TOURISM RECREATION RESEARCH VOL.

37(1), 2012: 37-45

Tourism in Rural Bangladesh:

Unlocking Opportunities for Poverty Alleviation?
FARIDUL ISLAM and JACK CARLSEN
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nexus between tourism development and the alleviation of
poverty in the context of rural Bangladesh. Three quarters of the population of Bangladesh live in rural areas where
poverty levels, as measured by income and calorie intake, are extreme. Forms of tourism that maximize benefits for
the poor through providing opportunities for income and employment generation are explored. However, a number
of barriers exist for poverty alleviation through tourism, including inadequate support from government, nongovernment and financial organizations, dominance of tourism by intermediaries and wealthy elites, lack of awareness
and/or ability of traditional farming communities to participate in tourism opportunities and inadequate training
and technical support. A single embedded case study involving government, tourism industry and non-government
organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh investigates these barriers. The potential for tourism-related micro-enterprises is
then discussed as well as the need for industry, government and NGOs to work with micro-credit organizations to
unlock opportunities for poverty alleviation through tourism in rural Bangladesh.
Keywords: tourism; rural; poverty alleviation; Bangladesh.

Introduction
The nexus between tourism and poverty alleviation has
received growing attention over the last three decades
(Ashley and Mitchell 2008). More recently, the United
Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has
attempted to develop a global agenda to support tourism as
an approach to poverty alleviation in developing countries
(Ferguson 2007). As a result, implicitly or explicitly, many
developing nations have considered tourism as a fast track
for economic development in general and as a tool for poverty
alleviation in particular. This has led to a concomitant
increase in academic research into the potential for tourism
development to alleviate poverty in developing countries.
However, the relationship between tourism and poverty
alleviation remains unexplained in most of the tourism
literature and the relevant research is either fragmented or
limited in scope (Zhao and Ritchie 2007). There remains a
need for a deeper understanding of tourism development
and poverty alleviation efforts in different contexts and
settings. Towards this end, this paper contributes to an
understanding of tourism and poverty alleviation in the
context of rural areas of Bangladesh.
Identifying Poverty
Many attempts have been made to understand poverty
at different levels since the 1950s (UNESCAP 2003). At the

UN's World Summit on Social Development, the Copenhagen

Declaration described poverty as having various
manifestations, including lack of income and productive
resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods; hunger
and malnutrition; ill health; limited or lack of access to
education and other basic services; increased morbidity and
mortality from illness; homeless and inadequate housing;
unsafe environments and social discriminations and
exclusion (UN 2000).
UNESCAP states that poverty essentially has three
closely interrelated aspects: poverty of money, poverty of
access and poverty of power. These make the working, living
and social environments of the poor extremely insecure and
severely limit the options available to them to improve their
lives (UNESCAP 2003: 24).
Economists and social researchers use two dimensions
to measure poverty: absolute or relative standards which
are sometimes called minimal-living standards or incomedistribution standards (O'Boyle 1999). The World Bank also
explains poverty from various perspectives: income and
consumption levels, social factors, vulnerability to risks and
access to sound socio-political conditions. Although the
nature of poverty is multi-dimensional, it is generally
understood in terms of income levels and is measured
against the poverty line as set by the World Bank of one

FARIDUL ISLAM is a PhD Student at the Curtin Sutainable Tourism Centre, Curtin University, P.O. Box: U1987, Perth 6845, Western Australia.
e-mail: mfislam2001@yahoo.com
JACK CARLSEN is Professor at the Curtin Sutainable Tourism Centre, Curtin University, P.O. Box: U1987, Perth 6845, Western Australia.
e-mail: j.carlsen@curtin.edu.au
Copyright 2012 Tourism Recreation Research

Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

dollar per day per person (extreme poverty). Another way of

conceptualizing poverty is to think of it as a denial of
freedoms, e.g., the freedom to work to earn an income; access
to education, health care and democratic participation
(Holden 2008).
With its divergent concepts and multi-dimensional
measurement tools the cause of poverty is the human created
socio-economic system and the inability to think beyond the
dominant theoretical frameworks of macro-economics.
Yunus (2007) emphasizes the strategic redesign of the
economic institutions, with micro-credit principles that better
serve the poor. Although Yunus is mostly associated with
micro-credit financing, this policy and approach can also be
effective for small and micro tourism related organizations
in rural Bangladesh.
Poverty in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has been struggling for economic
emancipation since its independence in 1971 and poverty
remains a serious problem alongside political instability,
population pressures and recurring natural disasters,
especially in rural areas. At present, the total population is
around 150 million people and about 75% live in the rural
areas (FAO 2009). Around 40% of the total population live
in poverty, with 25% of those classified by the government
as in extreme poverty and barely able to take advantage of
the productive opportunities emerging from economic
growth (Holmes et al. 2008). The average per capita income
in Bangladesh is only US$ 520 (BESR 2007).
The Government of Bangladesh has adopted the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs ) (ADB 2004), by
2015 to:
(i)

Remove the ugly face of poverty by eradicating hunger,

food insecurity and extreme destitution, and

(ii)

Halve the proportion of people living below the poverty

line by 2015.

Halving income poverty by 2015 is one of the key

dimensions of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
of the United Nations. Bangladesh has considered this goal
very positively as reflected through government policies.
Formulation of the Interim Poverty Alleviation Strategy Paper
(I-PASP) is an important step to achieving the goal. However,
employment generation is considered as the highest priority
of the government of Bangladesh (GoB and UN 2005) and
tourism is considered one priority sector.
Research Objectives
The role of tourism organizations to create
opportunities and hence improve livelihoods in developing
38

countries is significant (Kirsten and Rogerson 2002; Wanhill

2000). One opportunity for rural people to be involved in
tourism is through the establishment of tourism micro
enterprises. Thus, the broad aim of this research is to develop
knowledge and understanding of the nexus between tourism
micro enterprise development and poverty alleviation in the
context of rural Bangladesh. To address this objective the
research has examined the crucial roles of key government,
NGOs and international organizations in establishing
tourism-related micro enterprises.
Fragmentation of various organizations within tourism
is common (Ashley and Roe 2002; Dimoska 2008) and as a
consequence diverse views and values and lack of coordination is also evident (Yasarata et al. 2010). Under these
circumstances, prospects for tourism-related organizations
to contribute to poverty alleviation is made more difficult.
Therefore, the research has addressed the following subquestions that relate to the main research objective:
1.

What current barriers exist for the tourism enterprises

in rural Bangladesh?

2.

What are the roles of tourism key organizations in the

development of tourism micro enterprises in the rural
areas of Bangladesh?

Research Method
Within a single embedded case, this research has
focused on the nexus between tourism development and
poverty alleviation issues in the context of rural Bangladesh.
In addressing the sub-questions, the range of perspectives of
tourism-related organizations were documented. As survey
research methods do not always identify specific views of
study participants (Coleman 1959), in-depth interviews were
used for primary data collection in this research.
The extent of the study population of key organizations
was unknown to the researchers prior to undertaking the
research. This led to the adoption of a snowball sampling
method for sampling and data collection (Heckathorn 1997).
However, identifying the initial contacts is always a
challenge with snowball sampling (Biernacki and Waldorfe
1981). Social visibility is considered as one of the major
solutions in locating the initial reference points (Biernacki
and Waldorfe 1981). To enable the identification of initial
reference points, researchers applied the social visibility
concept along with an in-depth review of case-relevant
literature. These helped to identify high profile tourism and
poverty alleviation related organizations that were then
considered to be knowledgeable about tourism development
and rural Bangladesh. Hence, the National Tourism
Organization (NTO), NGOs, UNDP, Tour Operators'
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Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), Bangladesh Hotel,

