As India tightens tourist visas to Bangladeshis since July 2024 on political, strategical and security grounds resulting in drop by 73.37 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year, Bangladeshi tourists are penetrating in rest south Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan with Pakistan being explored as a new destination, sources said.
According to the Indian Ministry of Tourism, arrivals from Bangladesh fell by 73.37 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year. The total number of Bangladeshi visitors stood at 4,66,012 in 2025, down from 17,50,165 in 2024, the data indicated.
India imposed restrictions on visas for Bangladeshi nationals after August 5, 2024, citing security concerns. The move followed political upheaval in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s ties with New Delhi have remained strained since then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime was ousted following a violent student-led street protest in July–August 2024.
Strip Bangladesh out of the equation, and the picture looks different. Without arrivals from the neighbouring country, foreign tourist arrivals posted a positive growth of 4.25 per cent in 2025, underlining how the overall decline was largely shaped by one corridor shutting down.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, arrivals from Bangladesh fell by 73.37 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to Telegraph Online
Foreign tourist arrivals to India declined in 2025, reflecting how geopolitics can reshape travel flows as sharply as economics or infrastructure.
Official data showed that foreign tourist arrivals fell 9.4 per cent to 90.2 lakh during the year. The slide was driven largely by a steep drop in visitors from Bangladesh, traditionally one of India’s largest source markets.
Long-haul markets continued to hold steady. The United States remained the top source country in 2025 with 1.81 million arrivals, followed by the United Kingdom at 1.07 million.
Australia accounted for 0.54 million visitors, while Canada contributed 0.53 million.
Even as inbound tourism struggled, Indians travelled abroad in growing numbers. India recorded 327.1 lakh outbound tourist visits during January–December 2025, a rise of 5.9 per cent over 2024 and 21.5 per cent compared to 2019.
The Gulf dominated outbound travel. The UAE emerged as the top destination with a 26.3 per cent share, followed by Saudi Arabia at 10.3 per cent. Thailand accounted for 6.8 per cent, the United States 6.1 per cent and Singapore 4.7 per cent.
Leisure travel formed the largest segment, accounting for 43.5 per cent of outbound visits. Travel linked to the Indian diaspora followed at 34.1 per cent, while business travel made up 14.6 per cent.
Delhi was the leading port of departure with a 22.7 per cent share, followed by Mumbai at 19.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the number of Bangladeshi tourists posted a sound growth in Sri Lanka and Nepal in 2025 compared to the previous year 2024, sources said.
The number of Bangladeshi tourists in Nepal recorded 57,545 in 2025 posting 17 per cent growth in 2025 over 2024 calendar year.
A total of 57,545 Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal in 2025 as against 48848 tourists and 36,483 Bangladeshis in 2023, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 48848 Bangladeshis visited Nepal in 2024 as against 36,483 Bangladeshis visited the Himalayan country in 2023.
Maldives Monetary Authority, approximately 33,020 Bangladesh visited the Maldives in 2025 as against 33,295 Bangladeshis in 2024
Meanwhile, Nepal has become a popular and lucrative tourist destination to Bangladeshis as the Himalayan country has witnessed a substantial growth of Bangladeshi tourists over the last three calendar years
The number of Bangladeshi tourists posted 34 per cent growth to neighboring Nepal in 2024 as the Indian government has restricted the issuing of visas to Bangladeshis since the ungracious departure of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, sources in New Delhi and Dhaka said.
In 2023, a total of 36,483 Bangladeshis visited Nepal (28,362 men and 8113). In 2022, over 25,000 Bangladeshi tourists visited Nepal, which is close to the pre-pandemic level.
A senior editor of a vernacular English daily while talking to this correspondent said that he visited Nepal 50 times during his life as he considers Nepal as one of the most lucrative and beautiful countries in the world.
Nepal welcomed over 1.15 million foreign tourists in 2025, a rise of one percent compared to 2024, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) told the Xinhua
A total of 1,158,459 tourists visited Nepal, representing a 97 percent recovery compared to the pre-COVID pandemic level of 2019, according to the NTB. While the Himalayan country witnessed steady growth in tourist arrivals throughout the year, political unrest in early September impacted visitor numbers, the NTB data show.
