Agra Retail Online

Agra have set up retail shops in the Agra Retail sector which takes down the regular rates
of merchandise by up to 20% discount in just a few days. The retailers in Agara were
guilt distributors and baulkers for the go up in goods rates. But in real situation the
incredible price go up was unnaturally shaped by retailers and to defend the customer as
of an in excess of exaggerated daily expense bill, bulk traders decided to retail stuffs like
pulses, oil, flour etc. at bulk rates. This strategy has enabled the consumers to buy
commodities at nearly 20 per cent less prices than their neighbourhood retail shops.

There are number of wholesale and retail shops in Kinari Bazaar - Agra. These retail
shops present all that is linked to the event of wedding. The Retail Shops and Retail
Stores present vast supply of has the wholesale and retail shops that mostly contracts in
the wedding ritual selling. Agra Shopping is not anything small of an outing to tourist
magnetisms in India. Agra has equally traditional marketplaces that have been in the
dealing business for centuries. Next there are the modern shopping places and
multifaceted particularly the state emporiums where you can buy very old mementos to
luxury items.

Sadar Bazaar and south of Taj Gang are all the rage shopping places in Agra. The Kinari
Bazaar it is also known as the old marketplace which is near to Jama Masjid. It has a lot
of little separate dealing areas that date back from the Mughal period. The Loha Mandi
also known as Iron Market, Sabzi Mandi also known as Vegetable Market and the Nai-ki-
Mandi Barber's Market are the major markets in AGRA.

Agra Industries
Although tourism contributes to a large extent in the economy of Agra, the city has a substantial
industrial base. A lot of manufacturing plants and industry related wholesale markets is prominent
in Agra. Agra Industries are doing a fine job in various fields. Producers and dealers of Agra deal in
different products and has a vast market to support them.

Agra has a good number of apparel and garment manufacturers and exporters. Some of the leading
names in the industry are Kamlesh Exports, Jsn International, India Craft etc.

Agra has developed an important market for the automobile industry. Anil Diesels, Benara
Auto, Harvest Group of Industries and Malloys India are some of the major players of the
automobile industry in Agra. The leather industry is among the most traditional and original
industries of Agra. Some of the leading manufacturers, exporter and sellers of leather in
Agra are Polyplast Industries, Royal International, Eskay Sales Corporation, Best Buy,
Bandejjia Traders and Expomore.

With the expansion of the Agra city, more and more construction works are going around the city.
To facilitate the flow of work, a lot of organizations dealing in building materials have come up. Few
leading names are Silver Gatta Agency, Yashoda Exports, Glass Expressions and Sharda
Enterprises. The jeweleries of Agra is a great favorite with the tourists and is in good demand in the
international market also. The Yoga Handicrafts and the D.R.Chain and Wire Manufacturing
Company are two of the several important names of the related industry.
 Updated: June 6, 2009 | 11:21:41 AM | WWW.INDIANREALTYNEWS.COM

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Modern Townships Set Trends in Agra

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Agra - Apart from the heritage monuments that attract 22 lakh visitors every year,
Agra has a well entrenched local economy specializing in leather and handicrafts.
Strategically located on the Delhi-Jaipur tourist corridor, any development plan for the
city draws enthusiastic support from developmental stakeholders.Keeping in view the
fragile and environmentally sensitive heritage of the city, Agras development plan seeks
to utilize the citys potential for improving the economy by strengthening its physical and
social infrastructure. The City Development Plan has provided for establishment of new
industrial estates and maximizing infrastructure around the Taj and other heritage sites.
With a total outlay of Rs. 7373.79 crore over a period of 6 years, (2007-2012), of which
7.6% would be shared by private parties in development projects, property developers at
are confident of assured returns from investments in mega residential and commercial
projects in Agra.

Real Estate Projects in Agra

Residential property: Real estate developers are introducing neo-age residential

apartments and townships to Agra. The Triveni Group has completed Triveni Orchid
Tower, while residential apartments under construction are Parsvnath Panchvati,
Parsvnath Prernai, and Jaipurias Sunrise Greens.

