Asian tourism fair kicks off in Bangladesh\'s capital

A three-day Asian Tourism Fair kicked off on Thursday here with the participation of 12 Asian countries aiming at promoting tourism of Bangladesh and networking with other Asian countries. \"Combined efforts in the promotion of tourism will increase people to people contact that helps in establishing world peace,\" Bangladeshi Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister G M Quader said while inaugurating the fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center. The Parjatan Bichitra, the leading tourism magazine in Bangladesh, and the country\'s National Tourism Organization (NTO), Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) jointly organized the fair with the support of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry. The fair, which is the ever biggest tourism fair of the South Asian country, had been organized for the last four years since 2006 with the title of Dhaka Tourism Fair to promote and popularize tourist destinations of Bangladesh. Apart from the host country Bangladesh, tour operators, airlines, hotels and other service providers from the public and private sectors of India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, China, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, Qatar and the Philippines are participating in the fair. Apart from showcasing services, three seminars on the prospect and obstacles of tourism sector in the region and cultural functions would be organized during the three-day fair. Cultural troupes from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines will perform in the evening at the fair venue. The fair organizers expect 30,000 visitors including foreign buyers, trade visitors, media professionals, corporate personalities, educators and researchers from Bangladesh and abroad will visit the fair.