NEW DELHI: As Covid-induced restrictions eased and people started embarking on pleasure trips in 2021-22, the Taj Mahal emerged as the most visited ticketed heritage site under the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) by tourists.
This tomb of famous Mughal couple Emperor Shahjahan and his queen Mumtaz Mahal in Agra received over 31.33 lakh tourists including foreign visitors, which is nearly 12 per cent of the total number of tourist entries at 144 ticketed ASI sites, including monuments and forts.
The 17th century Mughal fort place Red Fort in Delhi was the second most popular ticketed historical building, followed by the group of monuments in Mamallapuram and Qutub Minar. According to the report of the tourism ministry, 13.23 lakh visitors had visited the Fort while 12.86 lakh and 11.65 lakh tourists had come to see the 7-8th century religious site in the coastal region of Tamil Nadu and the brick minaret in the national capital respectively. With 10.31 lakh tourist visits, red sandstone fortress Agra Fort stood at fifth position.
Notably, all these five historical buildings are Unesco World heritage sites and were on the top of the list of 10 most visited sites by Indian domestic tourists in the 2021-22. Significantly, in the list of top 10 ticketed heritage sites or buildings visited by the foreign tourists, six are from Tamil Nadu and with 1.44 lakh visits by overseas sightseers; the group of monuments at Mamallapuram is at the one position.
Taj Mahal has been the highest revenue-generating monument for about a decade. The ASI has collected about `132 crore from the sale of tickets at the marble monument in the last three years. All these protected monuments and sites were closed in March 2020 after the Covid outbreak.
After the pandemic subsided, the heritage buildings were reopened but some, which were in containment zones, remained out of bounds for tourists. The number of foreign tourists at Taj Mahal was 38,922.
