Bangladesh expects 1 million Chinese tourists next year: PM

DHAKA - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she expected about one million Chinese tourists will visit Buddhist Heritage sites in the country in 2016, which is declared as tourism year.

"We sought Chinese cooperation for welcoming one million Chinese tourists targeting the Tourism Year 2016," Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon told press after a meeting with ambassadors of different Buddhist-dense countries at the state guest house Padma in the capital Thursday.

The government will organize a National Buddhist Workshop and International Buddhist Circuit Conference with participation of 13 Buddhist-populated countries in the capital from Oct 27 aiming at showcasing the Bangladesh Buddhist heritages to the foreigners for further flourishing overall tourism.

The conference, organized by the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), will be participated by UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai along with high officials from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.

Menon said his ministry would uphold the centuries-old Buddhist heritage in Bangladesh to the people of the participating countries during the conference.

He said Bangladesh received only 10,000 Chinese tourists last year though presently the Chinese tourists are dominating the world tourism industry in terms of tourist numbers.