Nestled in the picturesque Surma Valley amidst scenic tea plantations and lush green tropical forests, Sylhet is a prime attraction for all tourists visiting Bangladesh. Lying between the Khasia and the Jaintia hills on the north, and the Tripura hills on the south, Sylhet breaks the monotony of the flatness of this land by a multitude of terraced tea gardens, rolling countryside and the exotic flora and fauna.

Sylhet, the tea granary of Bangladesh, not only has over 150 tea gardens but also proudly possesses three largest tea gardens in the world in respect of dimension and production.

Sylhet is a prosperous city of Bangladesh and blessed by Saints such as Shah Jalal, Shah Farhan and Syed Nasiruddin Sipahsalar were responsible for the conversion of most of the populace from paganism to Islam.

The amount of idle money lying with the commercial banks in Sylhet as deposits is about $600m, which is not common in the rest of Bangladesh.

During the fiscal year of 2005-06 the flow of foreign Remittances rose by 25 percent to $4.8 billion, which have been sent mostly by expatriates of Sylheti origin in the UK. That amount is expected to increase to $5.5 billion in 2007.

The Bangladesh government has taken steps to set up a special Export Processing Zone(EPZ) in Sylhet in order to attract foreign investors, notably non-resident Bangladeshis living abroad. The plan comes as an initiative toward stimulating the ongoing investment that has already taken place in Sylhet as well as providing a basis towards long-term investment to turn Sylhet into a major economic hub.

The Sylhet area contains several important natural gas fields, which make an important contribution to the energy balance of Bangladesh. The WG Petroleum LLC, a US-based company, is investing 2.5 billion US dollars in Sylhet for development of the country's gas and refinery industries. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the multinational WG Petroleum and Madina Gas Company.

The Sylhet Osmani International airport is being updated to cater for direct international flights, British Airways has recently confirmed that it will be flying direct to Sylhet in 2008.

A new stadium is being built in Sylhet only few miles from the proposed Grand Sylhet hotel site; it is planned that all future major sporting events and concerts will take place there.

The construction industry in Sylhet is currently booming with many shopping centres and apartments being built to luxurious standards, funded by foreign investment from Sylhetis living abroad. As a result property prices are rising.