Tourism Marketing in Developing countries: a study of Bangladesh

Tourism has become a very important and dynamic sector both in the world economy and particular in the developing countries. Its growth affects not only the activities directly linked to tourism but also other sectors. Tourism is already an important sector in some developing countries and will become so for others. Developing countries have been fast growing in tourism industry terms in the world over the last decade. Tourism is one of the most important sectors in a large number of developing countries. Increases in economic growth, disposable income and leisure time, political stability, and aggressive tourism campaigns, among others factors, have fuelled the significant growth of tourism. Developing countries have some common characteristics, such as extreme poverty and widespread conflict (including civil war and ethnic clashes), extensive political corruption, lack of political and social stability, human resource weakness (human assets index, nutrition, health, education and adult literacy), and economic vulnerability. Bangladesh is a developing country in Asia, holding high potentiality for tourism. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) plays an important role for the development of tourism. For a long time, Bangladesh has been an attractive destination for tourists. But at present, its position is not significant in terms of the international tourism market. The overall objective of this research is to identify the issues and challenges in tourism marketing facing Bangladesh.