Tourism in Sundarban, Bangladesh has potential to become a major income source. Sundarban is the world's largest mangrove forest and attracts many local and foreign tourists each year. This report analyzes the investment potential and competitiveness of tourism in Sundarban using Porter's 5 forces and SWOT analysis. It finds strengths in Sundarban's natural attractions and status as a UNESCO heritage site. Weaknesses include a lack of local community involvement and benefits from tourism. Opportunities exist in developing ecotourism packages and jobs for locals. Threats include environmental damage and lack of management. The report recommends the government take more responsibility to promote Sundarban tourism while preserving the fragile ecosystem

1. Executive Summary
Tourism is a rapidly growing activity in third world countries. In the coming year it could be the
largest income-generating source of the countries. Bangladesh is small country, but it has
conceived too many places which could attract the tourist. My report deals with achieving
competitive advantage in tourism industry of Sundarban by using differentiation strategy in
terms of the global perspective. In this report we will analyze the investment potential of tourism
industry in Sundarban. This will start with the Porter’s 5 forces to analyze the four factors related
with our industry. Then we’ll do the analysis of national competitiveness using Porter’s model.
Then we will conduct SWOT analysis to find the strength, weakness, opportunity and threats to
our industry. Based on these we will come to a decision about the investment method and the
final section of this report consists of recommendations and conclusion of our report.
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2. 1. Introduction:
We selected tourism industry of Sundarban in order to conduct this report. The task for us was to
choose any specific area of Bangladesh to do current scenario analysis and then Porter’s 5 forces
in terms of that industry in the global perspective.
The Sundarban is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The
name Sundarban can be literally translated as “beautiful jungle” or “beautiful forest” in the
Bengali language (Sundar, “beautiful” and ban, “forest” or “jungle”). The name may have been
derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it
has been proposed that the name is a corruption of Samudraban. But the generally accepted view
is the one associated with Sundari trees. Sundarbans is the largest productive contiguous
mangrove forest in the world, located in the south-western part of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans
mangrove has been in a state of progressive deterioration since the 1970s. The Sundarban
Reserve Forest (SRF), which constitute the core area of the World Heritage Site. It became
inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997.
There are some reasons behind choosing tourism industry of Sundarban –
 During the time of reduced performance in the export sector, a number of developing
countries have encouraged tourism as a source of quickly earning foreign exchange vital
for the development. In Bangladesh tourism, Sundarban plays the most vital role. So in
the coming year it could be the largest income-generating source for Bangladesh.
 Sundarban is the world biggest mangrove forest. In Bangladesh tourism. A large number
of foreigners come to Bangladesh every year only to visit this unique mangrove forest.
Besides, local tourists also go to visit Sundarban every year. The area of great Sundarban
is approximately 6000 sq. km.
 It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997.
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3.  Since 1966 the Sundarbans have been a wildlife sanctuary, and it is estimated that there
are now 400 Royal Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area.
 Sundarbans is home to many different species of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and
fishes. Over 120 species of fish and over 260 species of birdshave been recorded in the
Sundarbans.
 The Sundarbans now support the only population of the Estuarine, or Salt-Water
Crocodile.
2. Porters five forces on Sundarbans:
Threat of new entrants:
(a) Product differentiation
Sundarban is the world’s largest forest. It is situated in the coastal area of the Bangladesh. World
largest mangrove forest “Sundarban”s basic attraction feature is its “Natural Beauty” which
consists a thousand variety of trees- Sundari, Geua, Keura, Bain, Poshur etc, animals-monkey,
deer(chitra, Bolga), pig, dolphin, the famous “Royal Bengal Tiger”, fishes- Bain, Belay, Hilsha
etc.As it is totally nature based destination so in this sense there is no chance for new entrance. In
short run or long run it is not so easy to establish a destination in coastal area as like as
Sundarban. On the other hand there are number of travel agencies who are offering various
packages for the tourists they are spending heavily on advertisement promoting Sundarban as a
tourist spot.
(b) Capital requirements
In tourism industry of Sundarban, there are Government investments as well as private
investment. In the past decades, Government spent heavily on tourism industry of Sundarbans &
the private tourism sector received significant loan from the commercial bank very easily.