Luxury residential apartments to be launched in Agra include One Park from Spice One
Infrastructure and Triveni Paradise by Triveni .

Creating a world class ambience will be township projects by reputed builders. The TDI
City is coming up on 125 acres on the outskirts of the city which will house a hotel
project as well. Ansal Town on 130 acres on the Taj Expressway and Ansal Countryard
are under construction by AHCL, while Triveni City is being executed by Triveni
Housing and Infrastructure. Vian City, PSG City, Green City and the Taj NRI City will
soon be launched as exclusive townships in Agra.
Unitechs grand project for Agra is likely to start in August 2007 and will cover 1500
acres plots, villas, apartments will be built alongside commercial spaces, an IT Park,
retail and institutional spaces, plus a luxury hotel.

Commercial Property: Agras first mall, the TDI Mall-cum-multiplex on Fatehabad

Road providing 2 lakh sq. ft of retail space is principally aimed at the high spending
customer. The T3 mall by Triveni Housing is also complete. The Agra Cantonment Board
will be constructing a multi-storeyed shopping mall on an acre of land on the Mall Road
and offer retail space on a long-term lease. The TDI group is also venturing into a star
category hotel project. Omaxe Limited is in the process of constructing a wedding mall in
the city.

Agras traditional leather industry will get a boost with the setting up of a leather and
leather products SEZ on 100 hectares on the Agra-Delhi highway, with Parsvnath
Developers bagging the contract for the project..

The Software Technology Park has also been approved near the Shastri Puram industrial
area on the Agra-Delhi highway. This small beginning on 2 acres of land heralds a new
era for Agras economy.

Agra footwear industry facing new challenges

April 16, 2009 (India)

Arrival of footwear manufacturing units in the infrastructure-rich towns like

Noida and Chandigarh as well as slowdown in export orders due to
unavailability of credit facilities to the major footwear importers, are the new
challenges for Agra footwear industry. This makes footwear units in the town to
run at less than 50 percent of their production capacity.

Agra footwear industry is already facing a 30 percent decline in export orders

due to financial meltdown. First quarter of 2009 has experienced a sharp decline in export orders. Though
only a few number of footwear units have come up in Noida and Chandigarh, the business of small
exporters of Agra is getting affected. So, there is a need to develop a supporting infrastructure for Agra
footwear industry.

Big exporters of the town are looking for a substantial share in the economic package announced by the
Centre for the leather industry, totaling to Rs. 1,300 crore. According to the experts, though Kanpur is known
for utility footwear exports and Chennai has the largest share in mens footwear, the top position in exports
of mens & womens fashion footwear rests with Agra.

Growth rate of Agra footwear industry was 27 percent for the past few years but this drop down in business
would make it difficult to maintain that growth rate this year. According to experts, situation will change in the
near future, as China faces import restrictions from several countries and cost of footwear manufacturing in
the Eastern European Countries is going high.

Experts hope that in coming years, bulk buyers will turn to India and countrys share in the world footwear
trade will rise, at least to 7 percent from 4 percent.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

 Real Estate in Agra
Real Estate in Agra shows huge potential. Real Estate in Agra is a veritable goldmine both for the
investor and the end user of the property.

The term 'Real Estate' in Agra implies land in the Agra metropolitan region with anything that
is attached to the land-including building structures and its fittings.

Real Estate is currently undergoing a boom in Agra city. Real estate experts predict that:
The retail industry in Agra will expand by 40 percent more than its existing size during the next
five years.

Organized retail will grow 15 percent in the Agra metropolitan region.

Real Estate in Agra will witness tremendous development of retail and its associated benefits.
Currently organized retailing adds up to only 2 percent in Agra-the city which generates most of its
revenues from tourism.

India's expanding economy is also helping real estate in Agra to develop to its full potential. The
economy is booming primarily due to the export of services from India to the developed countries.

The outsourcing boom has increased the quantity of disposable income from the Indian population,
which in turn has led to the construction of innovative shopping malls and high end residential
complexes.

A significant proportion of the Indian population lives in urban areas; this creates a demand for
residential properties in Agra city. The premium residential property addresses include value added
extras like round the clock security, power back-up,market and shopping malls inside the building
complex.

