Second from left, Rubina H Farouq, director of the Institute of Hotel Management & Hospitality, speaks to reporters at the National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday, announcing an international conference on tourism and hospitality. AKM Bari, chairman of Industry Skills Council for Tourism & Hospitality Sector; Francis De Silva, an ILO adviser; and Md Mushfiqur Rahman, chief executive office of Trinity Communications, are also seen. Photo: STAR

The tourism and hospitality industry is changing fast for the better -- to be on par with other recognised sectors. Not many people were aware of its potential in Bangladesh even a decade ago, although it has long been the largest service industry and the biggest provider of jobs in the world.
In Bangladesh, the picture is becoming brighter with time.
In 2011, the travel and tourism sector accounted for Tk 18,250 crore or 2.2 percent of Bangladesh's gross domestic product, the World Travel and Tourism Council said in its latest report. It is forecast to rise by 7.3 percent to Tk 19,590 crore in 2012 and by 6.1 percent to Tk 35,370 crore in 2022, the London-based institute said.
The sector created 13.29 lakh jobs directly in 2011 or 1.9 percent of the country's total employment. It is expected to generate 13.77 lakh jobs in 2012 and 18.4 lakh jobs by 2022, according to the report.
But the new thrust sector runs a deficit of skills.
In order to fill the need of the emerging hospitality industry, boosted by the people's prosperity and rising income level, it is a must to emphasise technical and vocational education and training, said Rubina H Farouq, director and head of Institute of Hotel Management and Hospitality.
She started the country's first private initiative to develop human resource for the hospitality sector.
“To upgrade the facilities for tourists and change the image of the country, we need trained and skilled people,” Rubina said.
"We have an enormous responsibility to build this sector in Bangladesh. Already we are twenty-thirty years behind where the rest of the world has progressed in this sector. But then, it's never too late."
But initially it was not the training institute she had planned for. She just wanted a smooth process of hiring skilled people for a restaurant she set up with her husband and some of his friends.
When she planned to open the restaurant Heritage in Gulshan she started training a few service providers at home.
“When we opened the restaurant, it struck my mind that we could open a training centre that would cater to the urgent need of the hospitality sector.”
Rubina set up the Institute of Hotel Management and Hospitality in 2004. It is the first human resource training centre in the country in the hospitality management sector after the National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute run by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.
“It was difficult to encourage people to come to the institute to get hands-on training on managing a hotel or a restaurant,” said Rubina. “Because people had reservations about training as professional chefs and waiters.”
The scenario is changing as people are becoming more aware of the huge potential for growth with the existing and upcoming new hotels, restaurants, eco-parks, eco-resorts, and clubs in the country.
The contribution of the country's travel and tourism sector is remarkable.
Bangladesh recorded the highest number of visitor arrivals in 2008, when 467,332 people made trips to the country, according to Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.
The sector attracted investment of Tk 3,430 crore in 2011, which is expected to grow by 6.5 percent this year and 6.7 percent over the next decade to Tk 6,980 crore, according to the report by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
BUILD HUMAN RESOURCE
Rubina stressed the need to develop appropriate human resource to turn the industry into the best service sector.
Once someone is trained in an appropriate manner, he or she does not have to sit back, Rubina said. “Now there are enough opportunities to work in local hotels and restaurants.”
Nowadays, in the competitive job market, people who are experienced and certified by recognised institutes or organisations are more likely to be recruited easily.
The sector, if developed, can assist in minimising unemployment in the country. "We need to join hands with PPP [public private partnership] to support a sustainable hospitality and tourism sector,” Rubina said.
“For this, we have to set the standards of operations and ensure quality services to attract tourists from home and abroad,” she said.
“There is no alternative to specialising in one's own responsibility.”
There are 28 training institutes that cater to the needs of the industry. Yet this is rather meagre in terms of the country's demand.
Bangladesh has a huge number of unemployed youths and the tourism and hospitality sector needs all the trained and groomed hands. Rubina's latest effort is a one-day conference, set for Saturday, with its focus on HR training and jobs.
The Institute of Hotel Management and Hospitality and Trinity Communications Ltd will organise the event, with the support of Bangladesh Tourism Board, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, ILO Dhaka and Industry Skills Council for Tourism and Hospitality Sector.
Its objective is to provide a unique forum for local participants including academia, industry, government, and other stakeholders to share ideas, exchange and recommendations on hospitality and tourism.
“The main focus of the conference is to promote public-private partnership along with winning over commitments from policy-makers and think-tanks to make a difference with global trends and present solutions,” said Rubina.
The conference will discuss topics such as sustainable practices in developing the tourism and hospitality sector with skill training and challenges of globalisation in promoting tourism and hospitality in the SAARC region, and establish Bangladesh's new image as a global tourism and hospitality destination.
Participants are likely to benefit from understanding and experiencing the tourism and hospitality trends, interacting and networking with hospitality and tourism management experts and professionals from different countries, she said.
Rubina hopes the conference will make a difference in understanding and identifying the emerging hospitality and tourism trends and preparing for the future.
She said tourism can be an important tool to develop the country's economy. The sector will not only help change the image of the country, but also play a key role in poverty reduction and minimising unemployment.