Aah Taj!

TOURISM: Taj Mahal's inclusion in the New 7 Wonders will stretch Agra's already crumbling tourism infrastructure.

Thirty-six-year old Britisher Jim Frank is in Agra to see the Taj Mahal. But the visit, the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream, has turned somewhat unpleasant.

"It took me 45 minutes to cover the six kilometres from the main Delhi-Agra highway to the Taj Mahal. The congested city roads are a big put-off," complains Frank. He says he will head for Jaipur now, without staying over in Agra.

Frank is not alone. As much as 68 per cent of the foreign tourists who visit Agra go back the same day they arrive. More than 3,000 foreign tourists visit the Taj Mahal daily in the lean season (April-September), while in peak season (October-March), 11,000 foreigners crowd into the city, which has only about 3,000 hotel rooms.

"I was advised not to stay in Agra for more than a night because of the difficulties of moving around the city," says Frank.

The 200 kilometre road trip from New Delhi to Agra takes nearly four hours, of which one hour is spent inside the municipal limits of Agra. According to the records at the local tourist office, the average duration of stay of foreigners in Agra is 36 hours and their average spend, just $150-200.

Not without reason. When at the Taj Mahal, vehicles have to be left at a parking lot located at a distance of about one kilometre from the entrance.

Tourist have the option of walking to the entrance through a small bazaar or hitching a ride on battery-operated rickshaws which charge Rs 5 per person. Entrance fees to the Taj is Rs 750 per foreigner, while it's only Rs 20 for Indians.

A complete round of the Taj Mahal takes about 90 minutes but a walk around the vicinity can take upto three-hours. Currently, renovation work is going on at the outer boundary walls of the Taj Mahal adjoining the Yamuna.

Once out of the Taj Mahal complex, tourists have no option but to return to their hotels or plan a visit to Fatehpur Sikri built by emperor Akbar. "But most foreigners prefer to return to Delhi or Jaipur the same day. If they can be made to spend at least three nights in Agra, the city's economy will flourish," says Arun Dang, president of the Agra tourist guild.

"Narrow roads within Agra, traffic congestion, and no air connectivity from other destinations like Goa, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai reduces the average stay of foreigners in Agra to 1.2 days as compared to three days in Jaipur," Dang goes on to add. There's worse ahead when the tourist season starts in October, he warns.

With the Taj Mahal now among the list of "new seven wonders of the world", declared by a Swiss foundation, the number of foreigners visiting the Taj will be nearly five times what it used to be says a senior officer in Uttar Pradesh tourism.

"The central government recently gave Rs 35 crore for widening of roads around the Taj Mahal. We are looking at other means to ease the traffic situation," says a senior state government official.

In the lean season, Agra's luxury hotels operate on 40 per cent occupancy. But for the coming season starting October, hotels fear a heavy rush.

While Kuljit Rekhi, general manager, ITC Mughal Sheraton, maintains that there are enough quality rooms in Agra for foreigners, his hotel is currently renovating about 80 of its 285 rooms, in anticipation of the upcoming peak season.

"The city's infrastructure is a turn-off for foreigners. Industry representations have been made to the UP government and local administration and I am hopeful things will change," says Rekhi.

Except for a couple of five-stars, the view of the Taj Mahal from most hotels is marred by unplanned construction. "We can not help but bear the unpleasant view of illegal construction between the hotel and the Taj Mahal," says Dinesh Sehji, front office manager at Howard Park Plaza on the main Fatehabad road, a locality that hosts several of the prominent luxury hotels in Agra.

While major hotels are not looking at capacity expansion, a number of small properties are being converted into "luxury-apartments". "I will convert my property into a 10-room luxury apartment with all modern facilities. Foreigners don't mind staying when facilities are comparable to five-star hotels," says Rahul Garg, the owner of a small inn near Fatehabad Road.

According to the estimates of the tourism guild of Agra, there are over a hundred small hotels in and around the city, of which at least 25-30 are looking at upgradation to match the facilities offered by the five-star hotels.

With Taj Mahal's renewed wonder status, they'll all hopefully do well.