Taj Mahal loses its sheen – number of foreign tourists drops drastically

Taj Mahal, the well-known tourism destination is no longer in the list of foreign tourists who are now preferring to visit it for short duration – reason being pestering by touts and lack on infrastructure. The latest figures of those who stay in Agra for two days or more has fallen drastically this year. It has plummeted by 32% when compared to figures of 2014.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 2 September 2015.

It has been revealed by a Local Intelligence Unit that 53,113 foreigners stayed for more than one day in Agra between April and July in 2015. The corresponding figures for 2014 was 78,202. The reason is attributed to the prevailing tout culture apart from the generally shoddy tourism infrastructure.
Moreover, as per figures of the Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI), out of 3.02 lakh foreigners who visited the Taj between January and May this year, 1.6 lakh (53%) left the city the same day. In 2014, there were a total of 3.23 lakh tourists out of which 1.36 lakh (42%) went back on the same day.
There is no airport in Agra and tourists have to get down at Delhi and travel by road or rail to Agra. Obviously, the occupancy in Agra hotels has taken a beating and, unless these are resolved, Taj Mahal would drop out of sight of the itinerary of foreign tourists and that will adversely affect the economy of the region.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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