T20 Cup to be a shot in the arm for Bangla tourism

The World Cup has projected this country as a cricket crazy nation with people clogging the streets in green and red waving the national flag to celebrate cricket.

The World Cup has projected this country as a cricket crazy nation with people clogging the streets in green and red waving the national flag to celebrate cricket.

HT Image

The 2014 T20 World Cup, which Bangladesh is going to host, will see the game go to some of the country’s most exotic locations.

Cox's Bazar, which has the world's longest natural beach, and the picturesque tea gardens of Sylhet along with the port city of Khulna, to name a few.

Cox's Bazar, about 150km from Chittagong, has been one of Bangladesh's most visited tourist locations. Sylhet, situated in the Surma valley with scenic spots like Tamabil-Jaflong located on the road to Shilong, on the other hand is yet to develop as a tourist spot.

"This World Cup was a learning experience. We will host the 2014 T20 World Cup and through that we plan to project Bangladesh as one of the most sought after tourist destinations of the world," Abdur Rahman, joint-secretary Bangladesh government and also the director of planning and development of the National Sports Council, told HT.

Sylhet's divisional stadium is in the picturesque settings of tea gardens and hills. "The view of the stadium there is breathtaking and work on it will start in July next year. There is a lot of entertainment associated with T20 cricket. We plan to take it to a different level," Rahman said.

For Khulna, which is also a port city like Chittagong, everything is ready. "There were plans to host at least one match there this time but there were too few matches. A full tournament would give us more opportunity," Rahman said.