The tourism season began with a bang with more than 46,000 tourists visiting the Taj Mahal on Sunday. A good sign for tourism trade but the figure also brought to light the problems of tourists while managing entry to the monument while negotiating long queues at the gates.
“It was the second highest number of visitors we had in this post-Covid phase on Sunday when more than 46,000 tourists visited the Taj Mahal in a day. The number had risen to 47,000 tourists in a day on April 10, 2023, which was because of consecutive holidays. By 1 pm on Sunday, the Wi Fi data usage, provided free at Taj Mahal, was of 120 hours,” said Prince Vajpayee, senior conservation assistant for Archeological Survey of India (ASI) at Taj Mahal.
“It was because it was a Sunday and a holiday on Monday for Gandhi Jayanti. The rise in the number of visitors is usual for weekends. Thus, we were prepared to face such a situation,” said Vajpayee while denying that long queues at gates of Taj Mahal had been tough for the tourists.
“We urge more visitors to buy online tickets for which standees are placed near the gates of the Taj Mahal. Tokens are issued to those still opting for offline tickets but that is time-consuming. On Sunday, half the visitors had online tickets while the other half bought them offline,” stated Vajpayee.
{{/usCountry}}“We urge more visitors to buy online tickets for which standees are placed near the gates of the Taj Mahal. Tokens are issued to those still opting for offline tickets but that is time-consuming. On Sunday, half the visitors had online tickets while the other half bought them offline,” stated Vajpayee.
{{/usCountry}}“There are security reasons also which cannot be compromised and physical frisking remains a mandatory requirement keeping in view the sensitivity of Taj Mahal, whatever time it takes,” stated the ASI official.
“It is merely the beginning of the tourism season and more holidays and weekends are to come when there will be more tourists including foreigners. Traffic jams are an issue to be addressed as roads towards Taj Mahal on Sunday were packed with vehicles. Measures being taken need to be updated so that a visit to the monument remains a delightful experience,” suggested Deepak Daan, the president of Tourist Guide Welfare Association.
“There should be more number and frequency of golf carts which carry tourists to Taj Mahal gates. Traffic should be better managed on roads leading to Taj Mahal,” said Daan.