Restaurant and Cottage Owners' Association and
Government Cultural Institutes have been used as initial
reference points for this study. These contacts were asked to
help locate other knowledgeable respondents during the
initial contact. In response, they recommended the names of
eco-tour guides, community groups, NGOs, international aid
organizations, forestry department, retailers, local elites and
crafts organizations.
The primary method for data collection was in-depth
interviews using semi-structured interview questions. Indepth interviews were conducted from January to July 2010
at the preferred time and place of the participants. Prior to
interview, each participant was given a verbal description
of the purpose of this research and asked if he/she would be
interested in taking part in the interview. The participants
who expressed interest were sent e-mails or letters containing
written information about the interview session, instructions,
a consent form and contact details. A list of interview
questions was also incorporated with the aforementioned
documents so that the respondents could understand what
information would be asked while conducting interviews.
After 49 in-depth interviews, researchers became aware that
the information redundancy had been reached. Only one
interviewee did not agree to complete the interview and the
limited responses have not been used for this study. In all 48
complete interview transcripts have been analysed in this
research.
Data Analysis

Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software,

NVivo has been used for analysis of the in-depth interviews.
This software has been used for transcribing, coding, theme
development and identifying links between the research
themes. The information in the interview transcripts were
coded in nodes and common themes have been developed
based on the issues related to the research questions and
objectives.
Qualitative research is subject to debate regarding
validity and reliability (Kelle and Laurie 1995). Qualitative
researchers prefer to use terms such as trustworthiness and
rigour in reference to quality of data (Lincoln and Guba 1985).
To ensure data quality, the following steps were taken in
this research. A summary transcript of each interview was
sent to the respective respondents for their feedback and
approval. Modifications were also done after receiving
respondents' feedback on the content of interview transcript.
To further ensure quality in the findings, analysis was
conducted only when the respondents fully agreed with their
respective interview summary reports. This also ensures the
accuracy and trustworthiness of the interview findings.
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 37, No. 1, 2012

Research Findings
The findings from the verified interviews provided
insights into a number of barriers that exist for poverty
alleviation through tourism in rural Bangladesh. Main
barriers include inadequate infrastructure, lack of support
from non-government and financial organisations,
dominance of tourism development by intermediaries and
wealthy elites, lack of awareness and ability of traditional
farming communities to participate in tourism opportunities
and inadequate training and technical support. The
interviews also identified traditional handicrafts and farming
activities as areas where a nexus between tourism and
poverty alleviation can be formed, as well as the respective
roles of organizations in increasing the opportunities for
impoverished rural poor people to participate in tourism
development.
Barriers to Tourism Development
Inadequate Infrastructure
Inadequate health, services and transport infrastructure
development in rural Bangladesh is considered as one of the
major barriers for developing tourism. According to the
interviewees, power and water supply are insufficient in the
rural areas. Moreover, road transport in most of the rural
areas of the country is underdeveloped.
We have electricity, water and transportation problems. We
have been communicating with government offices for many
years to solve our problems but not getting any response
from them. In a few areas, government is taking steps for
solving water and transportation problems. Still, this is not
adequate. Electricity problems are severe in our area. We
cannot work in the evenings.
(Interview no. 20, 27 March 2010)

Lack of Support from NGOs and Financial Organizations

Absence of support from the NGOs and financial
organizations in terms of micro financing is evident in the
context of rural Bangladesh. According to the interviewees
rural people need capital to start micro enterprises, as it is
beyond their financial capability to establish accommodation
or retail outlets, or purchase boats, three-wheelers or vans to
transport tourists. They expect support from the NGOs or
government organizations but only two banks, Bangladesh
Krishi Bank and Cooperative Bank have been operating in
the rural areas of Bangladesh to help rural people. Many
NGOs have failed to provide practical micro lending facilities
in most of the rural areas of Bangladesh and this is a
significant barrier to the rural poor getting involved in
tourism-related activities.
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Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

Local people have no money to start business. They have

good intentions but due to financial problem they cannot do
it. They cannot open a shop, a transport business or buy a
small bus. If our government banks arrange loans for them,
they would benefit.
(Interview no. 29, 24 April 2010)

