BD tour operators visit India's reserve forests to promote Dooars tourism

Dhaka : A delegation of 16 tour operators and travel agency owners of Bangladesh reached Alipurduar district of India on September 16 to visit different tourist spots and collect information about the sites so that they could promote Dooars tourism in our country.
Their visit coincided with the reopening of reserve forests. After a gap of three months, Jaldapara National Park, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary reopened for tourists on September 16.
The delegation of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) visited Jaldapara, Jayanti and Chilapata forests, which are popular tourist spots in the Dooars.
"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.
In north Bengal, the highest number of foreign tourists comes from Bangladesh. 
Since 2018, the number of Bangladeshi tourists increased because the Centre had allowed their entry into Sikkim. Biplab Dey, the joint secretary of the Dooars Tourism Development Welfare Society, was part of the delegation.
He said the introduction of Mitali Express (a train that runs between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri) had created a huge opportunity for north Bengal and Sikkim as well as Bangladesh.
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.