During the same period in 2023, a total of 5,050,071 domestic visitors had explored ASI’s “ticketed monuments,” which include the Ajanta and Ellora Cave Complex, Bibi Ka Maqbara, Daulatabad (Devgiri) Fort, and the Aurangabad Caves. Foreign tourist numbers stood at 35,618.
However, by the end of November 2024, domestic tourist numbers had fallen to 2,494,570, while foreign visitors totalled 30,884. ASI officials noted this significant dip in both domestic and international footfall.
Also read: Over 50 lakh tourists visited these 5 sites in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Mar-Nov, 2023
Ellora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, continued to attract the highest number of visitors, with 1,060,741 tourists visiting the cave complex.
Jaswant Singh, President of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Tourism Development Foundation (ATDF), attributed the decline to “negative publicity” surrounding the condition of local roads, which he believes has deterred potential visitors. Additionally, he highlighted a decline in air connectivity to the city and an increase in hotel prices as further factors contributing to the drop in tourism.
Meanwhile, the Bibi Ka Maqbara, a 17th-century monument in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, received 540 visitors on the first day of opening after the COVID-19-induced lockdown, while the world-famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora together saw nearly 450 tourists, officials said. These tourist hotspots along with other popular monuments in central Maharashtra reopened on December 10, 2020 after being closed since March-end due to the lockdown.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
