Agra tour operators moan loss at hand of rivals
Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. Is the Taj Mahal in Rajasthan? Most of us would quickly say no to this seemingly obvious question, but not the tour operators of Rajasthan, who have included this magnificent monument of Uttar Pradesh in their "Rajasthan Heritage" tour packages.
A cursory glance at the packages offered by various tour operators based in Rajasthan and Delhi makes it clear how the tour operators based in these neighbouring States are taking advantage of the fact that Agra being located on the borders of both Delhi (196 kilometres) and Rajasthan (235 kilometres), is easily accessible through a day-trip from either Delhi or Jaipur, offering "Rajasthan Heritage Tour Packages with Taj Mahal".
In contrast to the Agra based travel agencies that "honestly" mention Jaipur and Delhi as parts of a separate "Golden Triangle" tour package, a large number of the outbound tour packages from Jaipur include Agra as a part of the tour, apparently snatching away the business from the hands of the Agra tour operators and hoteliers, by bringing the tourists to Agra only on day-trips.
Talking to this newspaper, Aargee Tours director Rakesh Garg said the Rajasthan-based tour operators actively "usurped" the business that was truly the share of Agra travel industry by projecting the location of the Taj Mahal in Rajasthan incorrectly among unassuming foreign tourists every year during the tourism season.
As a result, he said, a major part of the tourism business of Agra was diverted to Rajasthan by these tour operators who picked the tourists from Delhi and took them on trips through Rajasthan, including Agra in their packages.
He said this way the Agra travel industry was deprived of its share and most of the business secured by the tour operators of this town was through the few charters landing in Agra and the small groups and "free individual tourists" coming directly from Delhi, who did not offer the same business potential as large groups of tourists.
As a retaliatory action, he said, the Agra travel operators were also thinking of launching tour packages that included Jaipur and Delhi as part of the packages. But being in mid-way from Delhi, on the route to Jaipur offered a distinct disadvantage to the Agra-based tour operators that made this entire exercise fruitless.
Agra. Is the Taj Mahal in Rajasthan? Most of us would quickly say no to this seemingly obvious question, but not the tour operators of Rajasthan, who have included this magnificent monument of Uttar Pradesh in their "Rajasthan Heritage" tour packages.
A cursory glance at the packages offered by various tour operators based in Rajasthan and Delhi makes it clear how the tour operators based in these neighbouring States are taking advantage of the fact that Agra being located on the borders of both Delhi (196 kilometres) and Rajasthan (235 kilometres), is easily accessible through a day-trip from either Delhi or Jaipur, offering "Rajasthan Heritage Tour Packages with Taj Mahal".
In contrast to the Agra based travel agencies that "honestly" mention Jaipur and Delhi as parts of a separate "Golden Triangle" tour package, a large number of the outbound tour packages from Jaipur include Agra as a part of the tour, apparently snatching away the business from the hands of the Agra tour operators and hoteliers, by bringing the tourists to Agra only on day-trips.
Talking to this newspaper, Aargee Tours director Rakesh Garg said the Rajasthan-based tour operators actively "usurped" the business that was truly the share of Agra travel industry by projecting the location of the Taj Mahal in Rajasthan incorrectly among unassuming foreign tourists every year during the tourism season.
As a result, he said, a major part of the tourism business of Agra was diverted to Rajasthan by these tour operators who picked the tourists from Delhi and took them on trips through Rajasthan, including Agra in their packages.
He said this way the Agra travel industry was deprived of its share and most of the business secured by the tour operators of this town was through the few charters landing in Agra and the small groups and "free individual tourists" coming directly from Delhi, who did not offer the same business potential as large groups of tourists.
As a retaliatory action, he said, the Agra travel operators were also thinking of launching tour packages that included Jaipur and Delhi as part of the packages. But being in mid-way from Delhi, on the route to Jaipur offered a distinct disadvantage to the Agra-based tour operators that made this entire exercise fruitless.
Comments