Tourism in Bangladesh

History unravels that Bangladesh has been the cradle of civilisation, a centre of cultural diffusion, since the dawn of history of mankind. It was the meeting ground of various peoples in different states of civilization, the most primitive as well as the most advanced. The cultural history of Bangladesh is one of the greatest and glorious heritages, which every Bangladeshi is legitimately proud of. Each phase of the history of Bangladesh has its distinct characteristics and every race of people who came and settled here, left its individual racial, religious or cultural impacts in the form of temples, stupas, monasteries and mosque along with their associated objects.
Bangladesh is a country of diverse attractions, bountiful nature and friendly millions with more than a millennium of cultural heritage. The landscape of Bangladesh looks like a magical tapestry in green woven intricately by nature crisscrossed by a network of several major rivers and their numerous tributaries and canals. In fact, Bangladesh is the largest riverine delta in the world. The extensive river systems are, thus, fundamental to the country's economy and the people's way of life.
In Bangladesh the Cultural landmarks of antiquity range from the 3rd century B.C. to the 19th A.D. At the time of Independence the total number of monuments and sites protected in the then East Pakistan under the Ancient Monument Preservation Act was 80, whereas, the number has now increased to 345. The department of Archeology in Bangladesh, the government agency responsible for preservation and conservation of cultural property in the country has not only protected these monuments, but has also taken the responsibility to conserve them through specialised methods so that these are preserved in their original features for the posterity.
Basically an agricultural country, Bangladesh is also steadily marching towards industrialisation with investment from home and abroad. Bangladesh is literally a multi-faced cultural collage. Its deep-rooted heritage is amply reflected in its architecture, literature, dance, drama, music and painting. Influenced by great religion-Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity- Bangladesh has been a melting pot of diverse races and confluence of civilisations.
Sculpture, tapestry, engravings are developing along the main stream contemporary art, drama, mainly of indigenous origin, has distinct feature. Pantomime, puppet, theatre, caricature, acrobatics and circuses have their own novelties. Music in Bangladesh has developed through centuries along the three mainstreams-folk, modern and classical. Folk, Tribal and Classical are the prominent forms of dances.
Fairs and festivals, both religious and secular always play a significant role in the life of the people of Bangladesh. Bengali New Year's Day, Independence Day, National Martyr's Day- the International Mother Language Day, Eid-ul-fitr, Eid-ul Azha, Durga Puja, Christmas Day, Buddha Purnima are a few of such occasions to mention. Beside these, various fairs and exhibitions are held throughout the country round the year.
The cultural resources of Bangladesh for tourism, such as the visual and performing arts, crafts, traditional dress, ceremonies, architecture and life styles are being technologically developed, interpreted and managed. These are also significant aspects of the cultural heritage of a particular area of Bangladesh, which are being preserved for the benefit of residents. In many places, cultural traditions are being lost because of the influences of modern development generally. Cultural tourism can be an important vehicle for revitalizing and conserving, often on a selective basis, these cultural traditions because they are attractions for tourists.
Bangladesh, at present, is applying new technologies in the presentation and interpretation of historic and cultural sites to draw more tourists. For a country like Bangladesh where culture and tradition are unique, variant and having long historical background and significance, installation of adoptable technology is necessary. Hence, Bangladesh is trying its level best to apply more modern technologies in the presentation and interpretation of historic and cultural sites to visit.
Visual arts and crafts are important attractions for tourists and can be a source of income for residence of the tourism areas including people living in village and rural areas. For the authenticity of local arts and crafts, these arts reflect local designs, materials and craft skills. The whole Bangladesh is famous for arts and crafts. Cultural tourism can also provide a market for the contemporary art of paintings and sculpture that are well developed in many places, often through university educational programmes of Bangladesh. Contemporary arts are being sold to tourists at art galleries located independently or in hotels and at special exhibits. Various sorts of arts and crafts exhibitions are regularly held in different galleries, hotels, and motels of Bangladesh.
The Government has plans to set up integrated craft centres or "villages" such type of centres or villages of arts and crafts specially at Sonargaon. These centers will be designed in the local traditional architectural style and will contain a large number of shops, demonstrations of arts and crafts production, snacks bars, restaurants and other tourist facilities.
Traditional dance, music and drama performances of Bangladesh are also of much interest to many tourists. There are also institutional training programmes in Bangladesh to ensure high quality levels of the performances. Bangladesh, being a newly tourism-developed country, puts forth best efforts to find out the techniques for the management and marketing of its tourism at historic and cultural sites, with particular reference to mass destinations.
The traditional music in Bangladesh shares the perspectives of that of the sub-continent. Music in Bangladesh can be divided into three distinct categories - classical, folk and modern. The classical music, both vocal and instrumental is rooted in the remote-past of the sub-continent. Ustad Alauddin Khan and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan are two names in classical instrumental music who are internationally known. The store of folk song abounds in spiritual lyrics of Lalan Shah, Hasan Raja, Romesh Shill and many anonymous lyricists. Bangla music arena is enriched with Jari, Shari, Bhatiali, Murshidi and other types of folk songs. Rabindranath Tagore's songs 'Rabindra Sangeet' and national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam songs 'Nazrul Sangeet' are Bangalees' precious heritage. Modern music is also practised widely. Contemporary patterns have more inclinations to the west.
Bangladesh has a rich tradition of Art. Specimens of ancient terracotta and pottery show remarkable artistry. Modern painting was pioneered by artists like Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Qamrul Hasan and S.M. Sultan. Zainul Abedin and S.M. Sultan earned worldwide fame by their stunning sketches of the Bengal Famine in 1943. Other famous artists of Bangladesh are Abdur Razzak, Qayyum Chowdhury, Murtaza Baseer, Aminul Islam, Debdas Chakraborty, Kazi Abdul Baset, Syed Jahangir, and Mohammad Kibria, Shahabuddin, Monirul Islam.
The earliest available specimen of Bengali literature is about a thousand years old. During the mediaeval period, Bengali Literature developed considerably with the patronage of Muslim rulers. Chandi Das, Daulat Kazi and Alaol are some of the famous poets of the period. The era of modern Bengali Literature began in the late nineteenth century. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Laureate is a vital part of Bangla literature. Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan Datta, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhaya, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhaya, Mir Mosharraf Hossain and Kazi Ahdul Wadud are the pioneers of modern Bengali Literature.
The other important segment of Cultural tourism in Bangladesh is archaeological heritages. Cultural tourism based on archaeological heritages is being developed in a significant manner. Since Bangladesh inherits a rich cultural heritage of its colourful history of more than two and a half millennia, it plays a vital role in the development of cultural tourism in the country. It has a good market share compare to other segments of the tourism industry.