Promoting bangladesh tourism through inernet and prospects and guidelines

1. Assignment On: Promoting Bangladesh tourism through internet: prospects & guidelines.
Prepared for:
Dr. Md. Afzal Hossain
Professor
Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka
Prepared by:
Md. Nazmul Alam
Roll: 62 (MBA 7th batch)
Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka
Date of Submission: 28th, December 2015

2. Executive summary
The increasing competitiveness in the global tourism market encourages tourism stakeholders to
investment more in promotion, resources, knowledge and quality in order to achieve satisfactory
growth. Therefore, it is extremely important to be in touch with the latest technological trends and
have the knowledge required to effectively respond to the challenges of global competition.
Internet technology provides high-quality and efficient operations in all economic sectors,
including the tourism industry. In this paper, the changes in tourism industry promotion caused by
the introduction of Internet technology and advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in
contemporary tourism industry were analyzed. Any commercial relationship between subjects of
production and consumption is established by specific communication technology. From oral
transmission, through fairs, printing press, telephone to television and electronics, i.e. information
technology, technology of the communication market has been changing, and consequently the
market relations character has changed. Electronic technology has allowed for the first time in
history for market participants to simultaneously communicate at a distance, which introduced a
new era in the field of marketing communications. The network of communication satellites has
enabled the fastest information transfer among all parts of the world, i.e. the Internet. The Internet,
as a set of networks around the world, represents the biggest computer system which allows
receiving, process and exchange of information to millions of computer users. A huge amount of
data can be accessed at any time and any place allowing the user of the Internet a global access.
The Internet technology provides a new way of conducting business in all electronic sectors. The
Internet technology has become an important source of information according to which various
business strategies of subjects in tourism industry are formed. With the help of the Internet, a new
possibility appeared for subjects in tourism industry to successfully promote and sell services and
products to comply with demands, needs and desires of consumers.

3. History of Internet
The Internet was the result of some visionary thinking by people in the early 1960s who saw great
potential value in allowing computers to share information on research and development in
scientific and military fields. J.C.R. Licklider of MIT first proposed a global network of computers
in 1962, and moved over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in late
1962 to head the work to develop it. Leonard Kleinrock of MIT and later UCLA developed the
theory of packet switching, which was to form the basis of Internet connections. Lawrence Roberts
of MIT connected a Massachusetts computer with a California computer in 1965 over dial-up
telephone lines. It showed the feasibility of wide area networking, but also showed that the
telephone line's circuit switching was inadequate. Kleinrock's packet switching theory was
confirmed. Roberts moved over to DARPA in 1966 and developed his plan for ARPANET. These
visionaries and many more left unnamed here are the real founders of the Internet. The father of
internet is Tim Berners lee.
Evolution of Internet in Bangladesh
Starting in the early 1990s, Bangladesh had dialup access to e-mail using the Bulletin Board
Systems (BBSs) of a few local providers, but the number of users did not total more than 500.
Users were charged by the kilobyte and email was transferred from the BBS service providers to
the rest of the world by international dialup using UUCP. In June 1996 the first VSAT base data
circuit in the country was commissioned and the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
(BTTB) granted licenses to two Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In subsequent years more liberal
government policies led to a rapid expansion of the industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's
by 2005. ISPs are currently regulated by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission (BTRC) through the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act. In May 2006 Bangladesh
inaugurated new submarine optic fiber connectivity as part of the 16 country consortium SEA-
ME-WE 4 project. The landing station is in Cox's Bazar, the southern city near the Bay of Bengal.
In July 2008 the Submarine Cable Project was transformed into the company Bangladesh
Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), which is now responsible for all services related to
the submarine cable. Between June and August 2012 international Internet service in Bangladesh
was slowed following a cable cut on the eastern leg of the SEA-ME-WE 4 optical fiber cable and
the fact that Bangladesh does not have an alternative submarine cable or other high-speed
international connections. In 2014 the new SEA-ME-WE 5 cable is expected to provide an
alternative operating at 100 Gbit/s, roughly 10 times faster than the current connection.

