BTB’s webinar for Khulna’s journalists to enhance work capacity on tourism
Bangladesh Tourism Board organised a webinar on capacity enhancement training for journalists of Khulna focusing on the tourism sector today.
CEO Jabed Ahmed and Director Abu Tahir Zaber of BTB were present on the occasion along with many media representatives from Khulna while Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor of the premier tourism publication The Bangladesh Monitor attended the webinar as a special guest.
Addressing Khulna’s potential to become tourism hub, CEO of BTB Jabed Ahmed at the webinar said, Khulna is home to two UNESCO world heritage sites: Sundarbans and the Mosque City of Bagerhat. These destinations welcome many domestic and foreign tourists each year. Thus, the federal government is prioritising to create Khulna a tourism hotspot by facilitating tourism development and promoting it worldwide.
But with the government, even journalists working on the tourism sector, have an enormous role to play in this regard, said the CEO of the national tourism organisation.
They are key to provide the beauties of these sites to the travellers, both domestic and foreign, with their news coverage and features published within their respective newspapers.
Special guest Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor of the longest running exclusive tourism publication The Bangladesh Monitor further shed light how the journalists can increase their work capacity on tourism.
He urged the journalists to provide a great deal of time working in this sector to really have the chance to learn enough about any of it. Usually, journalists covering tourism beat are also seen covering other sectors. Thus, they don't reach specialise on tourism alone, said the Editor.
Also, in the media, Wahidul Alam stressed, a practice of covering negative news could be noticed frequently. However, we usually do not see as much positive news on tourism. This habit must be changed.
Criticism is important, but we need to promote tourism as well, attracting tourists to come and visit Khulna and what it has to offer, he added.
Lastly, media houses in Khulna must choose online versions of their newspapers aswell, said the Editor. By going online, they are able to reach a wider audience and showcase Bangladesh and its own tourism potentials through their news coverage worldwide.
CEO of Bangladesh Tourism Board Jabed Ahmed mentioned that the federal government is prioritising Sundarbans and other key tourism destinations of Khulna in the tourism master plan which happens to be in the works. This follows the plan of the government to create Sundarbans an eco-tourism hub. And for other districts of Khulna division, BTB should come forth with a technique plan by June this season for developing rural and community tourism using destinations.
Furthermore, to raised prepare the people involved with Khulna’s tourism sector, BTB is planning to hold workshops in lots of areas of the division in the coming days and organise a lot of such webinars for tourism workers, hoteliers, hospitality professionals, and media representatives.
Source: bangladeshmonitor.com.bd
