Tourism Potential of Kushtia District: An Analysis of Leading Tourist Destinations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajth.v4i2.7088Keywords:
Destination Management, Kushtia, PLS-SEM, Sustainable Development, Tourism PotentialAbstract
This research address the potential for tourism in Kushtia District, Bangladesh, based on an empirical investigation of its three most important tourist destinations: Lalon Akhra, Shelaidaha Kuthi Bari, and Jhaudia Shahi Mosque. On the basis of quantitative method design, the research obtained data from 100 respondents. Researchers analyzed the same data using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), multiple regression with reliability test, model summary, and ANOVA test. The findings indicate that each of the three destinations possesses significant cultural, spiritual, and archaeological value, and the model accounts for 46.2% of Kushtia’s overall tourism potential (R² = 0.462). This research identifies significant potential for cultural, heritage, and spiritual tourism in Kushtia; however, to realize this potential, collective infrastructure development, improved promotional initiatives, and professional destination management should be implemented to transform its historic assets into a major economic asset in a sustainable manner.
References
Ahmed, T. (2021). Cultural tourism in rural Bangladesh: A study on Kushtia district. Journal of Tourism and Heritage Studies, 4(2), 34–45.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D., & Wanhill, S. (2020). Tourism: Principles and practice (7th ed.). Pearson Education.
DMAI (2008) The Future of Destination Marketing: Tradition, Transition, and Transformation. Destination Marketing Association International, Washington, DC.
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Hasan, S. R. (1992). Problems and prospects of tourism industry in Bangladesh (pp. 14–15). Bureau of Business Research, University of Dhaka.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hall, C. M., & Page, S. J. (2020). Tourism in South and Southeast Asia: Issues and Cases (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Hossain, M. S. (2025). Sustainable Ecotourism in Bangladesh: A SWOT Analysis of Ecotourism Destinations. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 6(2), 1146–1163. https://doi.org/10.54660/.ijmrge.2025.6.2.1146-1163
Hossain, M. S., Khatun, M. P., Taskin, T., Sany, M. K. A., & Hossain, M. M. (2025). Opportunities and Challenges of gastronomy in tourism and Hospitality industry: A Conceptual Study on Bangladesh. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, IX(I), 1787–1799. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2025.9010146
Hossain, M. S., Sheikh, P., & Islam, P. (2025). The Role of Social Media Marketing in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: A study on Bangladesh. American Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 3(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajth.v3i1.4082
Hossain, S., Gain, N., & Hossain, S. (2025). The role of the internet in the tourism and hospitality industry: An empirical study on Kushtia District, Bangladesh. Research Journal in Business and Economics., 3(1), 22–30. https://doi.org/10.61424/rjbe.v3i1.232
Hossain, S., Islam, P., Khatun, P., Hossain, M., & Hussain, N. (2025). The Scenario of Learning English among Rural Students in Bangladesh: A Study on Students of Kumarkhali, Kushtia. International Social Sciences and Education Journal , 3(1), 34–50. https://doi.org/10.61424/issej.v3i1.173
Hossain, S., Sheikh, P., Islam, P., & Sany, K. A. (2025). Enormous Benefits of the Blue Economy and Blue Tourism (Coastal and Marine) Destinations in Bangladesh: A Conceptual Study on Bangladesh. Research Journal in Business and Economics, 2(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.61424/rjbe.v2i1.170
Kamal, M. M., & Chowdhury, A. I. (1993). Marketing orientation in tourism sectors: Case study of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Journal of Business Studies, Dhaka University, 14(1), 47–67.
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. (2004). Profile of tourists by selected market 2004. Planning and Research Division, Tourism Malaysia.
Malhotra, N. K. (2010). Marketing research: An applied orientation (6th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Morrison, A. M. (2019). Marketing and managing tourism destinations (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Pike, S. (2008). Destination marketing: An integrated marketing communication approach. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Rahman, M., & Sultana, N. (2022). Cultural events and regional identity: The role of Lalon Mela in promoting tourism. Culture and Society in Bangladesh, 8(3), 78–89.
Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 12-21.
Saha, N., Rahman, M. S., Jolly, Y. N., Rahman, A., Sattar, M. A., & Hai, M. A. (2015). Spatial distribution and contamination assessment of six heavy metals in soils and their transfer into mature tobacco plants in Kushtia District, Bangladesh. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(4), 3414–3426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5575-3
Shafi, M. (1985). Tourism marketing: Pros and cons. Tourism Recreation Research, 10(1).
Singh, R. (2022). Heritage tourism in South Asia: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 17(2), 123-140.
Smith, S. L. J. (1995). Tourism analysis: A handbook (2nd ed.). Longman.
Timothy, D. J. (2020). Cultural heritage and tourism: An introduction (2nd ed.). Channel View Publications.
UNWTO. (2022). World Tourism Barometer, 20(1). World Tourism Organization.
Wang, Y., Yu, Q. and Fesenmaier, D.R. (2002) Defi ning the virtual tourist community: implications for tour ism marketing. Tourism Management 23, 407–417.
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). (2020). Economic impact reports. https://wttc. Org
Zikmund, W. G., Lowe, B., D’Alessandro, S., & Babin, B. J. (2020). Marketing research (5th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Md. Sohan Hossain, Shakil Ahmed, Md. Nafij Mondol, Md. Emon Hossain
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
