Back to news
3 Apr 2017 | Himalica

Bandarban Destination Management Plan Validation Workshop

2 mins Read

70% Complete

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA) jointly organized a Bandarban Destination Management Plan (DMP) Validation Workshop in Bandarban Sadar, Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh on 28 March.

Some of the delegates on hand for the proceedings, included: 

During the technical session, 86 key tourism stakeholders, representing community-based organisations, the private sector, media, and the government, participated in group exercises to generate ideas for collaborating with one another to promote inclusive, equitable, and responsible tourism at different governance levels ranging from the district to national level.

At the workshop, a poster illustrating the Bandarban Tourism Vision Tree with its roots symbolizing a tourism multi-stakeholders partnership was unveiled. The participants endorsed the Bandarban DMP and expressed their commitments to a strong and long-term collaborative partnership to its implementation by signing their names on the poster.

Bandarban – also known as the roof of Bangladesh – is the natural and cultural heart of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. It has gained steady popularity in recent years as a must-visit destination for tourists interested in adventures, hill cultures, and heritage.

The validation workshop can be seen as a milestone in the ongoing partnership between ICIMOD and MoCHTA – formalized in 2013 to collaborate for the sustainable development of hill areas in Bangladesh.

As part of that partnership, the Himalica project – funded by the European Union and managed by ICIMOD – partnered with the Bandarban Hill District Council of MoCHTA to develop sustainable tourism value chains in Ruma Upazila in Bandarban District with the aim to increase the resilience and livelihood opportunities of poor and vulnerable local communities.

To that end, the Himalica BHDC developed a Bandarban DMP through a series of participatory and inclusive multi-stakeholders consultative processes.

It is hoped  the implementation of the now-endorsed Bandarban DMP will help bring structure to tourism planning and development processes, minimize the negatives, and maximize the positives associated with tourism value chain development. Moreover, it is hoped this work will help forge long-term collaborative partnerships with various tourism stakeholders to actualize the Bandarban Tourism Vision.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

16 Apr 2015 News
Studying rock and sediment samples of Koshi Basin

Samples of rock and sediment from the high and middle altitude mountains of the Koshi River Basin will ...

8 Mar 2019 Gender in Koshi
Breaking Taboos: My Parents’ Stand for Gender Equality

Growing up, our sense of the world – all that is right in it and all that is wrong – ...

8 Apr 2016 News
Teesta Basin Visit Reveals Spring Knowledge Gaps

HI-AWARE researchers from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), The Mountain Institute-India and local organisations recently visited Santook ...

Homestay Congress 2020: Pioneering dialogue for regional homestay development in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

Homestays serve as an essential aspect of rural tourism in the Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL). They integrate sustainable resource utilization (especially ...

24 Apr 2019 HI-LIFE
Hands-on training on low-cost, climate-smart technologies in the Community Information Resources Centre in Putao, Kachin, Myanmar

As part of community capacity-building interventions by the Landscape Initiative for Far-eastern Himalayas (HI-LIFE), a five-day hands-on training was conducted ...

12 Mar 2015 News
Second Workshop on HKH Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP)

More than 20 experts, social scientists, senior officials from various organizations, development practitioners and ...

31 Jul 2015 KSL
Transhumance herding: Not a pastoral romance anymore

With each passing year new realities are creeping into remote parts of Nepal leading to change in lifestyles, food habits, ...

10 Feb 2015 News
Myanmar to lead the way with ecotourism in protected areas

On 19–21 May 2015, the Government of Myanmar launched its ambitious Ecotourism Policy and Management Strategy for Protected Areas, developed ...