Exploring marine tourism potentials in Bangladesh

Marine and Coastal tourism, one of the largest components of the tourism industry, is emerging as one of the most promising areas of the tourism sector in particular for the developing nations. While Bangladesh is rich in immense marine and coastal tourism resources, most of the potential for marine tourism remains unexplored; in particular, the tourism prospect of the Bay of Bengal is still in its infancy, making it an unutilized economic area. Therefore, this paper aims to focus on exploring the potentials of marine tourism in the context of Bangladesh. This paper is guided by a qualitative research approach in which both the primary and secondary data collection techniques have been utilized, and following thematic analysis and content analysis techniques, the collected data is analyzed. Based on the findings, the paper presents a number of recommendations for the development of marine tourism products and destinations for Bangladesh. This research is one of the first attempts in Bangladesh that have covered up a very timely and unexplored research area, and it is expected to help both macro and micro level administrators affiliated with tourism, educational institutions, and set a benchmark for future marine tourism researchers in Bangladesh.