By Richard Collett, CNN
It has vast mangrove forests, hills covered in tea plantations and record-breaking beaches, but for most tourists, Bangladesh is still a blank space on the map.
The South Asia country welcomed just 650,000 international tourists in 2024, according to the Bangladesh Tourism Board — a fraction of the numbers drawn by neighboring destinations such as India and Sri Lanka.
Despite its natural treasures and the urban fascinations of a country with more than 170 million people, Bangladesh has so far struggled to emerge as a mainstream travel destination.
“I think there’s a subconscious association of the country with natural disasters,” says Jim O’Brien, director of Native Eye Travel, a tour company operating in Bangladesh since 2017. “We only ever hear about the country for the wrong reasons.”
Local tour operators say those perceptions obscure both the diversity of the country and the experiences travelers increasingly seek.
Fahad Ahmed, founder of Bengal Expedition Tours, wants visitors to explore Dhaka, where 24 million people live and work in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
He also points to the rolling hills of Sreemangal, where tea plantations stretch north towards the Himalayas, and to Cox’s Bazar, whose 75 miles of white sand is often described as the world’s longest natural sea beach.
“Travelers want to have local experiences; they want to see real local life in Bangladesh,” Ahmed says. “Tourism here is still developing, but there’s so much potential.”
With visas-on-arrival available for most nationalities, new hotels opening in Dhaka and more international tour operators adding Bangladesh to their itineraries, Ahmed believes the country is becoming easier to visit — if not yet easier to sell.
Negative perspectives of Bangladesh
Anand Patel, a British tourist, visited Bangladesh with adventure tour company Lupine Travel in November 2025 as part of a combined trip to Bhutan. Although it had never been high on his bucket list, he jumped at the opportunity to explore a new country.
“When I told people I was going there, one person basically said: ‘Why? People leave Bangladesh to come here!” he told CNN Travel.
“Bangladesh’s reputation in the West is one of a producer nation — especially textiles — and only makes the news when there are floods or uprisings. It’s a negative perspective. As a result, the country passes under the radar as a destination.”
After arriving in Dhaka, Patel traveled south on a six-hour bus journey to Barishal, a riverside city in the Ganges River Delta.
“Unlike others I have seen, this was not a tourist spectacle but was a very authentic local market, with small boats full of fruits and crops, farmers selling their produce and hawkers selling freshly made treats,” he recalls.
“The journey there on the boats was lovely, moving through the farms and forest by river, waving to the people on the bank. A really nice day out.”
Gary Joyce, an Irish tourist who joined a Lupine tour around the same time, had long wanted to visit Bangladesh after living in neighboring India.
“We stayed in the Old City,” he says of his arrival in Dhaka.
“So we were introduced to the street chaos from the start. My first impression was of a city that never sleeps. The sights and noises attack you from every angle. A great introduction.”
Joyce traveled across the Ganges by boat to visit Dhaka’s shipbreaking and repair yards, explored the abandoned former capital of Panam, and took local ferries through the delta.
“Every aspect of the tour was a great experience,” he says. “For me, the highlights we