4. Internet and Its Relation to Tourism in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the land of green countryside, Serpentine River, natural wonders and colorful
cultural life. It is a dream destination for any kind of tourists as it has some mind boggling sites to
die for. That's why travel destinations in Bangladesh are creating much fuss around the world
Bangladesh has some incredible travel destinations which has mesmerized travelers for centuries.
These travel destinations of Bangladesh are very unique in nature and visited by huge amount of
tourists every year. There are as many festivals in Bangladesh as there are days in the year. Pohela
Boishakh, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Durga Puja, Christmas etc. are some of the most popular
festivals that Bangladeshi people celebrate. Bangladesh offers many tourist attractions, including
archaeological sites, historical monuments, architectural masterpieces, and the longest beach in
the world, picturesque landscapes, hill forests, wildlife, rolling tea gardens and hill tribes. Tourists
find the rich flora and fauna and colorful tribal life very enchanting. Each part of the country offers
distinctly different topography, flavors and food. There are also a number of good hotels and
resorts available everywhere in Bangladesh. Each year thousands of domestic and overseas
travelers will visit Bangladesh searching for adventures and experiences that will offer them
unforgettable memories of their holiday. While planning their Bangladesh trip, tourists will look
to Bangladesh’s unrivalled tourism industry to offer them unique and unparalleled experiences but
to reach these travelers, businesses in the tourism industry need to have exposure through online
sites frequented by both international and domestic travelers. Tourism is a highly competitive
sector, in which businesses must be proactive and innovative in promoting their business and
reaching their target market. Promotion and advertising is designed to provide consumers with the
necessary information to differentiate between products and influence choices. Research into the
development of promotional and advertising techniques for a tourism business has shown that the
increasing use of the internet has significantly changed the tourism industry’s approach to
promotion and advertising through the use of online technology such as websites, e-marketing,
social networking sites, user-generated content and new forms of direct marketing. Businesses
should set themselves apart in today's competitive hospitality industry with creative,
comprehensive and effective internet promotional solutions. Online Promotion and Advertising
provides tourism businesses access to the lucrative international tourism market through low cost
and effective manner besides offering everything Domestic and International visitors require all in
one place. Businesses should harness the power of evolving technology and elevate their online
promotional programs to a level of refined precision and excellence. Finding cost-effective
promotional and marketing opportunities that achieve market „cut through‟ is essential for tourism
businesses in achieving a greater profit margin.

5. Promotion of Tourism by Internet
Arguably, the component of the marketing mix being most quickly transformed as a result of
Internet usage is promotion. The Internet provides a labor-efficient and cost-effective way of
distributing information almost instantaneously to millions of potential clients in the global
markets. Internet promotion combines mass media's reach with the personalization inherent in two-
way dialogue -previously only possible in personal selling. It can be used for corporate visibility,
brand name recognition, advertising, public relations, corporate sponsorship, direct sales, sales
promotion, customer support and technical assistance. There are three main issues in the
application of the Internet to tourism promotion.
First, present the promotional information on the company's web site. The Web enables more
information to be transmitted to (potentially) more people cheaply, instantly and with multimedia
effect. The key to achieve these benefits is a well-designed and maintained web site which is
attractive, informative and interactive. Through its multimedia capability, a good web site can and
should incorporate information as accurate and detailed as brochures or timetables, photos and
graphs as glossy as magazine ads, and videos as entertaining as TV commercials. The site can and
supply as much promotional information as possible as there is virtually no capacity constraints or
advertising space limits on the Web. By hyper-'inking pages together in an appropriate fashion,
the Web marketer can create an ultra-comprehensive brochure to include everything a user wishes
to know. For instance, a tourism destination web site may become a 'information mall" which
provides the users with all the basic information about it such as the exchange rates, local
traditions, weather, what to buy, etc. and, through the hyperlinks to the sites of tourism firms,
details of flight schedules, tour prices, park opening times, late offers, and so on. A company web
site with email links or even telephone numbers and address will enable users to contact it for
further and often more personalized information.
Second, promote the web site itself to increase its exposure and visitation since a company's web
site has to compete in the clutter of thousands of other web sites selling similar products and
services. This can be achieved through a number of ways. A memorable Internet address to help
user locate it on the Web, usually the company or brand name or a catchy word or phrase. Links
"from" other web sites, by registering with search engines and online directories and paying
relevant sites for click-through links or banners ads, are particularly important if the company's
site is not well known. Links 'to" other sites, such as those offer news or entertainment services
and those offer complementary products can also make the site more interesting as well as
providing more relevant and up-to-date information for the users. Promoting the web site through
the traditional media is also important, especially when it was first set up. For example,
expedia.co.uk launched a £4 million promotion campaign on British TV and Press recently. The
company's web address should also be included on all its media messages "to drive consumers to
the Web" (Pardun and Lamb 1999).