Real Estate in Agra is also drawing investment from established Indian developers.

Agra Footwear Industry Treading a

Downward Path
By David K Parks

Article Word Count: 446 [View Summary] Comments (0)

Not long ago, the footwear industry in Agra saw healthy growth due to the
high demand and robust sales in both the global and domestic markets. About a year ago,
small and mid-sized footwear manufacturers and suppliers saw substantial demand for
both men's and women's footwear from buyers in the US, Europe and West Asia.
However, this scenario has changed drastically over the past few months.

Recently, there has been a considerable drop in sales, which has consequently had a
negative impact on margins. This has resulted in tremendous pressure for the Agra
footwear industry that is fighting to stay afloat. A sector, which once recorded a 27%
growth rate, is now struggling to maintain its previous growth levels.

Dwindling exports

"The export revenues have declined considerably since the last financial year as orders
from western Marketplace are rapidly diminishing. A large number of small-scale units,
which produced fancy shoes for international buyers, are now shutting shop due to
decreasing sales in export markets," says RK Khindri, Manager and Coordinator, Agra
Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC).

Moreover, this year, the Agra footwear industry has witnessed a decline in demand in
chief domestic markets like Delhi, Mumbai and Pune as well. The industry has seen more
than a 30% drop in orders from January to March, this year. With the demand having
slumped considerably, thousands of skilled footwear labourers and technicians across the
city have lost their jobs.

Additional challenges

Besides dwindling export volumes, Agra footwear manufacturing units have also faced
the adverse affects of delayed payments and lack of infrastructural facilities.

On the other hand, footwear manufacturing units based in well-developed regions like
Noida and Chandigarh have access to better infrastructural facilities. This facilitates
production of higher quality shoes at a lower cost, thus garnering the loyalty of both
domestic and overseas buyers. This in turn, has hampered the business of small Agra
footwear units, as majority of the orders are now being shifted to units based in regions
like Delhi, Noida and Chandigarh.

Inadequate bank credit has further added to the financial predicament of small-scale
footwear traders in Agra. "Despite the directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), banks are reluctant to lend to SME units. They are turning down loan-against-
inventory requests and are now demanding collaterals, which most of footwear units are
unable to provide. Consequently, small footwear manufacturers have begun to resort to
cost-cutting measures such as lay offs, which eventually lead to under utilisation of their
production capacities," says Kuldeep Singh, Proprietor, Aryman Footwear Exports.

Given the current scenario, small footwear units are banking on government aid,
infrastructural reforms and assistance from financial institutions in order to recover from
their recent loss.

David Parks is a well known author and has written articles on B2b Website in India,
B2B Portal, Business Directory, suppliers, Manufactures and many other subjects
Footwear industry in Agra saw healthy
growth

The footwear industry in Agra saw healthy

growth due to the high demand and robust sales
in both the global and domestic markets. About
a year ago, small and mid-sized footwear
manufacturers and suppliers saw substantial
demand for both mens and womens footwear
from buyers in the US, Europe and West Asia.
However, this scenario has changed drastically
over the past few months.
Recently, there has been a considerable drop in
sales, which has consequently had a negative
impact on margins. This has resulted in
tremendous pressure for the Agra footwear
industry that is fighting to stay afloat.(CI)
Agra tourism industry takes bad hit after Mumbai
attacks
By IANS
Tuesday,02 December 2008, 00:00 hrs

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Agra: Agra's tourism industry has been severely hit by the terror strikes in Mumbai that
targetted 10 locations across the city, including two luxury hotels. A large number of foreign
tourists have canceled their trips and people visiting the Taj Mahal have nearly halved.

While members of various travel agencies, hotels, restaurants and guides' associations
marched and lit candles here Monday evening in memory of those who died in the attacks in
Mumbai, tourism Industry leaders have expressed deep concern over reports of large scale
postponement and cancellations of trips by foreigners to India.

The month of December usually attracts the maximum number of foreign visitors to Agra. But
this December, there has been a drastic dip in numbers, industry members said. Already, the
arrivals have been affected with just around 1,500 foreigners visiting the Taj Mahal Monday as
against 2,260 Nov 24.