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4. (c) Government policy
Political Environment regarding Sundarban includes all laws and legislations that influence or
limit the scope of government agencies and groups, tourism and tourists in Sundarban. As
Sundarban is the largest mangrove forest in the world and it maintains Eco-ideas, so any kind of
harm to its natural atmosphere is strictly prohibited.
Competitive rivalry:
(a) Number and balance of competitors
If we think about the geographical position of sundarban one part in Bangladesh and part in
Indian this case the Indian part is the competitor of Sundarban. If we think about coastal tourist
destination of Bangladesh especially in the southern part in this situation kuakata may be
competitor of Sundarban.
(b) Growth rate of this industry
Though tourism industry and its market have grown phenomenally worldwide, the industry and
its market have not grown in Bangladesh. As tourism in Bangladesh is a slow growth industry, so
the rivalry among existing firms in Sundarban is not stronger to that extent.
Bargaining Power of Buyers:
(a) Buyer segment
Every year many tourists are visiting the Sundarbans for visiting the forest enjoyment, pleasure
and see the beauties of the forest canopy. This number is increasing day by day. But the arrival of
the international tourists is not satisfactory yet.
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5. (b) Buyer group concentration
According to Sundarban reserved forest during the year 2003-2004 domestic numbers of tourists
were 6,508 and foreign was 212 but in the recent years the numbers has been quadrupled 67585
domestic tourists and foreign tourists were 1892 so just by simply looking at the numbers we can
say demand for Sundarban is increasing very much rapidly. So if I consider the tourists as the
potential customers I would say they exactly don’t have the power to the extent to pressure the
supplier to reduce the cost.
(c) Switching cost of the buyer
For the Tourists in Sundarban their switching cost is actually lower, since there are so many
agencies out there and they are providing so many packages at a lower and then after reviewing
the prices the buyer can actually easily switch.
(d) Threat of backward integration
Revenue collection through ecotourism in Sundarban is rich and increasing day by day. Amount
of revenue that was earned in in 2003-2004 was 105, 8339 US dollar which increased to 30,
76,750 in 2008. At the same time arranging the trip to Sundarban is not expensive and less risky,
so there is a chance that many people might contribute in this tourism sector very soon.
Bargaining power of suppliers:
(a) Transport system
All travel in Sundarbans mangrove forest is boat based and the trips start from Khulna, Mongla
or Dhaka. The closest airport to Khulna or Mongla is at Jessore with regular shuttle service to
Khulna. Also bus and train service between Dhaka and Khulna is available.
(b) Hotel or resorts
There is few hotel or restaurant in the area of sundarban these are following:
 Hotel Sundarban tiger camp
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6.  Hotel Sundarban
(c) Travel agency
There are so many tourism agencies in Bangladesh which means suppliers in Bangladeshi home
market are quite saturated. There are number of travel agencies with their services, offers, price
sensitivities, they arrange the group tours at Sundarban. At least there are 21 well known travel
agencies are there in Dhaka itself.
(d) Switching cost
There are so many travel agencies are there that switching cost is very low at all which means
that suppliers does have the slightest control over the buyer at all.
Threat of substitutes:
Sundarban is the only mangrove forest in Bangladesh so any substitute of sundarban is actually
doesn’t exist. But on the other there are other tourist’s spot such as Cox’s bazaar, St Martins and
others so eventually we can say threats of substitute is very low compare to sundarban tourism.
3. Analysis of national competitiveness using Porter’s model:
Factors Endowment
Approximately 2.5 million people live in small villages surrounding the Sundarbans. The area
provides a livelihood at certain seasons of the year for an estimated 300,000 people, working
variously as wood-cutters, fishermen, and gatherers of honey, golpatta leaves (Nipa fruticans)
and grass.
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7. Fishermen come in their boats from as far away as Chittagong and establish temporary
encampments at various sites along the coast, where they remain until the approach of the
monsoon season in April before returning to their homes. Apart from the large numbers of people
employed by contractors in the commercial exploitation of sundri and other tree species, the
local people are themselves dependent on the forest and waterways for such necessities as
firewood, timber for boats, poles for house-posts and rafters, golpatta leaf for roofing, grass for
matting, reeds for fencing and fish for their own consumption. The season for collecting honey
and wax is limited to two and a half months commencing annually on 1 April. Thousands of
people, having first obtained their permits from the Forest Department, enter the forest in search
of bee nests which are collected and then crushed to extract the honey and wax.
