Hotels, restaurants doubled to 436,274 in 10 years : BBS

Dhaka : The number of hotels, restaurants and tea stalls across Bangladesh has almost doubled to 436,274 in 10 years till 2021, with the sector employing around 2.1 million male and female workers, said a recent study named Hotel-Restaurant Survey 2021" of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Of the total, some 344,687 are roadside tea stalls, of which 159,393 are in cities and the remaining in village areas.

Besides, there are 67,991 fast food shops, 19,637 restaurants and mobile food shops, and 126 catering services across the country.

Despite the sector's boom, it still remains largely unregulated as, especially outside Dhaka, only 65,000 entities are registered under the Bangladesh Hotel Restaurant Owners Association.

A decade ago, the country had around 275,000 hotels and restaurants. According to the survey, the number of hotels and restaurants in 1992-92 was 117,981. It rose to 215,103 in 2002-03; 275,324 in 2009-10; and 436,274 in 2021.

The data show that male workers in this sector increased to 1,970,970 in 2021 from around 850,000 ten years ago. Female workers have also doubled to 100,737.

Of the hotels and restaurants, 852 are under government ownership. The number was 133 in 1992-92; 713 in 2002-03; and 639 in 2009-10. The remaining are under private ownership.

BBS data further stated, the number of short-stay hotels is 2,889 in urban areas and 301 outside cities.

Reports cited Secretary General of Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association Imran Hasan saying, "There have been many changes in this sector recently. Many good companies have entered the business, and there is a trained workforce here. 

"The biggest problem of this sector now is the price hike of daily necessities. Buyers have decreased, and sales too. Many restaurants are closing their business."