According to the interviewees, interest rates and

repayment conditions imposed by the micro credit
organizations discourage rural people from taking out loans.
They also indicated that capacity to pay the monthly loan
installments is not considered adequately. It takes at least
three or four weeks to produce handicrafts and handmade
garments following the loan disbursement. However, micro
credit organizations do not allow sufficient time for the
production and sale of the final products. This has become a
significant barrier for the rural poor and hence they are
gradually accumulating an interest debt to micro credit
organizations.
It takes at least one month to produce items after the first
disbursement of loan amount. By this time, the interest has
accumulated already. Weavers take loan at 13% interest
rate. It takes at least 15 days to process the yarn and weaving
is not done in machine but in handlooms, so production is
time consuming. It takes time to produce and sell the final
products. In the mean time, the loan amount is increasing
with the interest debt. This is a big problem for the weavers.
(Interview no. 46, 9 July 2010)
Now BRAC and Grameen Bank are giving micro credit to
the local people. Their interest rate is very high. If anyone
fails to repay an installment, the debt burden is increased.
Still people are taking loans from them as they don't have
any alternative and they need to survive.
(Interview no. 07, 5 March 2010)

Inadequate Technical Support

Absence of technical support is a common barrier for

the weavers to realize benefits from their traditional
handmade garments. Most of the interviewees realize that
weavers are using very traditional production processes and
the hand and back looms used for producing traditional
garments requires additional time and cost. Use of new
technology such as power looms would be beneficial.
However, according to the interviewees, there is no incentive
from the government to introduce new technology in this
sector. They also realize that it is hardly possible for them to
compete with others who are already using new technology.
Our designs are handmade. We don't use any machines.
Weavers need to work hard to weave. Now they are saying
that, if machines can be replaced, it would be easier for them.
They would be able to produce more garments in a shorter
time.
(Interview no. 21, 28 March 2010)
40

Looms are very traditional. They are very slow also. It takes
three days for two persons to weave a garment. If this can be
done in one day, it would be beneficial for them. The looms
should be made faster.
(Interview no. 07, 5 March 2010)

Integration Problems between NGOs and Government

Absence of coordination between the government and

the NGOs is considered to be a barrier to the development of
tourism. Government departments have some projects for
nature conservation as well as rural development in
Bangladesh. In order to ensure sustainable development in
rural areas, integration of NGOs with government projects
is essential. However, in Bangladesh integration between
the government and NGOs at the project level remains a
barrier to rural development. According to the interviewees,
government projects function in the short term while NGOs
are there for the long term. People expect financial and nonfinancial support from the NGOs along with government
infrastructure development or nature conservation projects
to continue for the long term. Interviewees believe that they
would benefit, provided the government and NGOs would
work collaboratively:
I find some NGOs are preserving dolphins in the Bay of
Bengal. They are doing a great job but not many government
organizations know that. Even the Tourism Ministry doesn't
know about these organizations and their work.
(Personal Communication, 24 May 2010)
If NGOs and government organizations could work together,
this park would be developed more. Government takes too
much time in implementing any project but NGOs don't
take that much time. Some works can be done by the
government and some by the NGOs. So, government and
NGOs will have to work together.
(Interview no. 13, 19 March 2010)

No Organized Markets for Rural Products

According to the interviewees, absence of organized

markets such as cooperatives is a major barrier for rural
people to get involved in tourism in Bangladesh. As rural
farmers are not financially literate and have no knowledge
about tourism-related organizations, so it is hardly possible
for them to establish a direct business relationship with them.
Interviewees suggest forming cooperatives of the rural
farmers. This will help raise their bargaining power and
hence overcome dominance of intermediaries.
Farmers cannot do anything individually. They can form an
association. They will select their members for their
association. Then they should gather their items in their
association. On behalf of them, the association members can
directly contact the hotels and restaurants. In this way they
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Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

can get reasonable price. If farmers are not aware about their
rights nobody will raise their voice for them.
(Interview no. 28, 24 April 2010)

