A case study of Taj Mahals visitor satisfaction and carrying capacity

Abstract

Tourist makes major contribution to Indian economy and employment rates. Tourism is generally less harmful to the environment compared to other activities like industry. Due to large number of tourists, a lot of environmental stress is being observed within the premises of Taj Mahal. There is a considerable adverse impact on Taj Mahal due to the increase of touristic activities, which is envisaged to rise in future. There is lack of studies on Taj Mahal in regards to international/ domestic visitor experience; therefore a scientific study - in the vicinity of Taj Mahal - with a view to assess the impact of tourist flow has been done. It has been concluded that the maximum number of tourists could be determined so that environmental conditions of Taj Mahal premises and its vicinity are maintained. Moreover, 503 surveying and questionnaires were carried out to gauge the level of the visitor’s satisfaction.   Key words: Taj Mahal, world heritage, carrying capacity, tourist influx, tourist feedback, visitor difficulties, visitor satisfaction.