A total of 349,837 foreign tourists visited Bangladesh in 2008, about 21 percent higher than that in 2007, local daily The Independent reported on Tuesday.

Nearly 290,000 foreign tourists arrived in the country in 2007, the report said, quoting figure of the national tourism organization Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC).

However, the incomes from the tourism sector in 2008 stood at 4. 60 billion taka (about 65.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2008 while it was 5.27 billion taka (about 75.3 million U.S. dollars) in 2007, the BPC figure showed.

The less incomes were fetched from the sector due to arrival of more tourists from neighboring countries, mostly from India, by road and they also spent less in comparison with the European and American visitors, the newspaper said.

But the better activities are being expected from the tourism sector this year as both the private and public enterprises are moving for organizing the internal tourism further, BPC Chairman Shafiq Alam Mehdi was quoted as saying.

The BPC chairman at a press conference here on Monday said the tourist operators have been coordinating efforts to boost the internal tourism for the last three consecutive years successfully.

He said the new government at present is giving final touches to enact a tourism law and if it is enforced, the sector will further be flourished.