1

Murcia, Spain

THE NEW GLOBAL TOURISM ENVIRONMENT: TOURIST

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT OF “DEKO SOBUJER

SOMBAR”.

SUBMITTED TO:

Margarita Capdepón Frías

AND

Joantxo Llantada

DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

UCAM

SUBMITTED BY:

MD IKBAL HUSSAIN

UCAM

SUBMITION DATE:

12.18.2015

2

Introduction

Tourism is a highly complex phenomenon. Throughout the world, tourism has

been known as a tool of bringing economic benefits to a country or specific

region (Eccles, 1995). According to Croes (2006) and Scheyvens and Mornsen

(2008), tourism spurs economic activity by creating jobs for the community. In

countries blessed with natural assets, ecotourism has become a widely popular

industry. The United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

have predicted that ecotourism will become the world’s biggest industry in the

future (Kaur, 2006).

Every day the tourism company introduce new product and service for fulfill the

tourist needs and wants. Tourism products compared with the types of products

or services have different characteristics and Burkat and Medlik define as

tourism products to an array of integrated products that involve of attraction,

transportation, accommodation, entertainment, which are prepared or develop

by individual, companies or government and offered discretely to consumers.

There are six elements that make up an integrated tourism package and that

are;

Objective and attractions;

Tour operators;

Transportation;

Accommodation;

Service souvenir;

Business service support.

Tourism product is a series of interconnected service. Tourism products as one

of the objects in the supply of tourism marketing have the main elements which

consist of three parts (Yoeti, 2002): attractiveness of tourist destination, facilities

owned tourist destination and ease to reach this destination.

Product development improves the profitability of tourism businesses by

increasing the number of products and services available for tourists as well as

the number of visits.

3

New product

Bangladesh is a country filled with natural resources, forest, waterfalls, sea-

beach, swamp forest, hills, lakes, valleys, river, wetlands and man-made tea

garden, rubber garden that’s why eco-tourism is ideal for Bangladesh.

SEARCH VROMAN introduces a tourism product in Bangladesh. Their concern

only the Sylhet based three days eco-tourism and the name “Deko Sobuj

Sombar”.

This product offers Three days package and visits the natural beauty of Sylhet.

It is a district of Bangladesh and situated in north east Bangladesh which

surrounded by tea estates, subtropical hill, rainforest, river, and wetlands. This

package divided three days into three main destinations as follows.

The first day: Visit Ratargul Swamp forest and Jaflong. Ratargul

Swamp forest is located in Gowainghat, Sylhet near the river Goain. It is the

only swamp forest in Bangladesh as well as one of the few freshwater swamp

forests in the world. Jaflong is a hill station and situated also in Goaighat and

border between Bangladesh and India. Here the lots of fruits garden, betel leaf

and areca nuts garden, green hills, and colorful tribal life (Kashia). Enjoy the

rare beauty of rolling stones from hills.

The second day: Go Madhabkunda waterfall, tea garden and

Lawachara national park in Shreemongal. Madhabkunda waterfall is one of the

largest waterfalls in Bangladesh. Big boulders, surrounding forest and the adjoin

streams attracts many tourists.

The third day: Enjoy the natural beauty of wetlands at Hakaluki

Haors. It is a marsh wetland ecological system of Bangladesh. It is one of the

largest wetland in Bangladesh as well as in Asia. A total 558 spices of animals

and birds have been identifying here and some of the very rare – already

declared as threatened, vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered

species.

4

Why Deko Sobuj Sombar

The main values of Deko Sobuj Sombar are;

It contributes the nature conservation and protection

It supports well-being of the local community

It has an educational component that create awareness both tourist and

local people

Lowest negative impact on the environmental and socio-economical

component.

It has made awareness of climate change

Ecotourism contributes to nature protection.

The market of Deko Sobuj Sombar

Every tourist is different and feels attracted by different tourist destination,

engage in different activities in the vacation time, use of different entertainment

facilities. So many man many mind and in tourism sector it is very important for

launched a tourism product. Some people enjoy cultural tourism, many tourists

like eco-tourism, many are like ski during their winter holy day.

Smith (1956) introduces the concept of market segmentation as a strategy. He

states that “Market segmentation [……] consists of viewing a heterogeneous

market as a number of smaller homogeneous markets”. The benefit of market

segmentation lies in a tourist destination being able to specialize on the needs

of a particular group and become the best in catering for this group. Before

Deko Sobuj Sombar launched to research the market with a survey of the local

and international market.

Deko Sobuj Sombar targets the following tourist group;

By Age: Deko Sobuj Sombar targets age 18-25 years and old and

retired people at the age of 55-63 as well as foreigners.

5

By Income: Our intention is middle-class income people who can effort

the cost.

The level of education: Eco-tourism is one of the different kinds of

tourism. Our aim is university and college student in Bangladesh as well as a

researcher about ecology and makes awareness about climate change.

Deko Sobuj Sombar: Aims for high-quality hotel and restaurants for

their tourist. It determines their priorities, their opinion, their attitudes and their

interest.

