Foreign Tourists Upset Over Entry Fee Hike to See Taj Mahal
November 14, 2000 - 0:0
NEW DELHI Foreign tourists are upset at the recent Indian government's move to hike the entry fee to see ancient monuments in the country, including the Taj Mahal at Agra in north India, by a substantial amount, reports said Saturday.
The Times of India newspaper quoted Indian tour operators as saying that a trip to the Taj Mahal monument for a foreign couple now equals an overnight stay at a medium-priced hotel in Agra.
The entry fee for foreign visitors' to see the Taj now costs 21 dollars instead of 500 rupees (11.1 dollars) as listed before.
The entry fee for seeing some other monuments in the Agra area has also gone up. "After having booked their trip and paid for it, visitors are unwilling to shell out additional monies as entry fees to monuments. They feel the hike has been sharp and irrational," says tour operator O.P. Ahuja of Delhi-based Holiday Makers. "The total monument fee in Agra now is 54 dollars against 15 dollars earlier to see two or three monuments in the area," an official at the creative travels has been quoted as saying.
"This does not fare well with tourists as they spend on an average 40-45 dollars on accommodation. People do not like spending more on sightseeing than on their hotel room," the report said. Tour operators say that entry costs for the foreigners in the popular north India belt covering Delhi-Agra-Jaipur now costs 150 to 200 dollars as against 25 dollars before. India raised the entry fees for foreign tourists last month to use the extra money for the upkeep of ancient monuments. The rates for entry for Indians for the same has been kept to the minimal.
Tour operators are also worried that they will now have to bear the additional costs by keeping package integrity - showing the visitor what was promised in the package. The report quoted foreign visitors as saying that the government ought to have given tour operators notice before the hike. Susan Friendman, a research scholar from California, has been quoted as saying that students could be given a discount. The Taj Mahal is the most visited monument in India attracting nearly 20,000 visitors a day.
Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan built the monument on the banks of River Yamuna as a monument of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
About 20,000 workers crafted the love story on marble in the 17th century. But the monument is now showing signs of decay with the onslaught of visitors and pollution. High velocity dust winds from the neighboring desert state of Rajasthan and the overall dusty environment of the Agra City combined with fumes emitted from the nearby oil refinery is spelling trouble for the monument.
The hike in the entry fees to see monuments comes even as government acknowledges that there has been a slight drop in the number of foreign tourists to this country. Over 2.48 million tourists visited India in 1999 as against 2.50 million in 1998.
(DPA)
The Times of India newspaper quoted Indian tour operators as saying that a trip to the Taj Mahal monument for a foreign couple now equals an overnight stay at a medium-priced hotel in Agra.
The entry fee for foreign visitors' to see the Taj now costs 21 dollars instead of 500 rupees (11.1 dollars) as listed before.
The entry fee for seeing some other monuments in the Agra area has also gone up. "After having booked their trip and paid for it, visitors are unwilling to shell out additional monies as entry fees to monuments. They feel the hike has been sharp and irrational," says tour operator O.P. Ahuja of Delhi-based Holiday Makers. "The total monument fee in Agra now is 54 dollars against 15 dollars earlier to see two or three monuments in the area," an official at the creative travels has been quoted as saying.
"This does not fare well with tourists as they spend on an average 40-45 dollars on accommodation. People do not like spending more on sightseeing than on their hotel room," the report said. Tour operators say that entry costs for the foreigners in the popular north India belt covering Delhi-Agra-Jaipur now costs 150 to 200 dollars as against 25 dollars before. India raised the entry fees for foreign tourists last month to use the extra money for the upkeep of ancient monuments. The rates for entry for Indians for the same has been kept to the minimal.
Tour operators are also worried that they will now have to bear the additional costs by keeping package integrity - showing the visitor what was promised in the package. The report quoted foreign visitors as saying that the government ought to have given tour operators notice before the hike. Susan Friendman, a research scholar from California, has been quoted as saying that students could be given a discount. The Taj Mahal is the most visited monument in India attracting nearly 20,000 visitors a day.
Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan built the monument on the banks of River Yamuna as a monument of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
About 20,000 workers crafted the love story on marble in the 17th century. But the monument is now showing signs of decay with the onslaught of visitors and pollution. High velocity dust winds from the neighboring desert state of Rajasthan and the overall dusty environment of the Agra City combined with fumes emitted from the nearby oil refinery is spelling trouble for the monument.
The hike in the entry fees to see monuments comes even as government acknowledges that there has been a slight drop in the number of foreign tourists to this country. Over 2.48 million tourists visited India in 1999 as against 2.50 million in 1998.
(DPA)