Dhaka : Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan demanded to withdraw additional VAT-tax from the tourism sector.
He made the call during a discussion on the proposed budget for the next financial year at the parliament on June 20.
The Minister claimed, the country's tourism sector is progressing rapidly and with it, employment in the sector is also increasing.
In 2023, Bangladesh had over three crore domestic tourists and initiatives are underway to increase the number of foreign tourists as well, he informed.
However, the sector's progress may suffer due to the increase of VAT-tax on parks and hotels-motels in the proposed budget of FY2024-25.
Therefore, it is necessary to withdraw VAT-tax from these sectors of interest to the public, the Minister remarked.