Dhaka Travel Mart 2005 inaugurated

Dhaka Travel Mart 2005, the three-day international travel fair, was inaugurated for the second time in Bangladesh at the Winter Garden of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on March 4, 2005.

Wolfgang Vollmann, Director and UNESCO Representative in Bangladesh, formally inaugurated the fair on March 4 morning as the chief guest. Dr. M Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, was the special guest, while Abdul Mannan MP, President, Bangladesh Chapter of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) presided over the inaugural function.

Welcoming the guests and participants, Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor, The Bangladesh Monitor and Chairman, Dhaka Travel Mart 2005, spoke on The Bangladesh Monitor's efforts to promote tourism for the last 14 years and also highlighted the background of the Dhaka Travel Mart.

Organised by the leading travel magazine The Bangladesh Monitor, Bangladesh Travel Mart 2005 is being participated by a total of 42 organisations from 15 countries.

Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Nepal Tourism Board, Tourism Malaysia, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Druk Air of Bhutan, Dragonair of Hong Kong, Air Macau of Macau, Mahan Air of Iran, Cosmic Air of Nepal are attending the Mart, presenting their destinations as well as attractive packages and services.

Present also are Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, Radisson Water Garden, Hotel Agrabad of Chittagong and Seagull Hotel of Cox's Bazar as well as hotels of India and Nepal.

A seminar on "Development of Tourism: Role of Private and Public Sector" will be held on March 5 afternoon at Marble Room of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

The Dhaka Travel Mart-2005 will remain open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Raffle draws on entry tickets, priced at Tk 20 and featuring attractive prizes, will be held on the three days of the fair. The prizes are:

For Day 1 (March 4, 2005)1st Prize : Dhaka-Seychelles-Dhaka air ticket by Qatar Airways.; 2nd Prize : Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka air ticket with three nights' package by Emirates Airlines; 3rd Prize : Dhaka-Hong Kong-Dhaka air ticket by Dragonair; 4th Prize : Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka air ticket for two by GMG Airlines.

Day 2 (March 5, 2005)1st Prize : Dhaka-Hong Kong-Beijing-Hong Kong-Dhaka air ticket by Dragonair.; 2nd Prize : Dhaka-Hong Kong-Shanghai-Hong Kong-Dhaka air ticket by Dragonair; 3rd Prize : Dhaka-Doha-Istanbul-Doha-Dhaka by Qatar Airways; 4th Prize : Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka air ticket by Emirates Airlines; 5th Prize : Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka air ticket by GMG Airlines.

Day 3 (March 6, 2005)1st Prize : Dhaka-London-Dhaka in Club Class Air Ticket by British Airways; 2nd Prize : Dhaka-London-Dhaka World Traveller Plus Class Air Ticket by British Airways; 3rd Prize : Dhaka-London-Dhaka World Travel Class air ticket by Dragonair.

The names of the winners will be announced through the national newspapers and The Bangladesh Monitor.

Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) and Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) are the Co-organisers, while Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the Official Carrier and Co-sponsor and GMG Airlines the Co-sponsor of the fair. General Distributors Systems Amadeus is the Technology Partner of the DTM 2005.