AI can plan your entire trip, but how much is Bangladesh using it?

Where to go, how to get there and how much it might cost — answers to these questions about a destination can now be found with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) before setting out on a trip.

AI is increasingly being used to analyse tourists’ preferences and create itineraries, as well as to arrange hotels and transport. Bangladesh, however, remains far behind in this area. People involved in the sector say there are no signs that the country will overcome this situation anytime soon.

In international rankings measuring the tourism sector’s capacity for development, Bangladesh lags behind other South Asian countries. Alongside a decline in the number of tourists and tourism revenue, there are also shortcomings in the collection and management of tourism data.

Bangladesh is also behind in technological capabilities because there is no centralised database of tourists. Yet the country has natural, archaeological and cultural attractions capable of drawing tourists.

Against this backdrop, World Tourism Day is being observed today, 27 September. This year’s theme is ‘Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism’.

Bangladesh has ranked 98th among 110 economies in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, remaining at the bottom among the 18 Asia-Pacific economies assessed.

Bangladesh’s score rose to 3.34 out of seven, up from 3.19 in the 2024 edition, but remained below the global average of 4.1. Bangladesh was also ranked last among the five South Asian economies included in the latest index.

Among South Asian countries, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan rank above Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s position is also towards the lower end compared with countries in the broader Asia-Pacific region.

Bangladesh ranked 125th in the index in 2017 and rose to 100th in 2021. However, in 2024, it fell nine places to 109th.

The TTDI measures the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the travel and tourism sector.

Its 2026 edition assesses 17 pillars and 102 indicators across five dimensions: enabling environment; travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions; infrastructure and services; travel and tourism resources; and travel and tourism sustainability.

Bangladesh performed best in the travel and tourism resources dimension, while its weakest performance was in travel and tourism sustainability.

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation chairman Md Shamimuzzaman told Prothom Alo that plans have been taken to develop a system through which clicking on a tourist destination would provide information on how to get there, the weather, accommodation, bookings, places of interest, history and surrounding areas.

AI would make it possible to deliver such information to large numbers of tourists, both at home and abroad, within a short time. He also stressed the importance of increasing investment, improving infrastructure and involving local communities in the development of the sector.

A study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Bangladesh has also highlighted gaps in information systems and technological capacity in the tourism sector.

The study, ‘Data System Thinking: How Close is Bangladesh to Drive Sustainable Tourism with Data Innovation and AI?’, says the sector’s development is being hampered by a lack of effective coordination among various stakeholders and the absence of integrated data management.

The UNDP has recommended developing an integrated system for collecting, storing and using data as part of the digital transformation of the sector. It has also proposed creating an AI-powered national tourism ‘dashboard’ under the Bangladesh Tourism Board.

The recommendations include incorporating a national tourist database, a Tourism Satellite Account, statistical visualisations and social media data into the dashboard.

AI could also be used to monitor tourist pressure and environmental impacts in sensitive areas such as the Sundarbans and St Martin’s Island.

However, the study says this would require a national data management and data governance framework, greater coordination between the public and private sectors, and enhanced technological capacity among relevant stakeholders.

Taufiq Rahman, secretary general of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Bangladesh Chapter, told Prothom Alo that digital transformation is one of the many challenges Bangladesh’s tourism sector is facing.

The government should focus on developing the sector now. Alongside domestic tourism, greater emphasis should be placed on increasing the number of foreign tourists and internationally branding and marketing the country’s tourist destinations, he added.

The WEF index places importance on technological capacity, including internet use and digital payments.

Between 2019 and 2024, the global average score for information and communications technology capacity in the tourism sector increased by 7.2 per cent. The expansion of online access, mobile networks and digital payments contributed to this improvement.

Md Abdur Rouf, additional secretary (tourism wing) at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, told Prothom Alo that the government is working to fully digitise the management of the tourism sector.

Initiatives are being taken to increase the use of AI and other digital technologies. However, he said no specific revenue target has yet been set for the sector.

According to a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) published in May, the tourism sector is expected to grow faster than the global economy over the next decade.

During this period, the sector’s global GDP contribution could grow by an average of 3.6 per cent annually, compared with projected overall global economic growth of 2.4 per cent.

In 2026, the tourism sector is expected to contribute around USD 12 trillion to the global economy, equivalent to 9.9 per cent of global GDP. The sector is expected to support around 376 million jobs, with around 89 million new jobs potentially being created over the next 10 years.

In Bangladesh, the tourism sector currently contributes two to three per cent to GDP. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism says the government aims to raise this to more than seven per cent. Work is underway to finalise a master plan towards this goal by December.

Tourism sector expert and associate professor at the Faculty of Business Studies of National University Md Anowar Hossain Bhuiyan told Prothom Alo that alongside digital transformation, the tourism sector faces a major shortage of technological capacity.

There are also gaps in areas such as data privacy, limitations on data use and data sovereignty. Weak digital infrastructure, internet speeds and limited investment in technology are also posing challenges, he added.