Bangladesh has formed a new police unit, Tourist Police to ensure more security and protection for local and foreign tourists and tourism spots, Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported. Md Nazrul Islam, Assistant Inspector General of Bangladesh Police told Xinhua that the newly formed Tourist Police, commenced operations at Cox’s Bazar Sea Beach in South Eastern region, 391 kms away from Dhaka the capital city. The Tourist Police will expand its network to other tourist spots. He further informed that the police unit, apart from ensuring security will also be assigned for conducting rescue operations. Islam informed that the other main task of this particular unit is to look after nature and wildlife in the tourist spots. He further added, “We hope that the foundation of the unit will help restore more confidence among local and foreign tourists regarding safety and security.”
According to statistics of the country's National Tourism Authority (NTA), a total of 3,49,837 foreign tourists visited Bangladesh in 2008, about 21 per cent higher than that in 2007. According to NTA figures, despite the rise in number of tourists' visits, |