Analysis of Tourist Management Strategies for the Taj Mahal, India

This report examines the tourist management strategies applicable to the Taj Mahal, a significant UNESCO World Heritage site in Agra, India. The assignment addresses the challenges of managing a high volume of visitors, particularly focusing on queue management and its impact on visitor experience. It proposes an online queue management system to reduce wait times and streamline communication. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the importance of sustainability in protecting the monument and its surrounding environment, including adherence to environmental laws and comprehensive preservation policies. The report suggests strategies such as demolishing multi-level car parking and establishing a national disaster management context to combine pre-disaster facets with post-disaster response. The analysis also provides references to academic sources like Akram, et al. (2016), Arch Daily (2019), Clayton & Radcliffe (2018), Lal, et al. (2016), Reuters (2018), Vishal, et al. (2016) and World Asia (2019) to support the recommendations for effective heritage site management.

Tourist Management strategies

Tourist Management Strategies 1
Taj Mahal is one of the attractive monuments of India and is one of the seven
wonders. Taj Mahal is a leading marvel of architecture in Agra (India). The monument is
identified as a UNESCO world heritage site. The history of the monument began with the
death of the adored life of Emperor Shah Jahan. It took almost twenty-two years in
constructing building by more than 20,000 labors. This architecture represents the sign of
love of Shah Jahan towards his wife Mumtaz. The interiors of the building are prejudiced by
Persian architecture by reflecting the best architecture of Mughals. The building is having 3
entrances, east, west and south gates. The western gate is the focal entrance and is extremely
inhabited (Akram, et al. 2016).
(Arch Daily, 2019)
The tourist management strategies to be applied are:
Queue management: The queue is almost kilometer-long at the weekends and takes three and
a half hours to reach the point of checking. Managing huge crowds has become a difficult
proposition due to the absence of an appropriate queue management system. The historical
site has been maintained with the assistance of the archaeological survey of India for setting
management system at the monument. Almost 20,000 tourists visit the Taj Mahal on a regular
basis and this number increases up to 1,00,000 on the holidays like Christmas and New Year.
The queue management can be even effective in the positive visitor’s experience (Vishal, et
al. 2016). The queue management can assist in:

Tourist Management Strategies 2
(World Asia, 2019)
 The online queue management system will assist in reducing wait times for visitors.
There is nothing frustrating than waiting in the slow-moving lines. The online queue
management system does not help in eliminating long waits but also creates an
efficient queuing process. The visitors can check into line by making use of mobile
devices, on-site kiosk or computers.
 The online queue management system will assist in enhanced visitor’s satisfaction.
When the waiting is properly tracked than better experience can be offered to the
visitors.
 Another benefit of the queue management system is streamlining communication.
This software will enable communication between visitors and authority at the
monument (Lal, et al. 2016).
Sustainability: The sustainability can be helpful to the Taj Mahal in protecting itself. The
concerning authority of the monument needs to make sure that it is fully committed to
safeguarding the environment and certifying sustainable development in and around the
building. It is also required to follow the environment law along with the orders of the court
conscientiously. It can assist to balance the ecosystem of the Taj Mahal’s Trapezium Zone.

Tourist Management Strategies 3
(Reuters, 2018)
The historical place can even adopt a comprehensive policy on preservation. The
concerning authorities can ask for the demolition of multi-level car parking around the
building by maintaining the status quo at the site (Clayton & Radcliffe, 2018). In order to
protect the monument, a slide of directions can be passed. Along with this, the monument can
issue a comprehensive national disaster management context in order to combine the pre-
disaster facets of the deterrence, mitigation, and readiness with the post-disaster retort,
retrieval, and renovation. The heritage management strategies and plans should be implied on
the heritage site.

Tourist Management Strategies 4
References
Akram, O. K., Franco, D. J., Ismail, S., Muhammed, A., & Graça, A. (2016). Promoting
heritage management in new smart cities: évora city, portugal as a case
study. International Journal of Engineering Technology, Management and Applied
Sciences, 4(9), 148-155.
Arch Daily (2019). A D Classics: Taj Mahal/ Shah Jahan. Retrieved January 3, 2020 from
https://www.archdaily.com/100528/ad-classics-taj-mahal-shah-jahan
Clayton, T., & Radcliffe, N. (2018). Sustainability: a systems approach. Routledge.
Lal, R. M., Nagpure, A. S., Luo, L., Tripathi, S. N., Ramaswami, A., Bergin, M. H., &
Russell, A. G. (2016). Municipal solid waste and dung cake burning: discoloring the
Taj Mahal and human health impacts in Agra. Environmental Research
Letters, 11(10), 104009.
Reuters (2018). Pollution turns India’s white marble Taj Mahal yellow and green. Retrieved
January 3, 2020 from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pollution-india-
tajmahal/pollution-turns-indias-white-marble-taj-mahal-yellow-and-green-
idUSKCN1IN01S
Vishal, S., Vardhan, B. H., Amruta, A., Swapnil, R., & Rao, P. S. (2016). A case study of Taj
Mahals visitor satisfaction and carrying capacity. Journal of Hospitality Management
and Tourism, 7(4), 43-49.
World Asia (2019). 9-foot python visits Taj Mahal. Retrieved January 3, 2020 from
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/9-foot-python-visits-taj-mahal-
1.1572710818445