Few tourists visit the Sundarbans due to the difficulty and cost of arranging transport and to the
lack of suitable accommodation and other facilities. The area has no potential for mass tourism
but it does offer obvious possibilities for limited special-interest tourism from October to April or
May. The use of launches equipped with catering and sleeping facilities is considered more
practicable than permanent land-based facilities and would provide greater flexibility. There is,
however, a large well-equipped rest house belonging to the Port Authority at Hiron Point,
Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary, and a smaller one belonging to the Forest Department at
Katka in Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary.
Demand Condition
There are 13 tourist points in Sundarban. These are
 Karamjol
 Hiron point
 Katka
 Nilkomol
 Harbaria
 Smoronkhola
 Tiger Point
 Dobeki
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8.  Kodomtola
 Notabeki
 Haldibunia
 Dubla Char
 Akram Point
There are four ranges in Sundarban. These are
 Khulna
 Smoronkhola
 Satkhira
 Bagerhat
Related and supporting industries
The Sundarbans play an important role in the economy of the southwestern region of Bangladesh
as well as in the national economy. It is the single largest source of forest produce in the country.
The forest provides raw material for wood based industries. In addition to traditional forest
produce like timber, fuel wood, pulpwood etc., large scale harvest of non wood forest products
such as thatching materials, honey, bees-wax, fish, and crustacean and mollusk resources of the
forest takes place regularly. The vegetated tidal lands of the Sundarbans also function as an
essential habitat, nutrient producer, water purifier, nutrient and sediment trap, storm barrier,
shore stabilizer, energy storage unit and aesthetic attraction. The forest also has immense
protective and productive functions. Constituting 51% of the total reserved forest estate of
Bangladesh it contributes about 41% of total forest revenue and accounts for about 45% of all
timber and fuel wood output of the country (FAO 1995). A number of industries (e.g. newsprint
mill, match factory, hardboard, boat building, furniture making) are based on the raw material
obtained from the Sundarbans ecosystem. Various non-timber forest products and plantations
help generate considerable employment and income generation opportunities for at least half a
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9. million poor coastal population. Besides production functions of the forest, it provides natural
protection to life and properties of the coastal population in cyclone prone Bangladesh.
Firm strategy, structure and rivalry
Tourism sector as a whole is a combine element of diverse organizations including tourism spots,
easy communication and transportation facilities, provision of accommodations starting from
world class to poorer income group of tourists, securities, rescue system, diversified food items
for multiple group of people with high quality and different prices depending on the nature of the
tourists, tax free shops, tour operators, travel guides, multiple languages etc. Tourism sector
should be properly explored, so that it will have positive contribution towards increase of Gross
domestic product. During ancient period, foreign tourists are used to visit the then ancient
Bengal. At that time Bengal was well known for its loveliness as well as its ancient industrial
base. But after English rule and latter on Pakistani period, Bengal lost its own image. Even
independence of Bangladesh fails to explore to attract tourists. Economic diplomacy can be used
to explore production, exchange of products and services from one place to another, movement
of labor and foreign direct investment. World economic issues have vast impact on local issues
and in this process economic diplomacy can help to attain fulfillment of basic needs of a country.
Due to international phenomena, wide area of new dimension and strategy has been created in
economic diplomacy. Activities for enhancing in sequence, larger precision and more
advertising, it has positive impact on world tourism. Tourism can be included in the export
industry. It is a commodity for sale, which is consumed at the point of production. Tourism is
growing fast as a global industry and it is comparatively a cheaper way to earn foreign
currencies. Tourism is the leading source of foreign exchange earnings. Current affairs are
directly related to world tourism. If we consider the history of world civilization we shall find
that during the peace and prosperity, mobility of tourists from one place to another rises. The
same thing is happening in the twenty-first century. In the area of the globe where political
stability prevails and terrorist activities don't prevail -tourism will boost up.
Major mechanisms to develop marketing strategy of the tourism sector can be mentioned below:
 To attain competitive marketplace of the tourism sector;
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10.  To implement and support day to day operations of tourism sector;
 To develop future planning and successful implementations in the tourism sector.
