Taj Mahal tops ASI revenue charts with ₹297 crore ticket sales in five years

Taj Mahal, the iconic monument from the Mughal era and one of India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, was the top-earning Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument through ticket sales in the last five years, according to government data. ‘

In a written response to Rajya Sabha, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday said that the Taj Mahal generated a revenue of ₹297 crore in tickets in the past five years, becoming the most profitable ASI-protected monument.

In the fiscal year 2023-24, Qutub Minar and Red Fort stood in second and third places generating a revenue of ₹23.8 crore and ₹18.08 crore, respectively.

The minister was asked about the amount received by the ASI by sales of entry tickets to various monuments in the last five years, year-wise and monument-wise; and also the monuments that generated the highest revenue through entry ticket sales in the last five years. As a response to the query, the minister shared the data for cycles of financial years ranging from FY20 (2019-20) to FY25 (2024-25) in a tabular format. Taj Mahal emerged at the top as per the data.

While in FY20 Agra Fort and Qutub Minar were in the second and third positions, the Group of Monuments Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu and Sun Temple, Konark were placed second and third in FY21, respectively.

6 interesting facts about the Taj Mahal

• The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

• It is taller than Qutub Minar in Delhi! The height of the Taj Mahal is 73 m, while Qutub Minar measures 72.5 m.

• The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

• As per many historical reports, the Taj Mahal took nearly 22 years to build. Its construction lasted from 1632 AD to 1653 AD with the help of over 20,000 artisans, who were called from the whole of the Mughal Empire, Central Asia and Iran.

• The monument is made of white marble sourced from Makrana, Rajasthan.

• Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the primary architect of the Taj Mahal.