Bangladesh among top 10 destinations in APAC for tourism recovery

Dhaka: Bangladesh ranks among the top 10 destinations in Asia Pacific best placed for a tourism recovery, according to the Travel-ready index 2022 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Fiji, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Maldives are in the best position in the top index of destinations to revive their respective pandemic-battered tourism industries, while the other entries in the top 10 list include Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal and Cambodia.

The EIU said the top performers in the index have all eased visa and entry restrictions since 2021 or earlier.

“A combination of broader and more effective vaccination coverage and greater reliance on tourism have lent themselves to less restrictive travel policies,” the EIU said in its report released on April 21.

On the other hand, Hong Kong has the worst prospects due to its restrictive border policies, said the report.

After Hong Kong, Brunei, Bhutan, Taiwan, Samoa, Vanuatu, Japan, China and Laos also rank as the destinations with the least favourable conditions for tourism recovery, added the index.

Northeast Asian economies, which are less reliant on tourism, have been slower to reopen, the report said, predicting China and its territories of Hong Kong and Macau would keep their strict “dynamic zero Covid” policies at least for 2022.

Thailand, India, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and South Korea were ranked mid-table for tourism recovery.

The index measures the favourability of conditions for tourism based on the importance of tourism to the economy, local vaccination coverage, ease of travel, and the convenience of returning home.