6. Third, use the company's web site as a platform for advertising sites or products of other
businesses. Through "banners" and banner linked web pages, a company's web site can also
generate revenues by becoming an advertising medium for other organizations. Indeed, the
effectiveness of the Web as a medium for advertising has already made online advertising a boom
business itself. The Internet Advertising Bureau's research shows that online advertising revenue
reached US$4.62 billion in 1999. It also finds that banner advertisements is the predominate type
of advertising, accounting for 56%, sponsorships at 27%, interstitials at 4%, email at 2%, and other
rounding out the category at 11% (IAB 2000). Increased Web advertising will reduce the
attractiveness and spending on some traditional forms of promotion such as direct mail, outdoor
displays and radio advertising. Fletcher Research (2000) predicted that the online advertising
spending in the UK would soar from £50 million in 1999 to £625 million by 2004, while
expenditures on direct mail could see a 33% fall in the same period.
The role of the internet in contemporary tourism in Bangladesh
The appearance of the Internet and the incredibly rapid development of highly sophisticated
computer and telecommunication technology have made the world a global village in a real sense.
'Communication network satellites provide the quickest and the cheapest data transfer to all parts
of the world, a great agreement among thou- sands of computer systems that communicate with
each other is represented by the Internet. Development of information technology and the creation
of computer networks and the Internet have enabled a new way of communication. The internet
provides a better access to numerous sources of information around the world, as well as
direct communication with all users. The Internet is a collection of computer networks around the
world and as such is the largest computer system that millions of computer users can use and share
all kinds of information: numbers, text, sound and image.
The Internet has become a support to more complex and critical functions in tourism and
hospitality industry and it contributed to its significant innovation. Due to the appearance of the
Internet, there have been some changes in the tourism subjects business and those are the
following:
 Each serious subject in the tour- ism and hospitality industry has a website that can be classified
into four broad groups: ‘holding corporation identity web- sites, chains, concession and
membership websites, websites of individual sites and facilities, and portals and Vortals.
‘Portal can be defined as a vehicle that offers a rounded set of services for specific well-defined
group of users.’ ‘Vortals is a website that provides information and re- sources about a
particular and specific in- dusty.’(Webopedia - On line Computer Dictionary for Computer and
Internet Terms and Definitions).
 The Internet offers the possibility of expansion, rapid data transfer and flexibility (websites
can always change, the changes are immediately visible and are not limited to space and time

7.  Contemporary business in tour- ism market is characterized by the implementation of various
booking systems into business systems of travel agencies, hotel chains, airlines, car rental
companies and other participants in tourism product information.
 Organization and distribution costs are decreased in various tourist subjects business
conducting (travel agencies, hotel chains, independent hotels...).
Prospects and Guidelines of Promoting Tourism in Bangladesh through Internet
 Set up your own website
You can either set up your own website or you can pay someone to set it up for you. You can
usually have a nice website designed by yourself for as little as $5.00 per month plus yearly
registration of your domain name, the website address. Most importantly, your website needs to
have easily navigated layouts, be filled with useful and interesting information and be free of junk
or unhelpful things. Avoid using anything that will discourage a customer from lingering; this is
one time when some upfront paid advice from a web designer can be well worth it and will pay
itself back in no time. Submit your website name to many website directories. You can search the
Internet for free website directories and you will find quite a few links to places where you can
advertise.