Budget hotels have been hit the most as night stays have reduced. "The fire in Oberoi and Taj
in Mumbai has directly affected Agra," a hotelier said.

Tourism Guild president Rajeev Narain fears there could be more than 3,500 cancellations this
month. Five star hotel Jaypee Palace reported close to 450 cancellations.

Narain said that city hotels are tightening security arrangements and installing required
gadgets to meet any eventuality in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed
183 lives.

"No cost is big enough to save a life and I hope things would get back to normalcy soon,"
Narain told IANS.

"The worst is yet to come," said leading handicrafts exporter Abhinav Jain of Taj Ganj.

"Buyers are not coming. The new element in the Mumbai attacks is the targeting of Israelis
who were very fond of visiting India. No tourist would like to risk his life coming to what
appears to be developing as a war zone," Jain said.

Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Agra, said the
government security agencies must step up their security arrangements and send out a strong
message that Agra is absolutely safe for tourists.

"Tourism being a sensitive industry, the level of public awareness and also involvement in the
joint fight against terrorism and constant vigil must be stepped up at all levels," he said.

Meanwhile, big hotels in the city, on the advice of the police, have started verifying records
relating to staff recruitments, entry into hotels has been restricted and all vehicles are being
thoroughly checked, including vendors supplying vegetables and other items.

There is also increased police deployment around the Taj Mahal.

Agra footwear industry facing Chinese heat
Agra, known for Taj Mahal world over, has an enormous leather
industry, catering to the huge demand of footwear in the country for decades. But the
industry is today witnessing perhaps the toughest time since its existence, due to
challenge posed by Chinese footwear.

By Brajesh Kr.Singh

Agra, Sep 2 : Agra, known for Taj Mahal world over, has an enormous leather industry,
catering to the huge demand of footwear in the country for decades. But the industry is
today witnessing perhaps the toughest time since its existence, due to challenge posed by
Chinese footwear.

A large number of people related to the local footwear industry for generations today fear
closure of the factories due to dumping of the Chinese footwear here.

The local workers associated with factories say that the imported Chinese products have
triggered a cut-throat competition in local markets with buyers being inclined for Chinese
products.

Vijendra Singh, a worker, said: "We are finding it hard to the beat Chinese products.
Earlier, we used to work the whole year, but now we are left with just two-and-a-half
months of work. Thousands of people are involved with this work and have sleepless
nights due to this."

The Chinese goods are relatively cheap and thus have been able to badly-affect the
market for Indian footwear.

The footwear industry here was showing impressive growth until the arrival of low-cost
Chinese footwear in the market.

Indian footwear industry is labour intensive and is concentrated in the small and cottage
industry sectors.
Cottage industry authorities say the industry needs immediate government intervention
before it is thoroughly ruined.

Dharmendra Soni, Treasurer of the Small Scale Shoe Factory in Agra, said: "The workers
here come from far off places and facing the brunt of it (Chinese goods). Things have
changed and making it tough to arrange daily meal due to loss of work."

Agra's cottage, small scale and medium scale footwear units manufacture over 1.5 lakh
pairs of shoes every day.

There about 60 organised footwear units, 3,000 tiny manufacturing units and about
30,000 household artisans units. There are a large number of ancillary industries,
supporting footwear industries in Agra.

About 65 per cent of the total domestic requirement of shoes in the country is fulfilled
from Agra.

There are around 70 export units in Agra in which two golden cards holders and three
silver cardholders units. Total export turnover stands at about Rs. 450 crore.

The footwear industry is a significant segment of the leather industry in India, which has
brought considerable export revenues and officials hope to take it to the four billion
dollars mark by 2010.

ANI

Tourism industry gets a blow in Agra due to riots

Vishal Sharma / New Delhi/ Agra August 30, 2007

At a time when the tourist traffic began to show upward trend in Agra, Wednesdays communal riot, that
broke in morning, has acted as a deterrent, thus crushing down the hopes of tourism industry of having a
good year ahead.

