Taj Mahotsav: Fiesta to attract foreigners begins today but where are the tourists?
The overnight stay of tourists in Agra was common till the Taj Mahal gates remained open at night. But the then wave of terrorism in turbulent Punjab had its impact and night viewing of Taj Mahal stopped in middle of the 80s.
The 10-day festival of art, craft and culture – Taj Mahotsav – is to begin on February 17 (Saturday) but the formal inauguration will take place on February 18 (Sunday) at Shilpgram. U.P. tourism minister Jaiveer Singh and cabinet minister Baby Rani Maurya will inaugurate the festival at Shilpgram located a kilometer east of the Taj Mahal.

On February 17, a Mushaira has been organised in the Soor Sadan auditorium.
“The Taj Mahotsav began in 1992, with the sole aim of attracting foreign tourists and to lengthen their stay in the city. The idea was to increase options for foreign tourists to stay and attend Taj Mahotsav in the evening at the venue close to the Taj,” said Arun Dang, the veteran of tourism trade in Agra and president of Tourism Guild of Agra. “To be honest, despite being organised for the past three decades, the Taj Mahotsav is yet to attain its goal of attracting foreign tourists despite efforts made with full honesty. Craftsmen and artisans from different parts of the nation come here each year. Evenings are marked by colourful and entertaining programmes and are loved by locals in Agra. But leave alone foreigners, unfortunately, even domestic tourists coming from other parts of the nation do not include Taj Mahotsav in their itinerary,” laments Dang.
Experts in tourism trade will ponder over such issues on February 20 when a discussion on the subject ‘Agra Beyond Taj’ is to be organised at a city hotel, as part of the Taj Mahotsav.
The overnight stay of tourists in Agra was common till the Taj Mahal gates remained open at night. But the then wave of terrorism in turbulent Punjab had its impact and night viewing of Taj Mahal stopped in middle of the 80s. Tourists at the Taj were left with no attraction to stay back in Agra and its impact was visible on the tourism sector.
“The idea behind organising the Taj Mahotsav was to offer a window of art, culture, handicraft, craft to foreign tourists coming to visit the Taj Mahal. Entry to foreign tourists is free of charge since the inception of the festival and dates in February were finalised because of a similar fair at Surajkund in Haryana used to get over and craftsmen used to shift to Agra. Yet, desired results were not attained,” said Dang, who advocates better canvassing of Taj Mahotsav globally. Joint director, tourism, Avinash Chandra Mishra, disagrees and asserts that many individual tourists do visit Taj Mahotsav. However, he admits that there is scope for more groups of foreign tourists to visit the Taj Mahotsav.
Mishra did not elaborate on the fewer foreign tourist groups reaching Taj Mahotsav but pundits of tourism trade in Agra reveal that the big groups of foreign tourists are brought and escorted by professional agencies which avoid bringing foreign tourists directly in touch with actual craftsmen and artisans who offer craft at much lower prices than available at emporiums in Agra.
“We are reaching out to foreign tourists and information is displayed at reception of hotels in Agra. The events organised during the 10-day schedule are finalised keeping in mind the tourists. More than 350 stalls at the venue offer a variety of art, craft and cuisine from different parts of the nation. Representation is better this year from southern and north-eastern part of the nation,” claimed Mishra.