About 2o million Sylheti people live in outside Bangladesh. We establish and

make negation with other travel company in UK, America, Spain, France and

Middle East to encourage our Deko Sobuj Sombar package.

Main tourist’s service: The following five services is important for

Deko Sobuj Sombar when to determine this new product for marketing.

Tourist Services

Accommodation

Transportation

Food & Beverage

Travel agencies

Shopping

6

Accommodation

There are several options available in Sylhet for accommodation for visitors like

short-term accommodation, long term accommodation offer by the hotel,

apartment owners, dormitories, boarding house etc. The summary of

accommodation facilities shows in the following table.

Types of

accommodation

Brief description

short-term

accommodation

Homes, country house, furnished or unfurnished

apartments for typical or monthly basis. Hotels, resort

hotels, motel, pension, youth hostel, apartment

hotels. Some of Sylhet's hotels are -

Hotel Rose view, Hotel Sonargaon, Hotel Hiltown,

Hotel Sylhet Metro, Hotel Green Valley, Hotel

Gulshan etc.

Campgrounds,

trailer parks

protective shelters or plain bivouac facilities for

placing tents or sleeping bags. Near swamp forest

and Hakaluki haor some of the fishing and hunting

camps, recreational camps in Madobkudo and

Shreemongol for the tourist and enjoy the beautiful

scenery of green land of Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Other

accommodation

Temporary or longer term accommodation in single

shared rooms or dormitories for student, group of

people, workers or visitors. Some of these are SUST

dormitories, Porjatan motels, SIU dormitories etc.

7

Transportation facilities

Transportation is one of the basic needs for tourists. Without proper

transportation system or facilities, it is impossible to attract the visitors. The

transportation to Sylhet as well as visiting sport from the capital city of

Bangladesh has some nice and cozy bus service, train service, boat service

and by air.

By land It takes only 4 -4.30 hours from the capital by bus and 5-

6 hours by rail and by private car or taxi only 3.30 -4

hours. There are lots of bus companies such as Ena

poribohon, Green line, Hanif poribohon and rail is

Bangladesh railway from Komlapur station.

By Air Some low-cost company establishes in Bangladesh doing

a flight at domestic and international ways. Biman

Bangladesh, Emirates, Air India in international and

foreign tourist come at Sylhet directly in Osmani

international airport and from Dhaka, Chittagong, and

another district can come by united air, regent air, US

bangle airlines, and Novo air.

By water The river makes the Bangladesh as a net. Everywhere

one can find a river and the main communication system

in Haor areas by boat.

After reach in Sylhet, there are lots of public services and the most reliable

service Rickshaw.

Food and beverage service

Bangladeshi people are very much hospitable and especially Sylheti people.

There are huge facilities for food and beverage everywhere in your trip.

Restaurant, first food shop, street food shop, coffee house, tea stall, fruits shop

8

are available. But alcohol, hard drinks is totally prohibited but foreign visitors

find in some specific place. Bangladeshi food is spicy food and the village

people arrange in his house also with garden fresh vegetables and fish from

their ponds. The visitors can catch fish from Haor, river or from the farmers

ponds as well as collect vegetables and fruits from farmers garden.

Travel agency

Travel, whether for business or pleasure, requires arrangements. The traveler

usually faces a variety of choices regarding transportation and

accommodations; and if the trip is for pleasure, there are a variety of choices

regarding destinations, attractions, and activities. The traveler may gather

information on prices, value, schedules, characteristics of the destination, and

available activities directly, investing a considerable amount of time on the

Internet, or possibly money on long - distance telephone calls, to complete the

trip arrangements. There are two options;

Travel agencies Travel agency sells inclusive tours, holiday,

transportation tickets and other related products. Search

Vroman contact with a major travel agency in locally and

some of the international company especially in major

Bangladeshi community in London, New York, Madrid

and the middle east to introduce and sell the Deko

Sobuj Sombar.

By internet The visitor also books their tour by online. Broma.com,

winuxtravel.com, hotelbangladesh.com, booking.com

also popular in Bangladesh.

Shopping

Shopping is one of the major categories of tourists’ expenditure and

representing a significant source of income for national economies both directly

9

and through the many linkages to other sectors in the economy. Therefore, it is

an essential element in tourism supply because it affects the success of the

tourist destination area. Shopping at souvenirs, art, handicrafts, local products,

and the farmers market is becoming an increasingly relevant component of the

tourism value chain. Shopping has converted into a determinant factor affecting

destination choice, an important component of the overall travel experience

and, in some cases the prime travel motivation. There are lots of market Sylhet

and travelers can buy local traditional goods, cloth, and handy craft items. Major

markets are; Al Hamra shopping city, Bluewater, Arong, Boutique shop etc.

SWOT analysis of Deko Sobuj Sombar

SWOT stands for strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. By SWOT

analysis management find the strength and weakness within the company and

outside opportunities and threats. The SWOT analyzes of Deko Sobuj Sombars

major finding are;

Strength Vast geography with forest, river, garden, wetlands, hills,

reserve parks.