With the blocking of Mahatma Gandhi road, which leads to the city, due to curfew in six police station areas,
the tourist traffic into the town remained disrupted throughout the day and a number of package tours, due to
arrive in Agra, are reported to have cancelled their plans following the news of the riots.

Talking to Business Standard, Prahlad Agarwal, convener, Agra Foreign Tourist Traders & Exporters
Association said the tourism business was highly sensitive and slightest disruption of peace in the city
dissuaded the tourists from visiting a place. He said each days disruption in tourist traffic could cause a loss
worth Rs 1crore-1.5 crore to the tourism industry in the city.

He said they had been receiving reports of tours to Agra being cancelled in Delhi and this trend was
expected to continue for quite a long time before the tourists could be assured of peace in the town.

But the state government officials denied any effect of the riots on tourism. We have ensured that the tourist
traffic remains flowing unhindered through the city and though the Tajganj area is under curfew, the Taj
Mahal has not been closed, said Mahesh Gupta, UP Home Secretary, while talking to Business Standard.

Apart from tourism, footwear industry has also received a huge blow due to the riots. With a couple of
footwear units burnt by the violent mob, the small-scale footwear units located near the epicentre of riots are
expected to remain closed throughout this week.

Agras tourism industry hit by recession

Submitted by Mohit Joshi on Mon, 11/24/2008 - 13:10.
Featured
Agra
India
Uttar Pradesh

Agra, Nov 24 : The ongoing global recession is taking its toll

on Agras tourism industry.

There has been a marked decrease in the numbers of foreigners

visiting the Taj Mahal this season.

Tour operators in India have already reported a 20 to 30 per cent

drop in the number of tourists this year.

The global financial meltdown has hit the pockets of tourists, some of whom are wary of splurging on
vacations. For those traveling to India, the budget is of paramount concern.

I think that everyone is feeling the pinch of the global economic slowdown. People have less
disposable income that is affecting their spending habits. Back home they are worried about money,
cost of food, fuel and the luxuries like holidays will definitely be something that the people have to
reconsider, said Edward, British tourist.

A day''s stay in an average five star hotel room in India costs around 200 dollars, which is out of reach
of many foreign travelers without any corporate or institutional support. Foreign tourists are cutting
down on upmarket hotel stay and opting for stays at budget hotels and shopping on a shoestring
budget.
As far as tourism is concerned, particularly foreign tourists, not only the numbers have decreased but
their spending has decreased, said Rajeev Tiwari, the President of the Federation of Travel
Association, Agra.

The trading fraternity too is unhappy with the returns from the current tourist season.

Actually this particular time from October-March is a peak time for us and we are having a very bad
season right now and I don''t see any good progress in the future. Global recession will create a lot of
unemployment, said Abhinav Jain, a marble trader.

The global economic turmoil has shaken financial markets worldwide, disrupted channels of credit
between banks and industry, and pushed some major economies into recession.

The Indian authorities are struggling to shore up growth against the impact of the global financial crisis,
and have taken a host of steps including sharp rate cuts to fend off damage to the broader economy.

New Delhi says the world is in a deep crisis. But despite an adverse international environment, India
has the capacity to sustain a growth rate of about eight per cent. (ANI)

Agra's tourism industry hit by recession.

Article from:
Asian News International
Article date:
December 3, 2008 | Copyright information
Byline: ANI

Agra, Nov 24 (ANI): The ongoing global recession is taking its toll on Agra's
tourism industry.

There has been a marked decrease in the numbers of foreigners visiting the
Taj Mahal this season.

Tour operators in India have already reported a 20 to 30 per cent drop in the
number of tourists this year.

The global financial meltdown has hit the pockets of tourists, some of whom
are wary of splurging on vacations. For those traveling to India, the budget is
of paramount concern.
"I think that everyone is feeling the pinch of the global economic slowdown.
People have less disposable income that is affecting their spending habits.
Back home they are ...

(less)

Agra's tourism industry hit by recession

Agra | November 24, 2008 7:09:21 PM IST

The ongoing global recession is taking its

toll on Agra's tourism industry.