8.  Use YouTube to promote Tourism
Perhaps one of the most popular and creative way to show more information about your business
is to use videos. Some examples of how to do this include:
 Upload a video of tourist spot, and put on as many links as you can from all sorts of topics so
as many people as possible see it.
 Create an ongoing storyline showing tourists using and enjoying your products or services.
 Participate in forums and blogs for promoting tourism
This is one way to help promote your tourist product or services, showing yourself as an expert
and as someone who genuinely wants to help resolve people's problems. Often you can do this for
free. Not all blog sites or forums allow promotion blog or forum posts and breaching this could
see your business blocked and even badmouthed. In some cases you may have to pay a fee to
advertise on their sites but usually you do not. Make use of user pages on sites that allow this. It
can be a great way to promote your business, especially if you contribute information to the website
that in turn leads readers back to your user page for more details.

9.  Use email marketing
You can create lists of tourists, or potential tourists that you can keep in touch with on a regular
basis. However, be aware that many recipients regard this as spamming and may complain. Always
seek to get the agreement of tourists to be emailed first, and always take into account spamming
laws, which detail that you're not allowed to send people information they do not want. Spend a
lot of time making emailed information worth the recipient's time.
 Get on Facebook if you're not already there
Even if your tourism business does have a Facebook account, make sure it is optimized to get the
most from it. Use Facebook ads, updates and Fan pages to keep fans posted on your business
happenings. As a business, just be careful to get your business a Facebook Page and not a Profile;
profiles are for individual people only and they are limited in what you can do as a business.
Moreover, if Facebook discovers you using a profile as a business, you stand to lose the whole
profile and all the friends your business has accrued. Keep updates relevant and interesting. Don't
just talk about your business though; share anecdotes, news items, comments about things seen on
fan's pages, images, etc.? Hold little competitions for customers to win small prizes. For example,
if your business makes eco-friendly items, have fans answer a quiz or send in photos of themselves
doing something sustainable in order to win one of your eco-products. Follow up with a photo of
the winner holding your product; make use of every opportunity to interact with fans online. Do
not involve Facebook buttons such as "Like", "Share", and "Tag" as part of any contest though;
this is against Facebook terms of service.

10.  Take your business to Twitter
Get a good Twitter handle for your tourism promotion and start tweeting updates. However,
remember that Twitter is a conversation, not just a place to push your products or services. Be sure
to instruct employees to interact with online fans.

11.  Keep social media interactions meaningful and considerate
Social media is a great tool for tourism promotion but it can also be misused and create follower
fatigue, unlike and unfollows and general annoyance if misused. As part of this:
 See your fans and followers as people first, customers second. Make that vital connection as
human-to-human because this is what online social media acolytes expect and they're far from
impressed from a business that assumes superiority. Befriend people, follow them and take an
interest in them as much as you expect the same back. Interact and talk the talk with them;
don't simply assume that because you're selling something that they want that that is all you
need to do online.
 Provide meaningful content that matters. What you share, say and produce online must have
resonance for your followers and not be a slavish reproduction of "buy our product". Link with
people and organizations that your brand should be linked with and share their content around
too, and converse with them openly online.
 Be knowledgeable rather than jumping on bandwagons. Hashtags on Twitter and Facebook
campaigns can be compelling. But do they match what your brand is trying to say? Often it's
better to wait until all the facts are out before throwing your weight behind a cause that simply
springs up online overnight.
 While it is important to trust those of your employees who are representing you on social
media, be sure that they "get" what it means to connect and interact with others online. Don't
force employees to do it if they're uncomfortable or show any signs of irritability or cynicism.
Your business cannot afford rudeness or faux pas caused by lack of motivation.
 Learn from errors made using social media and online resources. Mistakes will happen and
your business will recover from them. Learn the lessons these incidents teach you and don't
repeat them.

