Tourists continued to flock Delhi's 12th century monument Qutub Minar in 2009, even as the revenue earnings of Mughal era landmarks the Red Fort and the Humayun's tomb saw a drop, latest figures show.
Tourists continued to flock Delhi's 12th century monument Qutub Minar in 2009, even as the revenue earnings of Mughal era landmarks the Red Fort and the Humayun's tomb saw a drop, latest figures show.
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Qutub Minar, one of the three monuments listed as World Heritage Sites in Delhi, was the only heritage tourist attraction in the capital that saw a rise in number of visitors last year as compared to the previous year.
With a revenue earning of Rs 10.41 crore through visitors, the monument built by Slave dynasty emperor Qutubuddin Aibak also overtook the Agra Fort (Rs 9.25 crore in revenue earning) to become the second most visited site in the country after India's global symbol Taj Mahal.
Shah Jehan's ode to his lady love earned Rs 14.87 crore in revenue in 2009, a drop of Rs 2.5 crore against 2008.
According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Culture, of revenue earned through entrance fee from the World Heritage centrally-protected ticketed monuments, the earnings of the top 16 sites in India dropped by over Rs 16 crore last year as against 2008.
The year 2008 had witnessed a Rs 2 crore rise in the revenue earnings for the top 16 Indian monuments on UNESCO's World Heritage List as against 2007. Many attribute the drop in 2009 largely to a general decrease in tourists to India following the Mumbai terror attacks, as also to recessionary tendencies.
While the revenue in entrance fee dropped for most of the monuments, including the Taj Mahal in 2009, Qutub Minar was among the few which saw an increase in revenue. It saw an increase of Rs 13.58 crore in revenue as against 2008.
There are 22 cultural and 5 natural sites in the country, which find inclusion in the World Heritage List of UNESCO and three of them are in Delhi.
"Qutub Minar in many ways symbolises Delhi, it is a place that is uniformly visited by all kinds of tourists, unlike the Humayun's tomb where you will find mostly foreigners or a more discerning clientele of tourists," said an ASI official.
However, officals in the ASI blame the absence of a parking facility at the Red Fort, and the resulting inconvenience, for the drop in the number of visitors to that monument.
"Red Fort has been hit largely because there is no parking facility. We are almost ready with the new parking in the southern side of the monument, and we hope to open it within the next couple of months," the official said.
Besides, officials say, another fact behind the figures is that the Red Fort is closed for Mondays while the Qutub Minar is open throughout the week. The other sites that saw a rise in tourist footfalls in 2009 include the Ellora Caves, the Elephanta Caves, and the Buddhist monuments of Sanchi.
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