There has been a marked decrease in the numbers of foreigners visiting the Taj Mahal this
season.

Tour operators in India have already reported a 20 to 30 per cent drop in the number of
tourists this year.

The global financial meltdown has hit the pockets of tourists, some of whom are wary of
splurging on vacations. For those traveling to India, the budget is of paramount concern.

"I think that everyone is feeling the pinch of the global economic slowdown. People have
less disposable income that is affecting their spending habits. Back home they are
worried about money, cost of food, fuel and the luxuries like holidays will definitely be
something that the people have to reconsider," said Edward, British tourist.

A day's stay in an average five star hotel room in India costs around 200 dollars, which is
out of reach of many foreign travelers without any corporate or institutional support.
Foreign tourists are cutting down on upmarket hotel stay and opting for stays at budget
hotels and shopping on a shoestring budget.

"As far as tourism is concerned, particularly foreign tourists, not only the numbers have
decreased but their spending has decreased," said Rajeev Tiwari, the President of the
Federation of Travel Association, Agra.

The trading fraternity too is unhappy with the returns from the current tourist season.

"Actually this particular time from October-March is a peak time for us and we are
having a very bad season right now and I don't see any good progress in the future.
Global recession will create a lot of unemployment," said Abhinav Jain, a marble trader.

The global economic turmoil has shaken financial markets worldwide, disrupted channels
of credit between banks and industry, and pushed some major economies into recession.
The Indian authorities are struggling to shore up growth against the impact of the global
financial crisis, and have taken a host of steps including sharp rate cuts to fend off
damage to the broader economy.

New Delhi says the world is in a deep crisis. But despite an adverse international
environment, India has the capacity to sustain a growth rate of about eight per cent. By
Brajesh Kumar Singh (ANI)

Career in
Hotel & Tourism Industry
Media Gallery

Photo Gallery

Demand for Trained Manpower Voice Of Youth

Worldwide for 2007,

World Travel & Tourism Council, A Forecast Expert Views
Career Pathways:

Total Demand:
India Hotel & Tourism is expected to generate INR
2829.7bn (USD 61.0bn) of economic activity(Total
Demand) in 2007, growing(nominal terms) to INR
9472.0bn (USD 158.9bn) by 2017. Total Demand is
expected to grow by 8.7% in 2007 and by 7.9% per
annum, in real terms between 2008 and 2017. 2007
Total Demand representd 0.9% of world market share.

Gross Domestic Product:

Hotel & Tourism Industry: Hotel & Tourism Economy:
2.0% 5.5%

India Hotel & Tourism Industry is expected to contribute

2.0% to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in 2007 (INR
838.0 bn or USD 18.1 bn), rising in nominal terms to INR
2551.3 bn or USD 42,8 bn (1.9% of of total) by 2017.
The Hotel & Tourism Economy contribution (percent of
total) should decline from 5.4% (INR 2190.2 bn or USD
47.2 bn) to 5.2% INR 6948.6 bn or USD 116.5 bn) in this
same period.

India Hotel & Tourism Industry GDP contribution of Total

GDP is generally decreasing, while Hotel & tourism
Economy GDP contribution to Total GDP is generally
increasing.

Jobs In Hotel & Tourism Industry

Travel & Tourism Industry: Travel & Tourism Economy:
11,002,930 25,607,080

Travel & Tourism Industry:

Travel & Tourism Economy:
India Hotel 7 Tourism Economy Employment is
estimated at 25,607,000 Jobs in 2007. 5.5% of Total
Employment or 1 in every 18.3 Jobs. By 2017, this
should total 28,322,000 Jobs. 5.2% of Total Employment
or 1 in every 19.1 jobs. The 11,003,000 Hotel & Tourism
Industry Jobs account for 2.3% of Total Employment in
2007 and are forecast to total 11,654,000 jobs or 2.2% of
total by 2017.

India Relative Hotel & Tourism Industry Employment

contribution to total employment is generally increasing
and relative Hotel & tourism Economy Employment
contribution to total Employment is generally increasing.
The period October-January is considered the peak time for the tourism
industry of Agra. Millions of tourists arrive in the town during this four-month
period, bringing enough business to Agras tourism industry.

