We invite all interested individuals and organizations to join the Bangladesh Ecotourism & Conservation Alliance today. The Alliance is free and open for anyone to join, and by joining you will help us in achieving our vision for a more environmentally-friendly, equitable, and community-focused tourism industry for the Sundarbans. Please fill out the form on this page to add your logo to our website and promotional materials, and learn more about opportunities to support our initiatives.
The Bangladesh Ecotourism and Conservation Alliance (BECA), simply known as the Alliance, was launched in 2021 with the aim of uniting local and international stakeholders – across both the public and private sectors – with a shared vision of creating an inclusive tourism value chain in Bangladesh while simultaneously maximizing conservation benefits in the Sundarbans Reserve Forest and surrounding areas. By harnessing the respective expertise of each member of the Alliance, we aim to achieve our four strategic objectives:
- Enhance competitiveness and collaborative capacity of tourism destinations in target areas
- Improve tourism governance and natural resource management for targeted Key Biodiverse Areas
- Increase community environmental, economic, and basic human services as a result of a better managed and more inclusive tourism sector
- Increase tourism-related investments and market linkages in targeted areas
The Alliance is open to any businesses or organizations, inside or outside of Bangladesh and across any sector, that are committed to supporting our mission. Upon joining, members of the Alliance will gain the following benefits-
- Access to a wide network of fellow stakeholders and resources.
- Regular information on various programs, opportunities, and tourism updates the partners can take advantage of.
- Promotion of their respective businesses/organizations across the BECA website and other platforms.
- Assist in attracting and securing any necessary funding through financial assistance programs, joint ventures, philanthropy, and private investors.
- Empower women through networking, mentoring, professional training, and expanding their opportunities in the tourism industry.
- Help integrate local suppliers of ancillary products such as agricultural producers into the tourism supply chain to improve economic linkages.
- Access to extensive training programs to build the capacity of local communities to be successful in the service-oriented field of tourism.
- Develop capacity in digital marketing of destinations and products.
- Access to “e-learning” training platform.
- Training and technical assistance for business planning, staff training, and product marketing and sales.
- Assist in connecting to the larger tourism supply chain such as international “outbound” tour operators, national and regional airlines, and hotels.
The founding partners of the Alliance are USAID/Bangladesh, Solimar International, Conservation Capital, Miles Partnership, and JourneyPlus DMC. Collaboration is the foundation of this program. The Alliance intends to deliver impactful results with the collaboration of its partner organizations. We are actively building alliances with diverse organizations established in a variety of sectors, such as academia, government, private sector, NGOs, and community-based fields.
Beyond the Alliance, we encourage prospective members to register their interest in joining the Alliance’s initiatives: the Greater Sundarbans Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO), Investment Promotion, Sundarbans Artisan Cooperative, Sundarbans Ecovillages, Sundarbans Researchers Network, Women in Tourism Network, Sustainable Tourism Certification Program, Tourism for Community Benefits, Visitor Experience and Site Enhancements, and Workforce Development and Training. Our partners will also get greater marketing exposure and opportunities to have their voices shape future destination development. Above all, DMMO members will proudly hold their stake in the very first destination management organization in Bangladesh which is committed to protecting the world’s largest mangrove forest and benefiting its community. Please register your interest in joining the DMMO here.
