TOAB Visits India’s Reserve Forests to Promote Dooars tourism

On September 16, a group of 16 tour guides and proprietors of travel agencies from Bangladesh travelled to the Alipurduar district of India to see various tourist attractions and gather data on the locations in order to promote Dooars tourism in our nation.

The reserve woodlands had just reopened when they came. On September 16, the three national parks Jaldapara, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary all reopened to visitors after a three-month hiatus.

The Dooars region’s major tourism destinations, Jaldapara, Jayanti, and Chilapata woods, were visited by a group from the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

“This is our first visit to the Dooars, and we are overwhelmed by the enchanting forests and landscape of the region. Our aim is to expedite cross-border tourism and send tourists from our country to the Dooars, along with the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim,” said SM Hafijur Rehman, an advisor of TOAB.

The majority of international visitors to north Bengal is from Bangladesh. Due to the Center’s approval of their admission into Sikkim, the number of Bangladeshi visitors has surged since 2018.

The group included Biplab Dey, the Dooars Tourism Development Welfare Society’s joint secretary. According to him, the advent of the Mitali Express, a railway that connects Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri, has greatly benefited north Bengal, Sikkim, and Bangladesh.

“Earlier, one had to take a bus to reach this region or take a flight to Calcutta and then travel here. This means the transport cost was higher and a section of Bangladeshi nationals, who could not afford such costs, would drop the region from itinerary. As the train service is available, we expect they will turn up here,” he added.

Rehman said, “We want the tourism stakeholders here to promote Bangladesh also because the transport costs would be less for those who live in this region. That is why we are trying to increase the inflow of tourists along the India-Bangladesh border as it would benefit the tourism sector of both the countries.”

The Bangladeshi delegates have said the Dooars is just an hour’s journey from NJP or the land ports of Fulbari (in Jalpaiguri district) and Changrabandha (in Cooch Behar district).

“We will jointly promote the locations and invited the tour operators of the Dooars to an international travel fair which we will host in March 2023 in Bangladesh,” said Md Sajibul Al Rajib, another representative of TOAB.