But this year, while the tourist traffic has been unprecedented, the business
from tourism has shown little improvement.

Every day, at least 8,000 to 10,000 tourists, both foreign and Indian, are
arriving in Agra these days and the hospitality sector of the town is enjoying a
boom time but for the handicrafts industry of Agra, dealing in marble and
wood handicrafts, carpets and glass craft, there has hardly been any change,
with the tourists still avoiding to make handicraft purchases from Agra.

Talking to Business Standard on Friday, Prahlad Agarwal, convener, Agra

Foreign Tourists Traders & Exporters Association, said the tourist business in
Agra is broadly divided between the hospitality sector, tour-travel sector and
handicrafts industry and while the hotel industry and tour-travel sector have
benefited a great deal from the increased tourist traffic, the Rs 600 crore
handicrafts industry of the town is still ailing.

According to Agarwal, in the month of October, while the tourism industry had
registered a 150 per cent growth, with foreign charters landing in the town for
the first time in six years, the handicrafts industry was still to show
improvement.

He said earlier the tourist traffic being less, the Agra hotels agents offered
discounts to attract tourists and these discounts left a lot of surplus money
with the tourists to spend on handicrafts purchases in Agra. But this year, the
hotels had refrained from making any discount offers, having already been
booked to the brim till the new year.

He said that over the years, it had been observed that the European tourists
were the best buyers of handicrafts and presently, the tourist traffic that was
arriving in Agra mainly comprised of the South-East Asian tourists, who were
mainly shoe-string travelers, journeying on a very tight budget with no room
left for purchasing handicrafts.

Also, he said, some other destinations in China, Thailand, Indonesia and

South India had emerged lately that offered cheaper tourism compared to
Agra and a large part of the handicraft sales in India was being captured by
the southern states like Kerala.

Besides, he said, the mood of the tourists arriving in Agra these days was
more bent towards culture tourism and they wanted to see as much of the
country as possible, travelling on a low budget.

Agra readies for a tourist boom - July 23rd, 2007

AGRA: Uttar Pradesh's efforts to promote tourism in Agra have gained momentum after
the inclusion of the Taj Mahal, India's greatest tourist draw, in the new list of Seven
Wonders of the World.

Everyone from the district authorities, the municipal corporation and tourism bodies is
trying to cash in on the euphoria.

Le Passage to India, a travel agency, has announced plans to distribute specially designed
badges with Taj inscribed on them to 10,000 foreign tourists next month.
Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association, said: "The coming
tourist season beginning September should see a big spurt in tourist arrivals. The interest
in Agra and its monuments has definitely increased and we are determined to cash in on
the publicity."

In early August, the executive committee members of the Domestic Tour Operators of
India will be meeting in Agra to discuss plans to promote tourism in Agra.

Sunil Gupta, a member of the executive committee, said: "The tourism industry is
naturally upbeat about the Taj Mahal's inclusion in the Seven Wonders of the World list
and expects a large number of tourists to come to Agra."

Large-scale renovation work of the Taj by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is
under way. ASI officials said a clay pack treatment to remove stains from the marble
surface of the Taj would start after the monsoon rains end.

The state government has, meanwhile, given the green signal to several plans for Agra's
makeover.

The Taj Express Way has been given top priority. District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram
said he was trying to speed up the land acquisition process for the project because the
government is keen to have it completed much in advance of the 2010 Commonwealth
Games.

Divisional Commissioner S.R. Meena said he was busy giving final touches to the Taj
National Park project. As part of the project, a 300-acre national park will be made across
the river Yamuna in collaboration with the US National Park Service.

Meena added that an open-air theatre at Mehtab Bagh behind the Taj Mahal is his top
priority at the moment.

Raviv Tiwari, a tourism industry leader, said the present turnover from Taj centric
tourism was around Rs.20 billion annually. "We now want it hiked to Rs.100 billion."

Another boost to tourism will be the Mega City Tour Project, which will be launched this
year in September by American travel agencies. They will take US tourists on a trip to the
Delhi-Jaipur-Agra golden triangle.
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