Presence of Many Intermediaries

The existence of many intermediaries and wealthy elite
people from other areas is considered a major barrier for
rural people of Bangladesh that prevents them from getting
involved in tourism. According to the interviewees, rural
people have limited access to tourism-related businesses,
such as food suppliers. Hotels, restaurants, cottages, resorts
and guesthouses require a large quantity of food such as
vegetables, fish, poultry and dairy food products that are
mainly sourced from the rural areas of Bangladesh. However,
the presence of many intermediaries between food producers
and tourism businesses prevents direct sales. Rural people
have to bring agricultural products to the local markets where
intermediaries buy those goods and sell to other
intermediaries or to the district level markets from where
tourism-related organizations buy these products. Producers
do not get a fair price for their agricultural products, and it is
the intermediaries that make maximum profits. Interviewees
suggest government intervention to reduce the dominance
of these intermediaries. Tourism-related organizations think
that they will be able to purchase fresh agricultural products
directly from the growers at a comparatively lower price,
provided dominance of the intermediaries is reduced:
There are local growers. A lot of middlemen are also there.
These growers cannot reach us directly. The middlemen take
the maximum benefits from us. If the growers could reach us,
they would financially benefit. This would motivate them.
(Interview no. 26, 23 April 2010)

Wealthy Elite People from Urban Areas

Interviewees realize that, due to dominance of relatively
wealthy people from urban areas, rural people's involvement
in tourism is made more difficult. Realizing the prospects
for accommodation and restaurant businesses, entrepreneurs
from the capital city and nearby districts have started
constructing hotels, cottages, guesthouses and restaurants
in rural areas. As rural people are not financially well off,
they are unable to compete with the new entrepreneurs:
Once there was no hotel or cottage here. Then, I started a
cottage business and IPAC helped me by supplying bamboo,
wood and other building materials. Then some other local
people became interested and started this business. Some of
us started tea stalls and restaurants in small space. We were
earning well. Now investors from Dhaka are building resorts,
hotels, cottages and restaurants. To them we are nothing. In
the future it will be impossible for us to compete with them.
(Interview no. 17, 23 March 2010)
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 37, No. 1, 2012

Awareness and Literacy Levels of Rural People

According to the interviewees rural people are hardly
aware of the opportunities in tourism and its related
organizations. Illiteracy is considered as one of the major
causes of such lack of awareness. Some interviewees perceive
that rural people do not want to start a tourism-related
business and try to take employment in hotels, restaurants
and guesthouses instead.
I don't think that the rural people would understand that
tourism is a sector. They believe that the land which they
have is just farmland. They don't have any idea to use this
land for tourism purposes. May be they see a hotel and go
there and ask can I work here? It is not because of tourism
but because it is there. First, we need to give them an idea
about tourism business.
(Interview no. 41, 24 May 2010)

Linking Tourism Development and Poverty Alleviation

According to respondents, more opportunities in
tourism-related activities would be possible if stakeholders
would work jointly with NGOs. According to one of the
executives of an NGO:
We are exploring tourism opportunities in this area. We are
training the local people in the craft sector. The NTO does
not have any programme like us to involve the local people
and is only supporting food and accommodation facilities.
The NTO should also think about the local poor and work
with us.
(Interview no. 38, 22/05/2010)

In most of the rural areas, high quality handicrafts and

handmade garments are produced by the rural people. They
usually produce these items for their daily needs, but are not
aware that craft items are in demand by tourists. Some
interviewees also notice that an insignificant change in style
of these crafts can create an increase in demand for handicraft
items.
I don't think that rural people who are already making
pottery have any knowledge that the tourists actually would
like it. Most of the rural pottery makers don't know that
these could be sold to the tourists. Maybe they need to ask the
tourists what kind of style they would like. Do they like the
style of pottery as it is? Or do they need to change the
design? Do they like a smaller or larger size? These are very
important things to know. So, maybe there needs to be some
help from somewhere. Building awareness of tourist needs is
the key issue here.
(Interview no. 41, 24 May 2010)
Local people make craft for their own use. Sometimes they
use these for symbolic social exchange. For example, they
make baskets from bamboo and cane to give that as gift to
others. They never think of earning money by selling crafts.
We will have to change their mentality so that they can earn
41

Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

by selling these items in the market. Definitely, they will

financially benefit once they are able to understand this.
(Interview no. 37, 6 May 2010)

According to the interviewees a central organization

within the government should work to make the rural people
aware of getting involved in tourism. Some interviewees
expect initiatives from the local municipalities, universities
or NGOs to make the rural people aware of the tourism
potential of their handicrafts.
One organization will have to play the key role. It can be the
universities or NGOs or the local municipality or the NTO
who can help the rural people. Tourism could be the way to
sell their handicrafts. This would be the way to increase
income of the local people and improve their livelihood. I
don't think the local people would realize it. Not only the
rural people but also other people such as the tour operators
and Tourism Ministry are not aware of potential of tourism
in rural Bangladesh.

Self-employment opportunity in terms of producing

handicrafts by the rural women can be of immense potential
in Bangladesh. According to the interviewees, rural woman
are skilled enough in producing crafts. Most of the rural
women in Bangladesh cannot complete education and rural
culture does not allow them to work in any organization.
They are mostly busy in maintaining families at home and
in their leisure time make handicrafts and handmade
garments. Due to insufficient support from government
organizations and NGOs, self employment opportunities for
women cannot be realised in rural Bangladesh:
There are many unemployed women. Those who couldn't
complete education are staying at home. Most of them are
skilled in weaving and making handicrafts. After completing
household works they could easily make crafts and garments.
They could contribute more, but due to power supply problem
they cannot do much. We haven't power supply in our
village. Otherwise, rural women could contribute significantly
in this sector.

(Interview no. 41, 24 May 2010)

(Interview no. 47, 10 July 2010)

Training and Education

Role of Elected Representatives

According to the interviewees simple and informal

training of the rural people would be of great importance to
make them aware of tourism. Rural people can be given
training on cooking and how to prepare a room for the
tourists.

Elected representatives have an influence on all rural

people and their role is potentially of significant importance
in increasing awareness of tourism. However, the current
role of local elected representatives in this regard is not
encouraging in Bangladesh. According to the interviewees,
local leaders can help the rural people in getting loans under
more favourable terms and conditions. The elected
representatives could also promote their respective rural
areas as tourist destinations. Interviewees believe that if
elected representatives could initiate tourism development
in their own areas, people will be motivated to get involved
in this sector. Moreover, elected representatives can initiate
infrastructure development projects to help tourism
development.

Let me give an example of homestay. Though it is small in

size, ultimately it includes all the components of hotel
management. You need not teach them overall hotel
management. For homestay they need to have the minimum
knowledge regarding housekeeping such as how to prepare
the bed and room. If this can be provided to them, it will
work. If you teach them how to cook, they will cook.
(Interview no. 03, 4 February 2010)

According to the interviewees, the arts and craftsrelated educational institutions have no relationship with
the rural craftsmen. As a result, they have minimal
knowledge of the design and style of the craft items that can
be made more attractive for tourists. Interviewees expect
support from the country's educational institutions related
to arts and crafts for the rural craftsmen:
They produce crafts for their own use. They don't bother too
much about the design, color and style. This is a problem.
They need to improve in design and style. There is no linkage
between the craftsmen and designers. We have fine art colleges
and departments in our public universities. Students don't
know that most of the craftsmen of our country are from
rural and remote areas. Craftsmen also don't know whether
they can get any support from these institutes.
(Interview no. 13, 19 March 2010)

42

We have elected persons in our sub-district and unions. They

can help us in many ways. They can convince the NGOs and
banks to reduce interest rates and relax conditions. Still we
haven't seen these sorts of initiatives from them.
(Interview no. 21, 28 March 2010)
Awareness is very essential to do business. Local political
leaders and elected representatives can do something in
building awareness because they have influence over the local
people.
(Interview no. 30, 24 April 2010)

Discussion
Tourism development requires various types of
partnerships, alliances or networks between the actors
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Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