4. SWOT analysis of Sundarban:
Taking into account the background information on Sundarban as well as the opinions from
tourists, tour-operators, forest officials and local people, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis has been done for ecotourism in Sundarban. In analysis of the
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for each enterprise the following themes
emerged:
Strength Weakness
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11. 1. Sundarban is a well established tourism
destination with a variety of natural
attractions like the Royal Bengal Tiger,
estuarine crocodile, mangrove
vegetation, different avifauna etc.
2. The local people strongly supporting
the need of ecotourism in this region.
3. Status of Biosphere Reserve and World
Heritage Site of Sundarban.
4. Good number of domestic and foreign
tourists visiting this destination.
5. Unique culture of the local people.
6. Already existing tourism infrastructure.
1. One of the major weaknesses is several
tourist products do not live up to a
western concept of quality and service.
2. Low involvement of local people in
tourism.
3. Little incentive for the local people from
tourism in terms of income generation.
4. There is no high qualified tourist guide.
So the quality and service are usually up
to the mark.
5. Even local people do not have experience
with tourists, so visitors sometime feel
uneasy in some places.
Opportunity Threat
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12. 1. Social mobilization through JFMs,
SHGs, EDCs etc.
2. Proper ecotourism package
development involving local people in
decision making and planning so that
there is a larger involvement of the
local people.
3. Diversification of ecotourism products
like stay in country boats, trail walks
etc. which will help in retaining
majority of the income generated with
the local people.
1. Migration of extremely poor landless
people to Kolkata in search of job
opportunities.
2. Potential negative environmental impacts
(damage to mangrove vegetation due to
rise in salinity, loss of species due to tiger
shrimp cultivation etc)
3. Pollution by sewage, dumping of the
wastes in river.
4. Increase in biotic pressure due to
increase in mass tourism.
5. Lack of proper management causing
negative impact on this fragile
ecosystem.
6. Tourists' dissatisfaction after visiting this
place.
5. Recommendation:
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13. Government spending on Sundarban, from our point of view we think that Bangladesh
Government should take more responsibilities for promoting the tourism of sundarban. They are
responsible as a state to preserve the forests and mangroves of the Sundarban, but also to create a
dynamic economic community within them, and to utilize fully the resources which they provide
in a self sustaining manner. Some of the findings show that ecotourism more than 50 percent
people directly depend on Sundarban resources in this village and thus ecotourism practice can
reduce the pressure of the sundarban if government can help contributing a greater number of
tourists their income will increase to a greater extent. However it needs support from the
government and from the other Ngo’s as well. Government can also give subsidies in form
reduce taxation from all the agencies who are promoting sundarban tourism.
One of the important asset in sundarban is the royal Bengal tiger Potential threats to tiger are
poaching, prey reduction diseases, pollution and inbreeding as a result this tigers are dying on the
other hand According to SBCP hunting study revealed that a number of specialized tiger
poachers killed 23 tigers the last 5 years. The real numbers of tigers killed would certainly be
higher. On the other hand recently a number of tigers died having liver anomalies which could
indicate effects of pollution plus their food source is also get abolished day by day so
government should take drastic measure to save this natural habitant.
One of the other most important things that should be developed is the infrastructure just like
Goa is strategically located with good transportation facilities like excellent road and rail
network; centrally located airport; and well-developed seaports. It has one of the country's
highest tele-densities. Fibre optic connectivity has also spread its network across the State,
bringing state of art telecommunication to the people. Besides, there is sufficient power reserve
in the State. So just like that infrastructure of sundarban has to be developed to that extent so that
it can be more sufficient for the tourists all over the Bangladesh and for the foreign tourist as
well.
Revenue collection through ecotourism in the Sundarban is rich and increasing day by day has a
great role in economic contribution as well as .The revenue that was earned during 2003 to 2004
was approximately 1058339 amount of USD and then later in 2008 to 2009 the revenue Jumped
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14. to 3076750 USD which acted a great potential in our Countries GDP then again according to the
report provided to the sundarban reserved forest in 2003 to 2004 was 312 Foreign tourist and
domestic tourist was 6508 and then later in 2008 to 2009 the foreign tourists increased to 1,729
and domestic tourist increased to 67875 so we can see that both the domestic tourists and the
foreign tourists increased rapidly but one thing we should be careful enough not to interrupt this
increasing trends and instead all the private sector and well the public sectors and as well as the
government who are indirectly related to this increasing trends should emphasis more to attract
more tourists in the future by working and collaborating together.