In September, foreign tourist arrivals declined by 18.3 percent, but the sector recovered over the following three months compared to the same period of the previous year.
India remained the largest source market, accounting for 25.2 percent of total foreign tourist arrivals, with 292,438 visitors. It was followed by the United States with 112,316 visitors.
China ranked third, with 95,480 Chinese tourists visiting Nepal. The United Kingdom stood fourth with 58,684 visitors, followed by Bangladesh in fifth place with 57,545 visitors
Nepal welcomed 230,085 and 150,962 tourists in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2022, the foreign tourist numbers shot up to 614,869.
NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane said the number of foreign tourists has been increasing in recent days. He expressed the belief that a significant number of tourists would come from other countries including neighbouring countries in the coming days as a result of tourism promotion programmes.
Meanwhile, in July 2023, 50 per cent of the total tourists came from SAARC countries. Among them, 21,357 were from India, 26,096 from Bangladesh, 807 from Bhutan, 484 from Sri Lanka, and 372 from Pakistan.
Apart from China, South Korea had 13,075 visitors from Asian countries. Among European countries, the largest number of tourists, 3,630, came from the United Kingdom. There were 1,102 visitors from Australia, and 653 from Canada.
As per tourism entrepreneurs, Chinese tourists, along with sightseeing, are also interested in adventure and outdoor activities. Hence, they consider Nepal as an “Alps-like” destination.
Meanwhile, Nepal Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari in an interview with The Business Standard said “ The two countries offer unique and diverse tourist products that can complement each other. In 2022, over 25,000 Bang…
[12:24 pm, 02/04/2026] TBS Romee: Manpower export drops 30 per cent growth in March
The manpower export plummeted 30 per cent during the month of March as the ongoing war in the middle-east countries squeezed the movement of job-seekers in the Gulf counties, said leading manpower exporters of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA)
Bangladesh exported a total of 43,776 workers to different countries during the month of March, 2026 as compared to 62,436 workers, according to the data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia retained the top destination of with 24,476 workers, followed by Singapore with 5539 workers, Qatar with 3969 workers, Maldives with 1756 workers, Kuwait with 1526 workers, Jordan with 987 workers, UAE with 902 workers, Iraq with 621 workers, Cambodia with 607 workers, and Italy with 454
However, the war in the middle-east is likely to hurt manpower export in the coming days provided this war spreads and continue, said a leading manpower exporter of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA)
Until April 1, 2026, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh cancelled a total of 894 flights to and from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) over the past 33 days, following widespread airspace closures in the Middle East triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), 18 flights were cancelled April 1 alone.
These included two Kuwait Airways flights, four Air Arabia flights to Sharjah, two Gulf Air flights to Bahrain, four Qatar Airways flights, two Emirates flights, and four Jazeera Airways flights to Kuwait, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh said in a release yesterday.
The cancellations began with 23 flights on February 28, rising to 40 on March 1 and 46 on March 2, with varying numbers reported daily throughout March.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) sources said Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily closed their airspace from February 28 amid security concerns, directly impacting operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
According to CAAB data, flight cancellations began with 23 on February 28 and continued in varying numbers through March, reflecting the prolonged disruption caused by the Middle East crisis.
Officials said the situation has significantly disrupted passenger movement, particularly affecting Bangladeshi expatriates travelling to and from Middle Eastern destinations.
They added that flight operations are expected to normalise once the regional security situation improves and airspace restrictions are lifted.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s labour export dropped by over 36% in February compared to January, with a year-on-year decline of around 16%, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
According to sector insiders, overseas employment declined as recruitment in Saudi Arabia, the top destination for Bangladeshi workers, dropped by more than 42% in February from January due to the mandatory attestation from the Bangladesh embassy for single visa holders, which has been strictly enforced since late January.
