Agra not ready for mega tourism boom?

Darpan Singh, Agra

The Commonwealth Games are barely three years’ away. And with the number of tourists likely to go up in an unprecedented way during the event, Agra hopes to reap rich dividends. Though the State boasts of steps being initiated in this regard, saying it cannot afford to make a mess of the opportunity, plans can go awry as the preparations to cash in on the tourists’ inflow or the existing infrastructural facilities are anything but up to the mark.

Though a whole lot of development projects aimed at upgrading the civic infrastructure have been announced and initiated in the Agra-Mathura region, highly placed sources told HT that most of them are not likely to be completed before the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010. Experts in the tourism industry are expecting the number of tourists visiting Agra to go up by several lakhs during the event. However, the hotel industry is not looking well prepared for the boom and is awfully short of adequate accommodations to deal with the ‘historic’ numbers expected in the city of Taj three years down the line.

In all likelihood, thousands of new hotel rooms will be required to meet the demand, construction of which may take a lot of time, going by the UP Government standards. State Tourism Director General Sushil Kumar recently issued instructions to prepare a plan regarding construction of hotel rooms. Hoteliers have also been asked to come up with suggestions in this regard but anything concrete is yet to be finalised. Moreover, when tourists start flooding the city in 2010, more emporiums, restaurants and conference halls will also be needed.

When contacted by HT, Joint Director, Tourism, Avinash Mishra refused to say anything, saying he was on leave. If the impact of the Gujjar agitation on the industry is not taken into account, the number of tourists visiting Agra had been on the rise in recent times. But poor infrastructure is definitely a big hurdle. The shortage of hotel rooms was felt during the recent ‘holyday boom.’ Regarding apprehensions that if construction was carried out on a large scale, most accommodations would be left redundant once the Games are over, hoteliers say along with fresh constructions, makeshift arrangements have be made as well.

Said a source in the Tourism Department, “After all, Agra seeks a change in its fortune. Even otherwise, we are found wanting when it comes to accommodation for tourists.” As of now, the city can boast of only 5,420 rooms from its five 5-star, one 4-star, one 3-star and 300 budget hotels. Making matters worse, the government plan to provide subsidy on construction of hotel rooms has been put in the cold storage. Even the number of benches in the city does not suffice. Though tourists get to encounter the railway stations in Agra before they see anything else, marred by congestion and lack of sanitation, their condition can upset anyone.


Despite Chief Minister Mayawati announcing several schemes on April 15 last year, tourists continue to be a harried lot because of erratic power supply, drinking water crisis and poor health, sanitation and communication facilities. The lone tourism police station in the city is also in a shambles sending a wrong message to the outside world. Its upgradation plan is moving on at a snail’s pace and it is hard to comprehend as to how it will deal with a barrage of complaints during the boom. Experts feel a complete turnaround is needed in all these areas not only to rake in moolah but also to build a good image of the State and show hospitality to the touring guests.

Lack of proper guidance for tourists is another major problem with signposts damaged and a number of them becoming misleading, hardly serving any purpose. Said a tour operator, “Once in town, tourists are mostly left to fend for themselves. Even inside the Taj Mahal complex, such facilities are conspicuous by their absence, forcing visitors to struggle in getting to know which route to take to reach a certain destination.” He said Information on all important destinations must be provided so that tourists did not remain confined to the Taj and added tourist cells should also be opened at all important places in the city to guide visitors and show them around.

Though no government representative was willing to come on record over the issue, they refused to admit that the city was not prepared. When contacted, a senior official said, “Concrete shape is being given to many a project and even deadlines for their completion and inauguration have been fixed.” According to him, a bridge on the Yamuna close to the existing Jawahar Bridge should be ready by 2010 and work on at least three new flyovers in the city will begin soon. He said, “Work on the new Inter State Bus Terminus on the Delhi highway is continuing at a brisk pace. The condition of Paliwal Park and Shah Jahan garden will also be improved.”