The tourism industry is growing faster than it was thought to be in the earlier years. As one of the fastest industries in today’s world, tourism contributes to foreign exchange earnings and employment for many countries. Considering our beautiful Bangladesh, we can say that it has attractive natural resources and many historical and cultural places. These resources are potential means to grow tourism while keeping pace with the globe only if these are potentially utilized for developing tourism in Bangladesh. One of the tremendous potentials for tourism in Bangladesh is the beauty of nature and warm hospitality. Sylhet is one of the country’s most attractive tourist destinations, especially for domestic tourists. There is more than just local tourists but also foreigner & tourists from other districts who comes to Sylhet for religious and natural attractions like tea state, Ratargul Swamp Forest etc., especially in summer. Many tourists who visit with family and friends to enjoy its peaceful natural beauty bring new hope for the tourism sector to grow in Sylhet for a long time. If planned properly, tourism can be the highest income-generating sector for Sylhet.

As discussed before, Bangladesh is a land of immense natural beauty. There are so many rivers here that it is called a riverine country, having many beaches, archaeological sites, religious sites, hills, forests, waterfalls, and tea gardens are enclosed. In 2020, Bangladesh recorded 0.5 million total tourists, including both domestic & foreign tourists. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has published a report on the impact of the economy in 2021, and it estimated that TK 53,960 core was earned in GDP in 2020 despite travel restrictions for COVID-19. Even the number of foreign tourists in Bangladesh is increasing gradually. Sylhet is one of the most significant interests as it is easily accessible, and the tourist spots can be reached more quickly than other beautiful spots in the country. There are many natural places in Sylhet like Bholaganj, Jaflong, Lalakhal & so on. Every day, many tourists come to these places to observe and enjoy. Those play substantial roles in our GDP, and people can also know more about Sylhet. These tourists we are talking about use many modes of transportation to reach Sylhet. One of the most used transportation modes is by air.

The Osmani International Airport have 21 international flights and 74 domestic flights operated in a week. As domestic flights are being used more frequently by the country’s people, the Osmani International Airport of Sylhet is starting to provide more services for the comfort of tourists visiting the district. The air communication system is essential for tourists & Osmani International Airport, Sylhet, is working to make travel more accessible and comfortable. Mr. Mahbub Ali, State Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism, said, “There will be direct flights from Sylhet Osmani International Airport to various destinations worldwide, and there will be no compromise to ensure the safety of airports and passengers.” Covering what he said, it is seen that international flights are also landing in Sylhet, such as direct flights from London to Sylhet and many more. He was hopeful in his dialogue that the construction of new terminal with modern and extended facilities would be completed within the shortest possible time. Alongside these, Sylhet Airport has added another service for the tourists to end up waiting for delayed flights and those who would like to enjoy a few minutes of themselves comfortably. Osmani International Airport of Sylhet has added a lounge service in their facilities. This service is for the betterment of the facilities given to tourists and other customers. This lounge can be accessed with any credible cards. There are seating, food, and entertainment arrangements for the tourists visiting Sylhet or departing from Sylhet. This exclusive lounge of the airport has become quite a popular initiative taken by the airport authorities and is highly appreciated by the tourists of Sylhet. 

Alongside this, this highly adequate airport of Sylhet offers many deals to the customer to meet customer satisfaction. They are co-operating with many hotels, motels and making package deals for their consumer base by spreading it in their portals and other media. There are even flights operating directly from Sylhet to Cox’s Bazar and vice versa. Considering the current phase of other transportation modes, The Osmani International Airport of Sylhet is also giving close to similar rate of their ticket to ensure development and consider consumers’ standard of living. In addition, a new export cargo complex recently got validated for the UK and European destinations, which may lead to an extensive business for tourism.

So it is apparent that Sylhet is very concerned about the tourists, and they are working to improve their services every passing day to contribute to tourism’s national growth.