India's Taj Mahal is the most searched for Unesco World Heritage site in the world, with an average of 1.4 million searches per month, and the most popular in the UAE. Photo: Unsplash / Faisal Fraz
India's Taj Mahal is the most searched for Unesco World Heritage site in the world, with an average of 1.4 million searches per month, and the most popular in the UAE. Photo: Unsplash / Faisal Fraz
India's Taj Mahal is the most searched for Unesco World Heritage site in the world, with an average of 1.4 million searches per month, and the most popular in the UAE. Photo: Unsplash / Faisal Fraz
India's Taj Mahal is the most searched for Unesco World Heritage site in the world, with an average of 1.4 million searches per month, and the most popular in the UAE. Photo: Unsplash / Faisal Fraz

Travel

News

India’s Taj Mahal is the world’s most popular Unesco-listed landmark

The white marble masterpiece is also the most searched for World Heritage Site in the UAE, Saudi and Oman

Hayley Skirka
Hayley Skirka

May 04, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

India’s Taj Mahal is the most popular Unesco-listed World Heritage site.

The famed marble mausoleum in Agra ranks first in a new study listing World Heritage Sites that people around the world most want to visit.

Zitango Travel, travel agents and destination specialists, studied online search data to find out which Unesco sites were the most searched for.

The Taj Mahal was the most coveted, with an average of 1.4 million searches per month.

Widely considered one of the most beautiful buildings ever created, the mausoleum in the state of Uttar Pradesh was built nearly 400 years ago and is a must-see destination for many tourists around the world.

Travellers in the UAE were particularly keen on the landmark, with the Indian mausoleum complex the most searched for, totalling an average of 8,300 searches per month. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain travellers also searched for the Indian attraction, more than any other in the world.

The Indian dedication to Mumtaz Mahal ranked first across Asia, being the most searched for heritage site in almost half of the countries across the continent.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Jordan’s Petra ranked first for search traffic in Palestine, Qatar and Israel. The ancient capital of the Nabataean empire was declared a heritage site by Unesco in 1985, and listed as one of the new seven wonders of the world in 2007.

People in Lebanon and Jordan preferred to look to Turkey, with Cappadocia which is famed for its hot-air balloons and cave dwellings the most searched for in both countries.

The 10 most popular Unesco World Heritage Sites

  • 1. India's Taj Mahal is the world's most searched for Unesco World Heritage site, according to Zitango Travel, travel agents and destination specialists.
    1. India's Taj Mahal is the world's most searched for Unesco World Heritage site, according to Zitango Travel, travel agents and destination specialists.
  • 2. Peru's ancient Inca capital Machu Picchu is the world's second most searched for Unesco Heritage site. Photo: Pedro Szekely / flickr
    2. Peru's ancient Inca capital Machu Picchu is the world's second most searched for Unesco Heritage site. Photo: Pedro Szekely / flickr
  • 3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was added to the Unesco list in 2017. AFP
    3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was added to the Unesco list in 2017. AFP
  • 4. Yellowstone National Park in western US is the fourth most searched for Unesco heritage site. AP Photo
    4. Yellowstone National Park in western US is the fourth most searched for Unesco heritage site. AP Photo
  • 5. The stone circle at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, in the UK. PA
    5. The stone circle at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, in the UK. PA
  • 6. The Statue of Liberty in New York. AFP
    6. The Statue of Liberty in New York. AFP
  • 7. Petra archeological site is one of Jordan's most famous landmarks. EPA
    7. Petra archeological site is one of Jordan's most famous landmarks. EPA
  • 8. Italy's Cinque Terre is ranked eighth globally but first in Europe in the most popular Unesco-listed World Heritage sites. Unsplash / Mark Pecar
    8. Italy's Cinque Terre is ranked eighth globally but first in Europe in the most popular Unesco-listed World Heritage sites. Unsplash / Mark Pecar
  • 9. France's Palace of Versailles. Unsplash / Matthias Redding
    9. France's Palace of Versailles. Unsplash / Matthias Redding
  • 10. Mexico's Chichen Itza Mayan ruins. Unsplash / Mario La Pergola
    10. Mexico's Chichen Itza Mayan ruins. Unsplash / Mario La Pergola
  1. Taj Mahal, India
  2. Machu Picchu, Peru
  3. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  4. Yellowstone National Park, United States
  5. Stonehenge, UK
  6. Statue of Liberty, United States
  7. Petra, Jordan
  8. Cinque Terre, Italy
  9. Palace of Versailles, France
  10. Chichen Itza, Mexico

Globally, South America’s most famous ruins were the second most searched for Unesco Heritage site, with 1,100,000 in global search volume for Peru's Machu Picchu, according to Zitango.

Ranking third for search traffic is Brazil’s historic city of Rio de Janeiro, which was added to the Unesco list in 2017. Travellers flock to the the seaside city for its annual carnival celebrations, Copacabana Beach, and the 98-foot Christ The Redeemer statue atop Corcovado mountain.

RESULT

Liverpool 4 Southampton 0
Jota (2', 32')
Thiago (37')
Van Dijk (52')

Man of the match: Diogo Jota (Liverpool)

Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth

MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')

Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
While you're here
South Africa squad

Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.

RACE CARD

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.

If you go

The flights 

Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.

The trip

The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore  offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.

The hotel

There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.

 

 

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
RESULT

Fifth ODI, at Headingley

England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Cofe

Year started: 2018

Based: UAE

Employees: 80-100

Amount raised: $13m

Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group 

SQUADS

South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi

Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed

Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The other virus: bigotry
Joe Root's Test record

Tests: 53; Innings: 98; Not outs: 11; Runs: 4,594; Best score: 254; Average: 52.80; 100s: 11; 50s: 27

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
While you're here
While you're here
About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

The%20specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E261hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400Nm%20at%201%2C750-4%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.5L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C999%20(VX%20Luxury)%3B%20from%20Dh149%2C999%20(VX%20Black%20Gold)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES

New Zealand v France, second Test
Saturday, 12.35pm (UAE)
Auckland, New Zealand

South Africa v Wales
Sunday, 12.40am (UAE), San Juan, Argentina

Updated: May 04, 2022, 2:02 PM
India