Ulaanbaatar, February 11, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The "Tourism Week-2025" commenced on February 10, 2025, with the "Regional Development and Tourism" Forum.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth of Mongolia and the Mongolia Tourism Organization are jointly organizing this Forum for the second year to strengthen coordination within Mongolia's tourism sector and enhance collaboration between the public and private sectors. Participants are discussing the sector's pressing challenges, potential solutions, and pathways forward. They emphasized that tourism plays a vital role in economic growth and development, highlighting the importance of continuous innovation and reform, as well as the need for timely and efficient cross-sector information sharing to foster sustainable tourism.

The tourism industry in Mongolia came to a standstill during the pandemic, incurring losses of MNT 1.6 trillion. However, it has since rebounded, with revenue increasing by 65 percent. In 2023, Mongolia generated USD 1.2 billion in tourism revenue, and in 2024, the country welcomed 808,956 tourists, earning USD 1.6 billion.

Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Youth of Mongolia Nomin Chinbat noted, "Tourism revenue has increased 2.8 times compared to 2022. Last year, we launched a partnership with Trip.com, enabling international travelers to book flights to Mongolia and purchase travel services directly. Additionally, to expand transportation capacity for tourists, we signed agreements on aviation relations with several countries and actively worked on securing flight permits. As a result, direct flights are now available to a total of 155 destinations. For the first time in history, Mongolia’s air transport sector has served over 2 million passengers. Of the tourists visiting Mongolia, 47 percent are interested in eco and adventure tourism. Solo travel is becoming a global trend, making it essential for us to develop such experiences in line with international standards. Additionally, as artificial intelligence continues to advance in a big way, integrating technologies such as chatbots into our operations is crucial.”

CEO of the Mongolia Tourism Organization M. Narangerel highlighted, "Mongolia has an extreme climate, but travel and outdoor activities are possible year-round, not just in summer. In January alone, we welcomed 33,462 tourists, the highest number ever recorded in the winter season, demonstrating the growing interest in Mongolia’s winter tourism. To develop four-season tourism, we need to systematically improve infrastructure, attract investment, and train a skilled workforce. One of the key challenges in this industry is domestic air travel, particularly the capacity of national flag carriers. Given Mongolia’s vast territory, flying is the only viable option to reach certain destinations. However, high flight costs make it difficult to design competitive tourism packages."

Mongolia is seeking to welcome 2 million tourists annually by 2030 and increase tourism revenue to USD 8 billion. To achieve this, the country plans to develop tourism in regional clusters. For example, the central region will be developed as a sub-region focused on diversified agriculture and industry, while the eastern region will be developed as a specialized area for historical tourism and intensive agriculture.

Over 1,000 representatives from more than 600 businesses in the tourism sector are participating in the "Tourism Week 2025" event. Throughout this week, they will engage in discussions on topics such as tourism strategy, infrastructure, destination services, and product development.