Steve Fenton
Jun 11, 03, 7:34 am
Air-ticket fever grips Dhaka
Alastair Lawson
BBC correspondent in Dhaka
Around 800 of the Singapore tickets have already been snapped up
Ticket agents in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, say they have been overwhelmed by people wanting to buy specially discounted flights to Singapore.
Under the terms of a new offer made by Singapore Airlines, it is possible to get a return ticket plus two nights in a five-star hotel for less than $150.
The offer is part of a worldwide promotion to encourage people to visit the city state following the Sars crisis.
The idea of international jet-setting is not something that many people would associate with Bangladesh.
In a country that is unfairly renowned for its poverty and natural disasters this is the closest thing yet to a consumer spending boom.
Large crowds of people have been queuing all day outside travel agents in the hope of getting one of the discounted tickets, which are 75% cheaper than the standard price of a return flight from Dhaka to Singapore.
Enormous appeal
Travel agents say that never before have they experienced such demand.
The Singapore Airlines offer is still too much for most Bangladeshis
Monday was the first day of the offer and already around 800 tickets have been sold.
The tickets are limited in number, but for $148 they give you two nights at a luxury hotel, free entrance to one of Singapore's many tourist attractions and free airport transfers.
The price is still way beyond the budget of most Bangladeshis, where the average annual income is around $340.
But it is of enormous appeal to the country's growing urban middle-class, who in recent years have acquired unprecedented spending power.
The challenge now facing some of those who have bought the tickets is to get a passport.
If they do not pay a bribe this can take longer than the time spent on vacation.
Alastair Lawson
BBC correspondent in Dhaka
Around 800 of the Singapore tickets have already been snapped up
Ticket agents in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, say they have been overwhelmed by people wanting to buy specially discounted flights to Singapore.
Under the terms of a new offer made by Singapore Airlines, it is possible to get a return ticket plus two nights in a five-star hotel for less than $150.
The offer is part of a worldwide promotion to encourage people to visit the city state following the Sars crisis.
The idea of international jet-setting is not something that many people would associate with Bangladesh.
In a country that is unfairly renowned for its poverty and natural disasters this is the closest thing yet to a consumer spending boom.
Large crowds of people have been queuing all day outside travel agents in the hope of getting one of the discounted tickets, which are 75% cheaper than the standard price of a return flight from Dhaka to Singapore.
Enormous appeal
Travel agents say that never before have they experienced such demand.
The Singapore Airlines offer is still too much for most Bangladeshis
Monday was the first day of the offer and already around 800 tickets have been sold.
The tickets are limited in number, but for $148 they give you two nights at a luxury hotel, free entrance to one of Singapore's many tourist attractions and free airport transfers.
The price is still way beyond the budget of most Bangladeshis, where the average annual income is around $340.
But it is of enormous appeal to the country's growing urban middle-class, who in recent years have acquired unprecedented spending power.
The challenge now facing some of those who have bought the tickets is to get a passport.
If they do not pay a bribe this can take longer than the time spent on vacation.