Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC, Bangladesh

The study explored a connection between stakeholder perspectives on tourism development and the mechanism of sustainability integration in tourism industry, where the ‘Cox’s Bazar’ had been assessed as a role model for popular and prime tourist destination in Bangladesh. The number of daily tourists to Cox’s Bazar was about 30,000 during the study. A comprehensive analysis conducted through a case study, including some in-depth interviews of the selected stakeholders. In the investigation of current and future realities of tourism system, the study was based on a robust conceptual framework ‘FSSD’- Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. With the framework, a generic vision of success had been defined in the tourism industry along with exploring the sustainability integration mechanism in tourism development in Bangladesh. Sustainable tourism development required a process of the community level participation at earlier of policy formation and adaptation locally. Finally, the research sought out some indications of barriers and prospects of present tourism features in Bangladesh, where some appropriate policy measures by both public and private sectors could ultimately be formed in moving towards a sustainable tourism destination.