A one-room Chattogram travel agency in 1982; the licence took four years

After finishing his studies, in 1982 an entrepreneur opened a travel agency in a small room in Chattogram with one peon. Registration with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism took several years; the licence came in 1986. There was no one to teach him the work — he would sit for hours in airline offices watching how tickets were booked and PNRs written. His first customers were people from his own village; when he did one person's paperwork, that person's family would come, and then more people from the area. In his words, “The entire business was based on trust and my clients came from referrals.” At the time there were no more than 50–60 agencies in Chattogram. Most of his customers are migrant workers bound for Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain; now some also go to Europe through BMET. According to a TBS report (2023), there are 4,775 ministry-approved agencies in the country, and online agencies are gaining ground. Still, this entrepreneur believes relationships and trust are the currency of this business — one satisfied customer brings another. His son now looks after the agency, and the office has expanded as far as Dhaka.