The decline highlights Bangladesh’s over-reliance on Saudi Arabia, as opportunities in other destinations are diminishing, labor recruiters said, warning a bleak outlook if Bangladesh fails to reopen labour markets in Oman, the UAE, Malaysia, and Bahrain.
According to BMET data, Bangladesh sent 62,436 workers abroad in February, while the figure was 97,862 in January. Saudi Arabia recruited the highest number of these workers, with 44,258 in February, down from 76,618 in January.
In contrast, 44,083 Bangladeshi workers went abroad in February 2024.
“The mandatory attestation in Riyadh’s Bangladesh embassy for single-visa holders has slowed the process recently, which is one of the reasons behind the decline in Saudi-bound workers,” Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary-general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) told the Business Standard (TBS).
“The attestment is totally unnecessary. They [Bangladesh embassy] do not take any responsibility if a worker faces any issues at the destination. All issues must be borne by the agencies,” he added.
Baira members staged a protest at BMET on Wednesday (5 March), demanding, among other things, the removal of embassy attestation and the option for manual submission of immigration card applications.
Later, they met with the BMET director general, where it was decided that BMET clearance for single visas to Saudi Arabia issued up to 28 February would proceed without requiring attestation from the embassy, as before.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have discussed expanding manpower export and recognising Bangladeshi skills to strengthen bilateral labour cooperation during a meeting held in Geneva.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury held the talks with Saudi Vice-Minister for International Affairs Dr Tariq bin Abdul Aziz on the sidelines of the 356th Governing Body session of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said an official handout here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Bangladesh minister urged Saudi Arabia to increase recruitment of workers from Bangladesh and recognise skills acquired locally.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Labour, Employment and Education Mahdi Amin, Labour Secretary Md Abdur Rahman Tarafder and Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to Geneva Ambassador Nahida Sobhan were present in the meeting.
The minister conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to the Saudi leadership and thanked the Kingdom for ensuring the safety of Bangladeshi workers amid the recent Middle East situation.
The Saudi side expressed willingness to recruit more skilled workers from Bangladesh, recognising their contribution to the country’s development.
Both sides emphasised strengthening cooperation in skills development, including upgrading technical training centres and expanding Arabic language training for prospective migrant workers.
The Saudi vice minister invited the Bangladeshi minister to visit Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed commitment to deepening bilateral labour cooperation.
The United States hit hundreds of targets across Iran, and Israel expanded its bombing to Lebanon as President Donald Trump vowed to avenge the first US deaths in the war he launched to topple Tehran’s ruling clerics.
Iranian forces fired missiles and drones across the Middle East, killing people in Israel and the United Arab Emirates, in retaliation for the conflict that began Saturday with the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US military expanded targets across Iran on Sunday and said it destroyed the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite unit tasked with preserving the theocracy in place since 1979.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh voiced deep concern over the safety of its nationals in Iran following recent attacks, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to diplomacy to ensure regional peace and stability.
Bangladesh warned that any continuation of hostilities would further endanger regional peace, stability and the wellbeing of civilian populations.
Meanwhile, the manpower export to different overseas countries posted 21 percent negative growth in the month of January compared to the export of December, according to the data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)
According to country clearance statistics from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), a total of 94,189 workers went abroad in January, down from 119,389 in December 2025. The month-on-month decline of 25,200 workers represents a fall of about 21.1 percent.
Officials and sector insiders said December’s figure was inflated by year-end processing of pending applications, while January reflected a more typical trend. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh sent an average of 60,000 to 70,000 workers abroad each month, a number that has recently risen to around 100,000.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination in both months, though numbers declined significantly. In December, 83,876 workers went to Saudi Arabia, falling to 64,567 in January. Labour recruiters noted that low-skilled workers continue to dominate Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern routes.
Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said: “The payment structure is still between Tk25,000 and Tk30,000. Most Bangladeshis are employed as cleaners, construction workers, and housemaids. The government has yet to renegotiate salaries with destination countries to ensure better earnings for our workers.”
Author is a Senior Journalist.
