Popularly known to be among the 7 wonders of the world, Taj Mahal situated in India’s Agra is a beautiful ivory-white mausoleum standing majestically on the banks of the river Yamuna. According to history, it was commissioned in 1631 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
UP Tourism Joint Director A.C. Mishra while talking to Asian Voice says, if we consider the period before Covid to 800,000 foreign tourists visited Taj Mahal in the year 2019. This is in addition to 10 million domestic tourists visiting the iconic tomb from within India. Out of these 800,000 tourists, the highest number of those were from the United States and United Kingdom. The third largest number of visitors were of Spanish nationality. The Taj Mahal visit ticket costs Rs 750 which is a little over GBP8 for a foreign tourist. While for a tourist with Indian identity the entry ticket is Rs. 50, which is about half a pound.
According to travel portal Tripadvisor, the most popular period of the year to visit the Taj Mahal has traditionally been October to December. This year so far, the highest traffic was observed during the quarter July to September. Whether there is a pattern change in the number of visitors after the pandemic, would be visible once a post-pandemic year is over. The scientific data from the portal’s search traffic indicates that 89% travellers were based in India, while the rest 11% were non-Indian APAC travellers.
The travel portal has registered a drastic increase in the search traffic for Taj Mahal in the year 2022 (year-to-date) as compared to that in 2021. The search traffic in 2022 for Taj Mahal has increased by a whooping 193% vis-à-vis 2021, while that for all India attractions in general has risen by 58%. The website confirms that Taj Mahal is the second most viewed attraction in India.
According to Mishra, it is to be noted that the majority of tourists visiting Taj Mahal are higher end tourists. Only a small proportion of those include the backpackers, who are usually on a trip with a shoestring budget.
According to travel agent Ketan Mehta, believe it or not, even after centuries this magnum opus of Mughal architecture is still synonymous to love and romance. This world heritage site is undoubtedly the biggest attraction tourists come to India for. Especially, the first time tourists.