(Halme 2001). Specifically, strategic planning for tourism

needs coordinated action by tourism-related organizations,
government and NGOs (Wilson et al. 2001). Joint effort,
particularly by the NTO and NGOs is fundamental for
tourism development and hence addressing the poverty
alleviation problem in Bangladesh.
Poverty alleviation through tourism is most needed in
rural areas, but most of the South Asian countries have not
effectively decentralized their tourism programmes (Richter
and Richter 1985). In Bangladesh, important government
organizations related to tourism development such as
cultural organizations are urban-oriented. In order to develop
tourism in rural areas these organizations need to be
decentralized. Moreover, there should be coordination
between NGO and government projects. In those rural areas
where government projects are functioning for nature
conservation, NGOs should also extend their micro credit
facilities simultaneously to include nature and ecotourismrelated enterprises.
Diversifying income can be an important alternative,
particularly for the rural poor who are mostly dependent on
agriculture and subject to weather fluctuation and crop cycles
(Anderson et al. 2002). Activities such as handicraft
production and services related to tourism and recreation
are considered as the major alternative non-farm economic
activity (Ashley 2002). Entry barriers in terms of credit and
training are common for the rural people. In most of the
developing countries, government and NGOs have been
focusing on the micro credit programmes for rural people
recognizing the importance of self-employment (PanjaitanDrioadisuryo and Cloud 1999). Keeping this in mind, both
government and NGOs should rethink and plan their micro
credit programmes in Bangladesh.
Dominance of wealthy elites and the intermediaries in
tourism is common (Walpole and Goodwin 2001). There may
be many barriers that prevent the rural poor to develop direct
relationships with tourism organizations. Tourism
organizations are mostly dependent on suppliers. However,
it is evident from this study that there are no direct linkages
between rural agricultural producers and tourism businesses
in the context of Bangladesh. Rural people are weak in terms
of finance and knowledge about the tourism industry. To
reduce the strong dominance of the wealthy and elite people
of the other areas, government intervention is necessary.
Tourism businesses also need to decrease their dependence
on intermediaries for food supplies. If tourism is to be a
positive force for the rural people, it must involve those
people. In addition, cooperatives of rural farmers can also
help rural poor make direct relationships with tourism
businesses.
Tourism Recreation Research Vol. 37, No. 1, 2012

In developing countries, lack of tourism understanding

is recognized as a major barrier for tourism development as
well as community benefits (Reid and Gibb 2004). Hence
preparing the local community is necessary for their
involvement in tourism sector (Tao and Wall 2009). As rural
people of Bangladesh are mostly dependent on traditional
agriculture, their readiness in commencing tourism-related
micro- enterprises or relationships with tourism businesses
is limited. However, knowledge and awareness of tourism
are important factors for rural people (Cole 2006). Lack of
tourism understanding is linked to the unfulfilled potential
of tourism development and hence rural people are unable
to realize benefits (Cole 2006). In Bangladesh, training and
awareness programmes should be undertaken for the rural
poor by the government and tourism-related organizations
in order to make them aware of tourism and its benefits. To
help create rural entrepreneurs related to tourism, training
in business activities such as taxi driving, small cottages
and guesthouses, restaurants, crafts and street vendors
should be arranged.
Locally produced handicrafts are important where
there is specialist market such as tourists (Markwick 2001).
Tourists get satisfaction from purchasing local crafts as
souvenirs. Simultaneously, crafts are considered as an
income generation opportunity for the local community
(Mustafa 2011). However, local communities fail to benefit
when linkages between crafts, craftsmen and tourism are
not well defined in many tourist destinations (Robinson and
Picard 2006). This applies in rural Bangladesh and this study
revealed that rural craftsmen are mostly unaware of the
prospects of their craft products. Government and tourist
organizations and NGOs need to work together for promoting
the country's traditional craft products in the tourist market.
Technical and financial assistance to the craftsmen is
regarded as very significant for linking their products with
the tourist market (Mikkelsen 1999). As rural craftsmen of
Bangladesh are illiterate and lack financial capacity,
government and NGOs should extend financial support in
terms of micro-financing. Interest rates and conditions should
also be considered, so that the rural people are motivated to
take micro-credit. Power supply and the introduction of new
technology are also required for them to increase productivity
and quality of crafts as well. A large amount of rural women's
time can be utilized in craft production. NGOs and
government need to arrange training for them in design, color
and style in order to ensure good quality crafts for the
tourists. Tour operators, hotels and NTO could then promote
crafts. These organizations can take part in different trade
fairs to introduce and promote the country's traditional
handicrafts. However, tourism can lead to commercialization
of craft products and hence alter or destroy the meaning of
43