Varied culture; tribal life, village people, fisherman,

farmer.

Many historical monuments

Efficient transport facilities

Learn new language

Weakness Many language and dialects

Lack of adequate infrastructure

Safety and security of foreign tourists

Lack of maintenance of monuments, forests etc

Misconception about Bangladesh by foreigners

Opportunities Go green initiative

Increased privatization

10

Few competitor

Ecotourism

World class hotels and airport near

Cheapest then others

Threats Terrorism

Political situation

Corruption

Better promotion by others

Economic slowdown in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Tourism Board established in 2010 to meet the strong demand for

the private sector and the tourism professionals. It is affiliated with United

Nations World Tourism Organizations (UNWTO).

Objectives of tourism policy – 2010

1) To construct various rules under the law where the main objective is to fill in

the gap of existing tourism rules and let regulations proceed;

2) To develop tourism industries through various planning related activities and

side by side give advice as well as directions;

3) To create general awareness regarding tourism protection, development, and

exploration;

4) To execute responsible tourism through creation of some helping hand on

behalf of government like as personal sector, local people, local administration,

NGO, women federation, media;

5) To create better communication channel for the International Tourists

Organizations in Bangladesh with both government and private tourism related

organizations;

11

6) To create a strong and safe foothold for the Bangladeshi Tourist by

coordinating with respective government organizations;

7) To create a tourism friendly environment in Bangladesh and to market its

tourism potential in both domestic and foreign nations;

8) To develop human resource for tourism sector by creating training facilities

and provide them with the right directions;

9) To attract tourists by maintaining quality and relevant material which in turn

can provide smooth tourism service and ensuring necessary actions that need

to be taken for maintenance;

10) To ensure the participation of physically challenged people;

11) To protect women rights and ensure their participation in the tourism sector;

12) To research on the tourism industry, to survey international markets and to

analyze the data.

Principal Issues of the Policy:

1. It to be ensured first that tourism will not affect biodiversity conservation

process.

2. No tourist vessel will be allowed to enter without a certificate of BIWTA

(Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) (Biwta.gov.bd).

3. Adequate food, water, and beverage should be stocked.

4. In the sanctuaries, free movement, natural behaviors, breeding, and

rearing of wildlife will be given priority.

5. Tourist will be kept limited to the carrying capacity of different sites.

6. Ecology-related laws including Forest Act, Wildlife Preservation and

Safety Act and other related laws.

7. Carrying arms, weapon, trap, poison etc. and any equipment for fishing

and hunting is prohibited.

12

8. Taking the sound systems like mike or microphone is not allowed during

the tour. The silence of the forest must be maintained.

9. Tourist vessels should follow the directed route.

10. Tourists, tour operators, and Forest Department should perform their

responsibilities properly for the tour.

The marketing strategy of Deko Sobuj Sombar

Marketing tourism products is different from other products because tourism

sold experience rather than a tangible product. The product is service based

that customer often walks away from the tourism offering with only a memory or

experience.

So clearly, promotion and advertising play a significant role in establishing an

eco-product in the marketplace. We follow the following tools;

The first marketing model called PESTE; political, economic, social,

technological and environmental.

From cost leadership to differentiation

Learn three language- mother tongue, national and international.

Polite speech, good body language

Good personality

Courtesy calls

Letters

Fax

Email message

Neat maintenance of travel documents

Advertising in target customers language

Creating the branding, create the positioning, find the niche

The brochure, the website, the positioning statement

Industry partnership and a new sponsorship program

13

Open office near university and college

Open pages in Facebook, Tweeter and publish new picture

Contact with online marketing company

14

Reference:

1. bangladeshtourism.gov.bd : Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC).

2. Biwta.gov.bd, "Biwta » Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority".

N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.

3. Croes, R. R. (2006). A paradigm shift to a new strategy for small island

economies: embracing demand side economics for value enhancement

and long term economic stability. Tourism Management, 27(3), 453-465.

4. Eccles, G. (1995). Marketing, sustainable development and international

tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,

7(7), 20-26

5. http://www2.unwto.org: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

6. H. Oka A. Yoeti. Drs., MBA. 2002. Perencanaan Strategis Pemasaran

Daerah Tujuan Wisata. Penerbit PT. Pradnya Paramita, Jakarta.

7. http://tourismboard.gov.bd: Tourism Policy-Bangladesh Tourism Board

(National Tourism Organization).

8. Kaur, C. R (2006). National Ecotourism Plan: Assessing Implementation

of the Guidelines for Marine Parks, Research Centre for Coastal and

Marine Environment, Matitime Institut of Malaysia (2006).

9. Lokatourconsultant.blogspot.com.es, "Tourism Product Definition ~ New

Atlantis". N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.

10. Scheyvens, R., & Mornsen, J. H. (2008). Tourism and poverty reduction:

issues for small island states. Tourism Geographies, 10(1), 22-41.

11. Smith, W. (1956), “Product differentiation and market segmentation as

alternative marketing strategies”,Journal of Marketing, 21, 3–8.