Star Digital Report
Sat Apr 30, 2022 09:00 PM Last update on: Sat Apr 30, 2022 09:20 PM
Cox’s Bazar. Photo: Sikder Ahmed
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Cox’s Bazar. Photo: Sikder Ahmed
Bangladesh is among the top 10 destinations in Asia Pacific best positioned for tourism recovery, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Travel-ready index 2022.
The index measures 28 Asian economies based on the favourability of tourism conditions such as local vaccination coverage, ease of travel, and the convenience of returning home. A lower score indicates more favorable conditions for tourism recovery.
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Fiji, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the Maldives are the best destinations in the index for reviving their respective pandemic-wrecked tourism industries, while Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Cambodia round out the top ten.
Bangladesh is seventh on the list and has a final score of 2.85 out of 10 in the index, putting it behind Fuji (1.95), Sri Lanka (2.15), Malaysia (2.15), Maldives (2.2), Singapore (2.45), and Australia (2.55).
According to the EIU, the index’s top performers have all eased visa and entry restrictions since 2021 or earlier.
The EIU said in a report released on April 21 that, “A combination of broader and more effective vaccination coverage and greater reliance on tourism have lent themselves to less restrictive travel policies.”
According to the report, Hong Kong, on the other hand, has the worst prospects due to its restrictive border policies.
Following Hong Kong, Brunei, Bhutan, Taiwan, Samoa, Vanuatu, Japan, China, and Laos are the countries with the least favorable tourism recovery conditions, according to the index.
Northeast Asian economies, which are less reliant on tourism, have taken longer to reopen, according to the report, which predicts that China and its territories of Hong Kong and Macau will maintain strict ‘dynamic zero Covid’ policies at least until 2022.
Thailand, India, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia, and South Korea were all ranked in the middle of the table in terms of tourism recovery.