Tourism in Rural Bangladesh: Islam & Carlsen

cultural products (MacCannell 1973). In response to the

growth of tourism, rapid commercialization of the
handicrafts industry in Bangladesh may occur. These
developments need to be evaluated in terms of cultural
significance also while seeking economic viability for rural
people.
Benefits from tourism depend on how well the linkage
between tourism and the rural people is established (Torres
2004). Agriculture, handicrafts and tourism-related
enterprises are considered as effective means of linking rural
people and tourism (Tao and Wall 2009). In Bangladesh, the
people of rural areas are traditionally dependent on
agriculture. They need to be informed about the alternative
options for income generation through tourism. As local
elected representatives have influence on rural people, these
leaders can be used to motivate them. Awareness
programmes can be undertaken by the government and the
NGOs in conjunction with tourism organizations and local
leaders to make rural people aware of tourism-related
activities that can help generate income. Rural people can be
given financial and technical support also during this
transition period from agriculture to the tourism-related
activities in order to ensure sustainable growth in tourism
sector.
Conclusion
Tourism is considered as one of the most important
development tools in many developing countries, yet there
remains a number of institutional and practical barriers to
implementation. Bangladesh has embraced the MDGs of the
United Nation's of halving world poverty, yet often the
position of tourism as an important stimulus to poverty
alleviation is not recognized or understood by key
organizations. Moreover, a wide range of barriers exist for
the poor to be involved in country's tourism sector, yet some
of these, such as financial barriers for micro-enterprises, are
slowly being overcome. Although a large number of NGOs
and government organizations have been working with

micro-credit programmes in the rural areas of Bangladesh,

the full benefits of the programmes have not reached the
majority of rural people.
The source of rural economic expansion comes from
both farm and non-farm activities, and both of these will
need to contribute to poverty alleviation in the future (GoB
and UN 2005). The non-farm rural economy of Bangladesh
is composed of trade, manufacturing, processing, retail sales
and services (GoB and UN 2005). Poverty alleviation policies
will need to capitalize on the growth of these non-farm sectors
of the rural economy (Ashley and Maxwell 2002). Job creation
in the rural non-farm sectors is important and identifying
new and prospective service and manufacturing industries/
sectors is crucial, especially those related to tourism.
Increased utilization of the large rural workforce is of
paramount importance for the development of the country.
In doing so, new avenues in the manufacturing and service
sectors should be identified that can absorb a substantial
number of unemployed rural people (GoB and UN 2005).
From this perspective, the labour-intensive tourism sector
can be very effective in contributing to poverty alleviation in
rural Bangladesh. Micro-business opportunities through the
provision of food, accommodation and handicrafts that can
be presented as regional and cultural symbols, can generate
investment, employment and income. However, this can only
be achieved in conjunction with training and employment
and tourism- related micro- and small-enterprises.
In summary, tourism development can be of great
importance in Bangladesh as a country with a dominant
rural population and an urgent need to alleviate poverty.
Tourism can be an effective means of promoting development
of micro-enterprises through investment, training and
support. An integrated approach recognizing the importance
of tourism in transforming the rural economy and society
supported by all key organisations government, NGOs,
tourism and related organizations and communities has been
identified as essential pre-requisite in unlocking tourism
opportunities for the poor in rural Bangladesh.

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Submitted: March 5, 2011

Accepted: October 19, 2011
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