Home

Back to Index

Elephant ride brings foreign exchange in Amber Fort
by Lokendra Singh

      Amer Fort (Rajasthan): The elephant ride at Amer Fort in Rajasthan is turning into a prime foreign exchange earner. US 12.5 dollar per ride is too little a price to pay for something so uniquely Indian. Hoards of foreign tourists, who arrive at the Amer Fort, seem to think so. For tourists, the serpentine paths that lead to the top of the majestic fort are best covered on elephant-back, a novelty unavailable in most western countries.

      "I like elephants. I think elephant ride would add to the trip and make it more exciting and romantic. It is really good and I like elephants," said Victoria, a tourist from England. Tourists like Victoria make the recent tourist season a success, contributing record earnings from the stately pachyderms. The Rajasthan Tourism Department has recorded 30 percent more income as compared to last year. "This year, we have tried to make the system more organised and systematic. This is a main attraction for foreign tourists by the Rajasthan tourism department. As compared to last year, this was a good year business wise. The state got a total revenue of 4 crore 72 lakhs from elephant rides alone. The rotations also increased to 17,000 rides from last year. This is a good outcome to our policy," said Urmila Rajoria, Additional Director of Rajasthan Tourism.

     Currently, there are 110 elephants employed at the Fort, with 96 working at any given time. According to figures, each elephant has earned 500,000 rupees each, higher than last year. This has happened despite a cap placed by the state administration on the number of rides undertaken by elephants. Unlimited rides have now been capped and each elephant undertakes only a limited number of rides. Elephants are not native to the desert state and were introduced centuries back by the erstwhile Rajput rulers. The elephant ride, an integral part of the tourist itinerary, was introduced way back in 1953 with a single elephant. The 16th-century Amer Fort, a few miles from Jaipur, is a hot tourist destination for thousands of domestic and foreign visitors.
-Feb 6,  2007

Leading Indian News Papers

Overseas Tourist
Offices

Tourist offices
in India

Helpline