The world-renowned Taj Mahal is clamping down on visitors: Starting April 1, you’ll only be allowed to spend up to three hours at a time touring the UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s known for its gleaming white marble facade. The change goes into effect on Monday, CNN reports, and will impact as many as 8 million visitors a year.
The policy “is being implemented so that the movement of visitors can be regulated," a spokesperson for the Archaeological Survey of India, which oversees the Taj Mahal, told CNN. The twin aims are to prevent overcrowding and also help preserve the historic site. "Day by day, the number of visitors are increasing,” the spokesperson, D. N. Dimri, told CNN. “This is to ensure no untoward incidents or accidents occur."
The Taj can draw crowds of 50,000 people per day on busy weekends. Dimri also noted there haven't been any incidents yet due to the large volume, but the iconic structure is already facing preservation concerns: In 2016, the exterior started turning green after a swell in Goeldichironomus insects breeding led to them excreting on the marble—yes, really—resulting in a “fuzz” on the surface. And attempts to remove the stains reportedly cause further damage.
The Taj Mahal is far from the first famous place to put caps on tourism. Angkor Wat has restricted the number of people who can visit the top floor of the central tower to 100 at a time—and almost doubled the ticket prices to stem the flow of tourists. Santorini made a similar move when the island capped at 8,000 the number of cruise visitors allowed on the island each day. Machu Picchu will be cracking down starting next year by making tourists "hire a guide, follow one of three designated routes, and be subjected to time limits." These are reasonable precautions, as destinations like Boracay in the Philippines have already paid a price for mass tourism: In February, President Rodrigo Duterte referred to the once idyllic island as a “cesspool,” in light of the environmental damage and “insufficient solid waste management” caused by the crowds. The island will be closing, starting April 26, for six months of rehabilitation.
