Have just returned from a tour of two very popular tourist towns in Rajasthan. They also attract large number of foreign tourists. It was my desire to visit them from a long time. Finally I went as part of a 50 member group. While the spots that are famous are rightly so.it was the callous manner in which the authorities take care of these and its surroundings that left a bitter taste in all of us.

The first and foremost eye sore are the very large number of encroachments ads or lanes leading to the monument or temple or a garden etc. It simply is not a smooth walk way. The touts are all the time pestering you to avail their services. Instead of taking in the scenery of the spot one has to save oneself from the hordes of persons jumping all over you. Depending on the place either line of shops selling curios on both sides of the road or they are shabby eating joints. At some places the auto rickshaw or taxi drivers will make your life hell.

The tourist is not treated like a tourist but a cash cow which has to be milked.

The second nauseating experience is the liberal and well distributed heaps of fresh to stale cow dung on the road and lanes leading to tourist spots. The excreta of other animals like dogs is also there but cows are the star performers. At a few places it is common to find human excreta alongside the lanes and sides of the roads. Frequently someone steps on these to carry a bitter memory home.

Then there is the presence of open sewer  or drain lines on the sides of the road in which one can see all sorts of refuse. At frequent intervals these drains overflow onto the road making walking on them difficult.  At many places the taps are outside the houses and ladies are washing utensils or clothes and liberally spreading the water on the roads. One understands their helplessness and the by now hapless tourist sympathises with them.

The poor tourist has to save oneself from the clutches of the touts, while keep a watch that he/she does not step on cow dung and try to navigate from the flowing or stagnant drain waters to if one has to successfully reach the destination. Reaching the destination is like overcoming an obstacle race.

At most of the places the tourist is in for a bout of sadness. This is because the very items which have attracted him to visit are generally not maintained or taken care of properly by the concerned staff . In this neglect major contribution is by the government agencies and their officers and staff. If items are on display, either they are covered with dust or there is hardly any worthwhile write up. If  there is one it is usually of old vintage, broken or partly illegible or faded. Usually lighting is a casualty and at many places relics are kept so near to each other that one is not able to view them properly. The entry and exits are also shabby.

We visited a huge fort complex atop a hill which is claimed to be the only fort in which people are staying. Nothing wrong in it. The problem was right from the entry till the top we never got to see the fort walls. All we got to see on both sides were hanging bedsheets, pillow covers, table cloths, bags, local products etc. for sale purposes. The charm of entering a historical fort was totally lost by this invasion of commerce. Further on the narrow sloping road two wheelers and three wheelers were plying along with small size cars which totally eliminated our idea of the inside of a fort complex.

As soon as you near a temple there are people after you to take care of your shoes/chappals. This is because then you end up buying from there shop the offerings you will make to the inside god. Usually one reaches the inside sanctum after a great deal of jostling and the moment you have reached you are pushed ahead by some temple volunteer. At every turning there is someone inside asking for dakshina and encouraging you to donate liberally to him or into the donation boxes. In front of the temples there is a battalion of beggars pestering you to give alms. 

Very famous tourist spots even in Delhi are not kept properly. One of my worst memories is of seeing human excreta on a large flower base of a fountain in the Red Fort. When I complained to a staff member he shrugged his shoulders and said people are indisciplined. Remember Red Fort is a protected monument with guarded entry. 

The joy of visiting a tourist spot is to see it in all its pristine glory without distractions. The authorities should provide all relevant information on attractive hoardings and sign boards giving direction should be properly displayed.There should be proper parking places at the entrances for visitors to decently get down and later on locate their vehicles easily. There should be no pestering of the visitor by beggars,touts and guides etc. There should be a proper registration system for hiring gf guides. The staff at tourist places should be in uniform and their names should be displayed on their uniforms. There should be proper and hygenic arrangement of toilets. Only one or two decent eating places should be permitted to operate for tourists.

I have visited the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and the Great Wall in China and carry very sweet memories of my visit. The places are neat and clean and there are no beggars and only couple of shops selling relevant items of interest to tourists. Similarly museums in Europe are very well maintained with short and crisp write ups fixed very appropriately on the housings of the items. In America also the presentations are very pleasant and done very tastefully.

I have come to the conclusion that we as a nation are not proud of our heritage the way we should be. The visitor is only interested in 'seeing' the place and not feeling it. The staff are not proud of the site or the items and thus do not have their heart in their jobs. No one holds them accountable. The higher ups are devoid of ideas and are arm chair onlookers. The shopkeepers outside are interested in earning their bread and butter off the tourist and thus compete for his attention. The temple priests and staff are dependent on the tourist for their livelihood and are thus interested in milking him of his cash. It must be a profitable business because they don't change their profession.

The local politician is not bothered nor are the local administrators because for them  image of the state or country is not their priority. The tourist is not seen as a commercial multiplier.

I have been to a few countries and can say with confidence that our country has a tremendous potential in tourism across the country in all  states. The mind set of local residents and authorities have to change. The rich heritage of ours can attract the maximum tourists in the world. Even the most visited city of Agra is not maintained properly what to speak of lesser places. Tourism can become a multi billion dollar service industry in India requiring no imported raw materials like many other foreign exchange earning industries.

We need to keep the infrastructure around our tourist sites world class. Neatness and cleanliness are something  we are very shy of. It is high time we took care of both the domestic and international tourist or we want them also to go on hunger strike to wake up the authorities.