World Tourism Day 2022: ShareTrip - Revolutionising travel in Bangladesh
From the world's longest natural sea beach to the Buddhist Vihara ruins at Paharpur, Naogaon and hundreds more such examples, Bangladesh is filled with scenic wonders worth witnessing. This World Tourism Day, the country's leading Online Travel Agency (OTA), ShareTrip , is all set to revolutionize travel in Bangladesh, putting our tourism sector up on the world stage.
As part of Bangladesh's march towards becoming an innovative and knowledge-based economy by 2041[1], ShareTrip, backed by the Government's flagship venture capital firm, Startup Bangladesh, is working to digitise travel. Through this partnership, ShareTrip is actively looking to bridge the existing gaps within the tourism industry. From empowering remote entrepreneurs to informing customers on how to travel digitally at a bargain – ShareTrip is doing it all.
The exhaustion of running from one place to another in search of the best deals often becomes demotivating for travellers. Hence, ShareTrip has been working to change the perspective through its tech-based solutions. Be it visa processing, hotels, flights, itinerary or extensive packages – the ShareTrip app does it all! Moreover, with a laser focus on customer experience, ShareTrip ensures that the journey seems as pleasurable as the destination.
On top of that, ShareTrip recognizes the importance of keeping its employees motivated. Hence, the leading OTA is transforming what it means to work in the travel industry by nurturing a culture of innovation, where employees can enjoy an array of additional benefits. Consequently, ShareTrip's employees remain motivated, working efficiently to meet all customer needs.
Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina established Startup Bangladesh, a Venture Capital company, with the advice of the architect of Digital Bangladesh, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT affairs adviser to the honourable Prime Minister. Under this 'Digital Bangladesh' vision, we are creating the Startup ecosystem in Bangladesh. We have a plan to allocate 500 crores to our Startups. We hope that together, we can keep nurturing the future potential unicorns of Bangladesh."
Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, said, "We have only explored about 20% of the travel market industry in Bangladesh, while about 80% of this potential market remains unexplored. Foreigners and tourists are unaware of these beautiful destinations. I hope with Startup Bangladesh's backing ShareTrip the country's tourism industry will also grow at the same pace.
Catering to the offline nature of travel in Bangladesh, many are still missing out on the existing growth opportunities within the market. There is still a greater scope to leverage the internet penetration boom to grow the travel industry.
Sadia Haque, CEO of ShareTrip, said, "Nowadays, planning a trip mostly translates to using smartphones and laptops, indicating the right time for an Online Travel Agency. As avid travellers, we initiated our journey to contribute to the tourism industry through digitisation. No matter where you are, easily access ShareTrip Flight and get confirmation instantly. To cater fellow travellers accomodation needs, we have ShareTrip Hotel even on the remote corner of Bangladesh. The investment from Startup Bangladesh Limited further motivates us to march with longer strides towards a dream of minimizing the existing gap between offline and online travel services, building a simple and inclusive travel ecosystem".
Startup Bangladesh's investment in a leading tech-based travel company exemplifies its determination to revolutionize tourism in Bangladesh. Not only will this transform the concept of travel in Bangladesh, but it can also contribute greatly to the Bangladeshi economy. Since its inception, ShareTrip has been working relentlessly to transform the entire travel ecosystem of the country. As part of such efforts, ShareTrip and Startup Bangladesh join hands to take Sheikh Mujib's Bangladesh to a global standard this World Tourism Day.