Sustainable Tourism Development in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study on Sylhet

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development indicates the travel and tourism
designed to minimize the impacts of visitors and tourists on the places they visit,
encourage protection of both cultural and natural heritage, upkeep the
environment, and provide long-term means for social improvements and economic
opportunities for local residents. Sustainability principles refer to the
environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a
suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee
its long-term sustainability. Sylhet, most picturesque and naturally affluent regions
in Bangladesh, is a major tourist destination in Bangladesh and has the great
potential to be developed and promoted as a major sustainable tourism destination
of Bangladesh. This study elucidates the social, cultural, environmental,
economical, political and other factors affecting the sustainability of the Sylhet
through factor analysis and other measurements and provide recommendation
about the initiatives that should be taken to mitigate and to control the negative
impacts of tourism (environmentally, economically, and socially) to make Sylhet as
a sustainable tourism destination.