12. Engagement and Effectiveness in Tourism Marketing By Internet
 New media models focus on engaging travel consumers
Unlike old, Internet led strategies, the new engagement model emphasizes effectiveness of
marketing communications rather than efficiency. The goal is to really connect with consumers.
The internet choices leverage their attentiveness, receptivity to ideas, conversations and buzz
potential – and help deliver on an authentic brand experience. This is a significant change in
communications philosophy – one that diverts internet resources to deeper, richer exchanges with
smaller audiences. The destination itself, its website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and
YouTube channel, Instagram, Flicker are all owned media that allow marketers to engage the
consumer in appropriate and desirable formats when and where the audience seeks information.
This relationship building approach can deliver a richer brand experience, and fosters consumer
advocacy and word-of-mouth recommendations that carry great weight and credibility. Instead of
being the center of the marketing communications effort, mass media’s role is now to grow and
maintain momentum created by engaging customers.
 Internet influences on travel purchase decisions
Consumer preferences for travel destinations have always been influenced by media, word of
mouth and recommendations from travelers. Booking agents and Internet. Broadcast media’s
influence is shrinking as channels diverge to serve ever smaller segments of the market. In the last
15 years, the Internet has become the foremost influence on the consumer’s decision and purchase
process, and continues to grow every year. Besides influencing purchase decisions, the Internet,
websites, blogs, feeds and channels in social networks provide media options that didn’t exist 20
years ago.

13. Advantages of Online Promotion over Traditional Ones
The number of internet users is on a rapid rise worldwide and is used by people of all age and
types. Internet has become a major medium for communication, entertainment and is in the process
of replacing traditional entertainment, promo products, and informative media. Some businesses
are finding that handing out a promo product such as pens, business cards, and mugs are too costly
and yield little results. Likewise, traditional marketing forms such as television, radio, newspaper,
magazines, etc., are becoming a thing of the past. Internet has also become a major and effective
medium for advertising and it has been predicted that the online advertising and marketing is soon
going to replace the advertising through traditional media such as television, radio, newspaper and
magazines. Around 10 advantages of online advertising when compared with the traditional offline
advertising are:
 Wider Coverage
The Internet promotion gives the ads a wider coverage and this globally wider coverage helps in
making the advertisements reach more audiences, which may ultimately help in getting better
results.
 Targeted Audiences
When compared with offline promotion, Internet promotion always helps to reach the targeted
audience and this helps in making the campaign more profitable and getting more relevant leads.
 Affordable
Another main advantage of Internet promotion or marketing is the much affordable price when
compared with the traditional advertising costs. With a much lesser cost one can advertise on the
net for a wider range of audience and geographical locations.
 Easy to Track and Measure
Measurability and easiness to track the conversion makes Internet promotion miles ahead compare
to the traditional advertising methods. A lot of effective analytical tools are available to measure
online promotional campaigns which help in more improvisation of the ads.
 Speed
Internet promotion is much faster than offline one and anyone can start sending out ads to a wider
audience, the moment the person starts the advertising campaign.
 Informative
In Internet promotion, the advertiser is able to convey more details about the advertisement to the
audience and that too at relatively low cost. Most of the online promotional campaigns are
composed of a clickable link to a specific landing page, where users get more information about
the product mentioned in the promotion.

14.  Flexible Payment
Payment flexibility is another added advantage of Internet promotion and marketing. In offline
advertising one needs to pay the full amount to the advertising agency irrespective of the results.
But in Internet promotion there is the flexibility of paying for only qualified leads, clicks or
impressions.
 Better ROI
Since Internet promotion is mainly focused on performance based payment, a firm’s ROI is sure
to be far better when compared with offline promotion.
 Easy Audience Engagement
Internet advertisement makes it easy for the audience to engage with the entity’s ads or products.
As a promoter one would be able to get more feedback from the audience and thereby improve the
quality of the ads going forward.
 Better Branding
Any form of promotion helps in improving the branding and Internet promotion stands a notch
high in improving the branding of one’s company, service or product.
Conclusion
it is beneficial for a hotel chain to integrate appropriates new IT into their entire operation. It is
generally accepted that IT and Internet should be treated as strategic tools than tactical issues, and
as concerns of general management. Senior management of the hotel chain must drive the process
which determines the extent and direction of business re-engineering and take responsibility for
the implementation of the plan.
Additionally, technology cannot be considered as acting alone. It is a product of society; it is also
part of a larger environment in which other forces are at work. We rely on information itself, not
necessarily its facilitating mechanisms, to assist decision making and guide actions. It is important
to be knowledge base, so that to find a use of information.