Recognition of ethnic culture a must for sustainable tourism
"If we want to establish tourism with a view to poverty alleviation of the mountain people, we have to help expand their culture and improve relationship with them," he said.
The roundtable on 'Sustainable tourism for poverty alleviation in mountain areas" was organised by Bangladesh Tourism Expansion Forum (BTEF), a platform of enthusiastic travellers, to celebrate the International Mountain Day 2005 at the National Press Club in the city.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "Cultural autonomy is the main concept of eco-tourism. So if anybody wants to establish tourism in the mountain area he has to take care of cultural heritage of the ethnic people of that area," Prof Muzaffer said.
"The ethnic people have no faith in us as we have already destroyed their lands and various cultural heritage in the name of development," he added.
"If we really want to alleviate poverty in the hill area by tourism, we have to educate the ethnic people about tourism, said Prof Hashem Khan of Fine Arts of Dhaka University.
Chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Mahfuzul Haque, Country Representative of IUCN Prof Ainun Nishat, President of Bengal Foundation Luva Nahid Chowdhury, Abu Naser Khan of Bapa, and Faridul Haq of Bangladesh Tour Operators also spoke at the roundtable moderated by Mahbubul Alam Pallab of BTEF.