Tourism Development in India and Bangladesh: General Issues, Illustrated by Ecotourism in the Sunderbans

Growth in the volume of foreign tourists to India and South Asia generally has been much slower than in East Asia and some of the reasons for this are suggested. Excessive government regulation of tourism in India and Bangladesh appears to have played a role in this sluggish growth. To what extent structural reforms will lead to changes in the tourism industry in both of these countries has yet to be seen. Development of ecotourism in the Sunderbans illustrates a number of consequences of government involvement in the development of the tourism industry as well as general problems involved in developing tourism in tropical areas of this type, and it enables comparisons to be made between tourism development in India and Bangladesh as well as the relative competitiveness of their Sunderban-based tourism. Impediments to ecotourism in the Sunderbans include: 1. Tourism to the area is highly seasonal. 2. Virtually no local people are employed in the tourist industry in the Sunderbans, so there are very few employment benefits to locals. 3. Most commodities for tourism in the Sunderbans are sourced from outside the Sunderbans. In the Indian Sunderbans, most of the supplies come from Calcutta. 4. Permits are required for entry to the Sunderbans, both in Bangladesh and India. These must be issued by the Ministry of Forestry and often there are delays in their issue which can frustrate tourists. 5. Wild animals, especially tigers, are very difficult to see