Sundarban is known for its wide range of fauna, with the Royal Bengal tiger being the most
famous, but also including many birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. But, now-a-days
Sundarban is facing many problems. The basic problems that is being faced by this region, is its
continuous land shrinkage and the increasing amount of climate refugees and there present
conditions and scenarios. Government should take some disaster intensity minimization steps to
reduce the possible effects of cyclone and tidal surges. If this particular step is taken then the
tourist from all over the world feel much safer while traveling to sundarban in other word we can
say sundarban as tourist spot will become much more attractive for the tourists domestically as
well as internationally and eventually this would add value to the tourism industry of sundarban
The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem spread over an area of 9,630 Sq. Km.
in India. Apart from being a unique mangrove ecosystem the region supports one of the highest
densities of the Royal Bengal Tiger. So, its obvious rich bio-diversity and natural beauty of
Sundarban attract tourists. More than 100 thousand tourists visit Sundarban each year. But, the
condition of the hotels or resorts is not up to the mark. Though the tourist value of Sundarban is
high, tourists feel demotivated by looking through this poor condition of hotels. So, Government
should work on some strategies & add value to Sundarban beauty by improving the condition.
With the existing infrastructure, the Forest Department is making its best efforts, although they
need to maintain and enhance the level of financial and human resources to effectively manage
the property. Infrastructure plays a significant role in tourism industry so if this vital part is taken
care of then more communication will take place and movement from one place to another will
be done more freely and more conveniently so this particular issue will added more value to the
tourism industry of sundarban.
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15. As we have discussed earlier, Sundarban reserved forest is the largest natural mangrove forest of
the world. Along with that, Sundri (Heriteira fomes) is the dominant plant species of the
Sundarban. Perhaps this is the reason for naming the forest as ‘Sundarban'. Also, the forest
contains 334 Plant species, 165 algae and 13 orchids, Most importantly, Sundarban is the habitat
of world famous Royal Bengal Tiger. There exist 350- 540 tigers. There are 315 species of birds,
49 species of mammals, 35 species amphibian and 291 species fishes also. These are some of the
uniqueness of sundarban and their non substitutability makes sundarban the like able and the
attractive tourist spot in the world.
6. Conclusion:
Sundarban is the largest mangrove wetland in the world. Sundarban protect our coast from heavy
wind, tidal waves, coastal erosion and sea water intrusion, generate substantial quantities of
fishery resources and provide many useful forestry products and foreign earning from tourism as
a result it contributes greatly to our country’s GDP. But still Sundarban is lagging behind
compare to the tourist spot like Goa. Goa is one of the developed tourism spot worldwide due to
its ITES industry which is very well suited to Goa owing to the industry's non-polluting nature
and then high tech infrastructure strategically located with good transportation facilities like
excellent road and rail network; centrally located airport; and well-developed seaports then also
Goa has provided international airport for the convenience of the tourists. Goa has also provided
fine banking and telecom services, just for the convenient of the tourists and these are some of
the substantial factor that sundarban didn’t achieved and thus we are actually lagging behind in
real. According to the statistics made by government of Bangladesh in 2003 the amount of
revenue earned by the Sundarban tourism was 1058339 USD which gives a clear indication that
Sundarban has the true potential to earn more profit if the government takes further initiatives on
tourism by concentrating some of the sector such as infrastructure on the other hand we have
seen clearly the increasing trends of foreign tourist rising day by day so if all the private and the
public sector work together and maintain coordination sundarban can achieve success in
becoming the most developed tourist spot in the world.
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16. 7. Appendix:
Md mehedi hasan, 1020318030 - Covered Executive summary
Introduction
Syed Fahim Ali, 0930267530 - Covered Analysis of Industry
Attractiveness using Porter’s 5 Forces
Nusrat Zabeen, 0930694030 - Covered SWOT analysis
Azas Shahrier, 0930088030 - Covered Analysis of national
competitiveness using Porter’s model
Nuzhat Nowreen, 0930604030 - Covered Recommendation and
conclusion
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