DHAKA, May 23, 2026 (BSS) – The government has formed a high-level 'Cabinet Committee on Tourism' headed by the finance minister to accelerate the development, expansion and quality control of the country’s tourism industry.

A gazette notification in this regard, issued by the Cabinet Division was published today. Earlier, the Cabinet Division issued the notification on May 21.

According to the notification, the 17-member committee includes ministers, state ministers, advisers and top officials from different important ministries and agencies of the government. The finance minister will serve as the chairman of the committee.

Other members of the committee are the ministers for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Home Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Cultural Affairs; Land; Civil Aviation and Tourism; Commerce; Housing and Public Works; Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs; Railways; and Shipping.

The state ministers for Civil Aviation and Tourism and Planning, adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) have also been included in the committee.

The notification said secretaries, including senior secretaries, and relevant officials from 15 important ministries will provide secretarial and technical support to the committee.

The ministries include Land, Home Affairs, Finance, Railways, Housing and Public Works, Foreign Affairs, Cultural Affairs, Planning, Road Transport and Highways, Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Local Government, Civil Aviation and Tourism, Shipping, Environment and Commerce.

The notification, signed by Additional Secretary (Committee and Economic) of the Cabinet Division Md Humayun Kabir, outlined three major areas of responsibility for the committee.

The committee will provide specific policy recommendations to the government for the overall development, expansion and international standard control of Bangladesh’s tourism industry.

It will also identify unexplored potential, new opportunities, existing problems and domestic and global challenges in the tourism sector and suggest ways to address them.

Besides, the committee will determine areas for domestic and foreign investment and public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives to strengthen the tourism sector’s own capacity and formulate effective strategies for implementation.

The notification said the committee may co-opt new members if necessary for smooth functioning, while the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism will provide secretarial support.

It also said the previous notification regarding the tourism-related committee issued by the Cabinet Division on February 8, 2024, would stand cancelled and the new order would come into effect immediately.