Open AccessEXPLORING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TOURISM INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Author(s) -
Sraboni Bagchi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of research - granthaalayah
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2394-3629
pISSN - 2350-0530
DOI - 10.29121/granthaalayah.v9.i8.2021.4141
Subject(s) - tourism , tertiary sector of the economy , economic impact analysis , business , natural resource economics , agricultural economics , gross domestic product , covid-19 , consumption (sociology) , sustainable development , economic growth , economics , development economics , geography , marketing , medicine , social science , disease , archaeology , pathology , sociology , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , microeconomics
The tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing service industries in Bangladesh. This industry observed consistent economic growth for the last five years and contributed significantly to the GDP of Bangladesh. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the tourism industry notedly. This paper aims to explore the impact on the tourism industry of Bangladesh, considering the economic and environmental aspects. The study found a catastrophic impact on the tourism industry's economic growth, which also affects the country’s total GDP growth. The tourism industry is expected to contribute 1309.27 billion Taka, which would be 3.20% of the total GDP of Bangladesh, but the actual contribution is 539.60 billion Taka which is 1.70% of total GDP. The pandemic also negatively affected employment opportunities, tourists’ arrival rate, hotel occupancy rate, and total tourism expenditures. On the other hand, despite some negative issues, Covid-19 impacted positively on the natural environment. The air quality improved, water pollution, noise pollution, consumption of natural resources, emission of greenhouse gas reduced notably. Considering the positive impacts on the environment, this study also formulated some possible recovery strategies to regain the economic losses through sustainable tourism development.