Bill placed in parliament to boost revenue from tourism sector

Bangladesh Tourism Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was placed in Parliament today in a bid to make the existing law a time-befitting one for earning more revenue from the tourism sector.

State Minister for Civil Aviation Mahbub Ali placed the bill, which was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the respective ministry for further scrutiny.

The committee was asked to submit its report before the House within one month.

As per the bill, the authorised capital of Bangladesh Tourism Corporation shall be Tk 1,000 crore from existing Tk 15 crore while the paid-up capital will be Tk 400 crore from Tk 5 lakh.

The existing law stated that the board shall consist of a chairman and not less than two and not more than four full time directors to be appointed by the government.

With a four-member board of directors fixed by the existing law, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) now faces difficulty to take prompt decisions in coordination with other ministries and departments concerned.

Since the ministries and department concerned have no representative in the BPC board of directors, the BPC does get the desired assistance from the agencies for development of the country's tourism sector.

The proposed law said that the 11-member BPC board of directors will be formed with senior secretaries, secretaries and representatives of the ministries and departments concerned.

Two representatives will be nominated by the government from non-government organisations, who are directly and institutionally associated with the tourism industry.

To constitute a quorum at a meeting of the board the chairman, at least five directors shall be present.

If the chairman is unable to be present at a meeting of the board for any reason, a director authorised in writing by the chairman shall preside over the meeting.

The function of the corporation to promote and develop tourism, provide facilities, undertake measures and carry out all forms of activities connected with the tourism.