Bangladesh Hosts OIC Member Countries’ Workshop on Heritage Site Preservation for Sustainable Tourism
The Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, successfully organized a two-day international workshop titled “Developing Quality Standards and Sustainability Indicators for Enhancing Governance and Monitoring Systems of Heritage Site Preservation in OIC Countries” on 7–8 October 2026 at the InterContinental Dhaka.
The workshop was inaugurated by Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruqui, Chief Executive Officer of the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB). In his inaugural address, he emphasized that the preservation of cultural heritage is a key component of sustainable and competitive tourism in Bangladesh and across the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The workshop was organized under the COMCEC-funded project titled “Enhancing Cultural Heritage Site Preservation by Strengthening Governance and Monitoring Systems.” It was an honour and a privilege for the Bangladesh Tourism Board to have been selected for this project through a competitive process involving 57 OIC Member Countries. This achievement reflects Bangladesh’s growing profile in regional tourism cooperation.
The workshop brought together 25 experts in heritage preservation and tourism, including 21 participants from relevant departments and institutions in Bangladesh and four international participants representing Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).
Over the two-day workshop, participants worked collaboratively to develop practical quality standards and sustainability indicators addressing the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of heritage site management. The discussions also covered recommendations of the COMCEC Tourism Working Group concerning legal and regulatory frameworks, conservation and maintenance, governance, community benefit-sharing, visitor management, and risk preparedness.
The workshop produced structured inputs that will contribute to the development of the forthcoming OIC Guidance Document on Heritage Site Preservation. The final document will be developed based on the workshop outcomes and a subsequent expert consultation meeting.
At the closing ceremony, Abu Salim Mahmud-Ul Hasan, Director of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, thanked all partner institutions and participants for their valuable contributions. He reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to extending cooperation and support in knowledge exchange and capacity-building initiatives within the COMCEC framework.
The Bangladesh Tourism Board remains committed to promoting sustainable heritage tourism that protects cultural heritage, supports local livelihoods, and enhances the competitiveness of the tourism sector across OIC Member States.