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Bangladesh Bank has allowed members of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) to collect payments in taka from Bangladeshi residents for overseas tour packages and remit the equivalent amount in foreign currency to service providers abroad.
The central bank issued a circular on Sunday outlining the new arrangement, aimed at making international tour package transactions easier and more transparent.
Under the new rules, TOAB-member tour operators that have agreements or business arrangements with foreign tour operators, hotels or destination management companies will be eligible for the facility.
Authorised dealer (AD) banks will be permitted to remit foreign currency to overseas service providers against genuine travel-related expenses, including accommodation and transportation.
The new arrangement allows tour operators to remit up to $3,000 per traveller in each calendar year, in addition to the traveller’s regular annual travel quota.
To use the facility, tour operators must maintain complete transaction records against each traveller’s passport number. They must also obtain a declaration from travellers confirming that they have not exceeded the prescribed annual limit through another tour operator.
The circular, however, provides an alternative for packages costing more than $3,000.
In such cases, the package payment must be collected in foreign currency through an international card. AD banks will be allowed to provide acquiring services for such transactions.
Bangladesh Bank has also introduced detailed documentation requirements to ensure that the facility is used only for genuine overseas travel services.
For every foreign currency remittance, AD banks must verify relevant documents, including invoices, agreements, detailed itineraries, lists of travellers and proof that payment was collected in taka.
The banks will also have to submit details of the relevant remittances to Bangladesh Bank within seven days of transferring the foreign currency.
Industry operators have welcomed the central bank’s decision, saying it will make it easier for Bangladeshi customers to purchase overseas travel packages using taka while bringing greater transparency to the payment process.
Tour operators said the measure could also help formalise the country’s outbound tourism industry by reducing complications surrounding foreign currency payments to overseas service providers.
The decision comes as demand for international travel among Bangladeshi consumers continues to grow, creating greater demand for structured mechanisms through which local tour operators can settle payments with foreign hotels, transport companies and destination management firms.
The new framework is expected to benefit both travellers and legitimate tour operators by providing a regulated channel for overseas package payments while allowing banks and the central bank to monitor foreign currency outflows more closely.
