Impressions
A Goldmine for Tourists
It hurts to know that Dhaka city's liveability ranking is just a notch above Harare's, the bottom-most city in the latest global habitability reckoning. But things are not all that miserable when you discover Bangladesh's better standing on the happiness index. Though we have gone down in our state of happiness, our ranking touching the first dozen is high enough. Somewhat incredibly, when you think of the political madhouse you never tire of ranting about.
But perhaps it is reserved for Bhutan to be the most contented country where platonic romantics, if there is any left of the species in today's highly materialistic equations, may like to escape to. Nepal topping most Asian countries in striking a gender balance at workplaces could achieve this without eroding its happiness status.
Even in the maze of heart-sinking statistics, you may pull a vicarious smile from an unexpected whiff of luck. Whilst we are dismayed with a statistic that says Dhaka city has a daily addition of 200-250 vehicles to its traffic, Jakarta beats us hands down by swallowing 3000-4000 new transports everyday.
At any rate, such pockmarks to self-image are healed and you radiate a new-found self-confidence as your inherent beauty and treasure of culture captivate the minds of discerning foreigners. They find adorable certain features of a country unique to it or by comparison with other countries discover the marks of distinction of that country much to their delight. They vent out their feelings on a generous laudatory note something we tend to miss out on because we take it so much for granted.
This eulogy is written to a six member celebrity journalists' team from different Australian newspapers who having arrived in Bangladesh on February 14 visited Dhaka, Tangail and the Sundarbans for five days.
Summing up their impressions at the Australian High Commission the award winning Australian journalists said, "Bangladesh with its unique cultural wealth and local crafts can emerge as a tourism destination for Australians." So what if 'there were no discotheques, pubs or star-rated hotels' they remarked.
The whole reportage was full of gems as quotes. Some excerpts: Mark Dapin from the Sydney Morning Herald commenting on a farmer's song was torrential in praise: "I saw one of the best and most fascinating cultural performances in any country of the world."
"Bangladesh's wonderful village life, resilient women and traditional festivals make the country a goldmine for foreign tourists," said Sarah Siddiqi, chief executive of Experience Bangladesh, a tourism-management company that sponsored the tour along with other co-hosts.
There you see the attributes of packaging, presenting and hosting an event with warmth, colour, fervour and hospitality that simply magnetised and mystified the exclusive set of people (proving to be inclusive) who took imprints as though on a clean slate.
One remembers the Japanese ambassador Shiro Sadoshima's accolade to Bangladesh's culture which he said, 'distinguishes itself by its rare depth and dimension.' Our strong folklore traditions embedded in classical dance and music blended with textiles where we are a major player have the makings of a tourist goldmine we are not even nibbling at the margins of.
How long would we revel in the glowing terms that foreigners greet us with in certain areas of life? It's time we make good use of our inherent soft power.
The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star.
But perhaps it is reserved for Bhutan to be the most contented country where platonic romantics, if there is any left of the species in today's highly materialistic equations, may like to escape to. Nepal topping most Asian countries in striking a gender balance at workplaces could achieve this without eroding its happiness status.
Even in the maze of heart-sinking statistics, you may pull a vicarious smile from an unexpected whiff of luck. Whilst we are dismayed with a statistic that says Dhaka city has a daily addition of 200-250 vehicles to its traffic, Jakarta beats us hands down by swallowing 3000-4000 new transports everyday.
At any rate, such pockmarks to self-image are healed and you radiate a new-found self-confidence as your inherent beauty and treasure of culture captivate the minds of discerning foreigners. They find adorable certain features of a country unique to it or by comparison with other countries discover the marks of distinction of that country much to their delight. They vent out their feelings on a generous laudatory note something we tend to miss out on because we take it so much for granted.
This eulogy is written to a six member celebrity journalists' team from different Australian newspapers who having arrived in Bangladesh on February 14 visited Dhaka, Tangail and the Sundarbans for five days.
Summing up their impressions at the Australian High Commission the award winning Australian journalists said, "Bangladesh with its unique cultural wealth and local crafts can emerge as a tourism destination for Australians." So what if 'there were no discotheques, pubs or star-rated hotels' they remarked.
The whole reportage was full of gems as quotes. Some excerpts: Mark Dapin from the Sydney Morning Herald commenting on a farmer's song was torrential in praise: "I saw one of the best and most fascinating cultural performances in any country of the world."
"Bangladesh's wonderful village life, resilient women and traditional festivals make the country a goldmine for foreign tourists," said Sarah Siddiqi, chief executive of Experience Bangladesh, a tourism-management company that sponsored the tour along with other co-hosts.
There you see the attributes of packaging, presenting and hosting an event with warmth, colour, fervour and hospitality that simply magnetised and mystified the exclusive set of people (proving to be inclusive) who took imprints as though on a clean slate.
One remembers the Japanese ambassador Shiro Sadoshima's accolade to Bangladesh's culture which he said, 'distinguishes itself by its rare depth and dimension.' Our strong folklore traditions embedded in classical dance and music blended with textiles where we are a major player have the makings of a tourist goldmine we are not even nibbling at the margins of.
How long would we revel in the glowing terms that foreigners greet us with in certain areas of life? It's time we make good use of our inherent soft power.
The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star.
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