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According to the recent Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, around 1.61 lakh hotels and restaurants have started operating in the country in the last 11 years.
In 2009-10, the number of hotels and restaurants was 2.75 lakh. With a 58.46% growth, the number is now 4.36 lakh.
The BBS survey titled “Hotel and Restaurant Survey 2021” mainly deals with the gross value added to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the economy.
Moreover, the survey has collected information on various aspects of gross output, gross income, industrial cost, non-industrial cost, employment cost by category etc.
According to the survey, the estimated number of persons engaged in the hotel and restaurant sector during the year 2021 was 20.72 lakh. In 2009-10, it was only 9.04 lakh. There has been a significant jump in employment in the restaurant sector during the last decade.
The number of female workers in the restaurant sector has also doubled in these 11 years.
During 2009-10, there were only 47,464 women staff in the restaurant sector. But currently, there are 100,737 women staff (4.86% of the total workforce) among the total workforce, the survey stated.
However, the sector employs 1,970,970 male staff (95.14% of the total workforce).
Among the total number of hotels and restaurants, 4.35 lakh (99.77% of the total) are owned by the private sector and only 852 (0.20% of the total) are owned by the government sector, which means the private sector is playing a pivotal role in the growth of this sector.
According to the hotel and restaurant survey 2021, the estimated gross output of the sector was Tk117,981 crore during the year 2019-2020. In 2009-10, it was Tk35,159 crore.
The survey further showed that the gross value added by the hotel and restaurant sector in 2009-10 was Tk11,986 crore. It has increased significantly and the gross value added in 2021 was Tk38,703 crore.
It shows that the hotel and restaurant sector expanded rapidly in the economy and valuable contributions are now made by this sector.
According to the survey, the average yearly cost per employee is Tk151,710 in 2021 compared to Tk39,560 in the year 2009-10.
Meanwhile, the average yearly industrial cost per restaurant is Tk1,815,890 in 2021.
Moreover, the yearly average non-industrial cost of a restaurant increased from Tk52,630 in 2009-10 to Tk443,380 in 2021, the survey stated.
Relatively less capital is the main reason why the hotel-restaurant business in Bangladesh is profitable and popular.
That is why new hotels and restaurants are constantly being built not only in Dhaka but also in districts and upazilas and a number of educated youths are involved in this.
So, the contribution of this sector to the country’s economy is also increasing.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Imran Hassan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners’ Association (BROA), said that the sector is growing. He hopes that it will grow further if some issues are resolved.
“We do not get SME loans as our sector is labelled as a sector dealing with perishable goods. The government should remove this obstacle through dialogue and give us long-term loans on easy terms from the SME Foundation,” he also said.
He also said that at least 12 organizations under different ministries and departments are involved in restaurant management and seven organizations monitor the restaurants. They want a single organization to monitor the sector.
“There are also some issues related to VAT, taxes, audit reports, electricity and gas connections. If these are solved properly and we get adequate support from the government, the sector will flourish at more pace,” he added.
(DT)
