited South Asian countries in 2022. This number rose to 23.3 million in 2023.

The Tourism Satellite Account report published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in 2020 states that during the fiscal year 2018–19, a total of 1.64 million domestic and foreign tourists visited Bangladesh. Among them, 1.35 million were non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) tourists, which accounted for over 80 percent. The number of foreign tourists was 290,000, nearly 20 percent. Of these, 72 percent traveled by air, while the remaining 28 percent came via land routes.