by Syed Abu Sinjan Saadat,
25 September, 2025
To celebrate World Tourism Day 2025, Friendship Cultural Preservation hosted students from the Department of Architecture of North South University (NSU) for a special heritage cruise aboard the Flèche d’Or. The day was more than a simple river journey—it was a celebration of history, craftsmanship, and the timeless bond between Bengal and its rivers.
The Flèche d’Or is a 21 metre-long panshi, a traditional boat from the Pabna region, an immaculate work of wooden craftsmanship. With its sweeping curves and intricate joinery, the boat embodies centuries of boat-building knowledge passed down through generations of master craftsmen. Today, it serves not only as a reminder of Bangladesh’s maritime past but also as a tangible heritage where culture, community, and sustainability converge. For architecture students, it was a rare opportunity to study a masterpiece of design that exists not within the confines of a classroom or a blueprint, but as a living, floating structure. The Flèche d’Or (‘Golden Arrow’ in French) is one of the largest traditional panshi boats still in operation, and it has even hosted distinguished guests, including a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Contic also operates wooden-boat river cruises in Bangladesh, offering an ecotourism experience rooted in tradition. Through collaborative networks, such services help sustain interest in and support for conserving traditional craft, so long as cultural integrity and environmental sensitivity remain central.
On this World Tourism Day, themed “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation,” we are reminded that true transformation must not erase heritage but must support it. Our heritage boats are not static relics; they can become platforms for education, cultural exchange, and sustainable livelihoods. By bringing students, communities, and curious travellers aboard, the aim is to create a tourism that does not merely take from heritage but nurtures and regenerates it.
Ideally, journeys like this inspire more people to travel thoughtfully — to respect rivers, crafts, artisans, and the living stories of communities. Friendship Cultural Preservation recommits itself to this path: that every voyage on heritage waters is a step toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and culturally rooted world.
Throughout the day, students were introduced to the broader mission of Friendship Cultural Preservation. The Friendship team highlighted how boats like the Flèche d’Or are not only functional but also serve as vessels of identity, embodying stories of resilience, community, and adaptation to Bengal’s ever-changing rivers. The architecture of these boats — with forms perfected by generations of experience — offers invaluable lessons in sustainability and design, lessons that young architects can carry into their own practices.
The visit was made possible through close collaboration with the Department of Architecture of NSU, whose students’ enthusiasm and engagement brought life to the experience. The sketches, photographs, and reflections they created are themselves a form of preservation, capturing moments that extend the legacy of the boat into new mediums. It was a fitting symbol of what cultural preservation seeks to achieve: honouring the past, enriching the present, and inspiring the future.
