• USAID Ecoturism Activity

    The USAID Ecoturism Activity is a 3-year activity funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Bangladesh Ecoturism & Conservation Alliance., Focused in the Greater Sundarbans Region, the activity aims to support local communities and businesses around the Sundarbans Reserved Forest through the development, management, and marketing of sustainable tourism. We aim to use tourism as a catalyst to achieve conservation and development objectives and support an inclusive, healthy, and educated society, enhancing livelihood opportunities and protecting fragile ecosystems.

    COMPETITIVENESS AND COLLABORATIVE

      COMPETITIVENESS AND COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY OF TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN THE TARGETED AREAS ENHANCED

      The importance of tourism as an economic driver to national economies has long been established. In fact, the contribution of tourism to the world economy amounted to USD 3.5 trillion in 2019, or 4% of world gross domestic product.[1] Critical determinants of tourism competitiveness include infrastructure development, policy conditions in favor of tourism, an enabling environment that attracts investors, and the availability of natural and cultural resources for visitors to enjoy.[2] This competitiveness cannot be achieved without strong collaboration between tourism stakeholders at the local and national level. That is why the USAID Ecotourism Activity is working to establish a local Destination Management Organization (DMO) for the Greater Sundarbans region, which will promote the long-term sustainability of this project and tourism development generally.

      The USAID Ecotourism Activity is working to engage local communities, private sector and government officials to increase dialogue and support for tourism development. We are currently developing a long-term Destination Development Strategy as a key first step in creating government-wide support for tourism development along with the public- private dialogue and partnerships critical to supporting tourism. The USAID Ecotourism Activity will also work to develop favorable policies for tourism, including clear concession policies to facilitate PPP investments and business regulation reform. Finally, we intent to focus on identifying the most promising investment and enterprise development opportunities before initiating investment promotion activities along with a clear financial returns model based upon optimizing revenue and distribution of benefits to local communities.

        Our work on Competitiveness and Collaboration are aimed at achieving three key intermediate results:

        IR 1.1

        Improved collaboration and engagement with private sector to facilitate public-private dialogue and participation in local economy

        IR 1.2

        Improved opportunities for women’s participation and leadership in the tourism industry

        IR 1.3

        Integration of community cultural heritage assets in tourism development and marketing increased