Published Paper Details:

Agra, India's Mughal capital, glows with its trinity of UNESCO gems, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, and Agra Fort. The city of love, Agra, was founded by the Lodis. It was the only Mughal who turned Agra into a global heartthrob, ruling from its red-sandstone embrace for nearly a century. Yet, despite curling up to Delhi and Jaipur in the Golden triangle, Agra's star is dimming, and it's not just because tourists forgot their destination. It is because there is a lack of proper infrastructure here. This study, interlinking a decade of visitor data (2015-2024), reveals the Taj Mahal grabbing much attention, hidden jewels like Akbar's Tomb (2,23,428 visitors), Itimad-ud-Daulah (2,65,855), Mariam's Tomb (18,404), and Keetham Lake's wildlife barely get a bow. What is the reason behind it? the reason is a Lack of promotion and local mismanagement, which even grand schemes like Incredible India and Swachh Bharat couldn't fully polish here. Post-pandemic, India's tourism boom hasn't quite recaptured its pre-2019 glory (Taj Mahal's 8,15,680 foreign visitors vs. 7,06,187 in 2024). From promoting playing hide-and-seek with tourists' pouches to the Yamuna's less-than-inviting aroma, small barriers pile up. This paper investigates these characteristics, and why promote only the Taj when Mariam's Tomb is practically signaling for attention? and proposes a bit-by-bit fix: bundles of tickets, a snazzy app for Akbar's Tomb, eco-tours at Keetham Lake, and a metro line that doesn't stop at "coming soon."