Recently, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun Erden announced at the launch ceremony of the national brand "Mongolia Tour" held at the National Palace in the capital Ulaanbaatar that Mongolia will receive more than 650,000 foreign tourists in 2023, and the tourism industry will generate 1.2 billion US dollars. This is the highest record in the history of Mongolia's tourism industry and an important achievement in the country's economic recovery after the pandemic.
Mongolia is a landlocked country with abundant natural resources and a unique culture, located in central Asia, bordering China and Russia. Mongolia's tourism industry has always been one of the pillars of the country's economy, attracting tourists from all over the world, especially those interested in steppe scenery, nomadic culture, and historical sites. Mongolia's tourism industry peaked in 2019, when it hosted 5770,000 foreign tourists, generating more than $600 million.
However, in 2020 and 2021, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Mongolia's tourism industry was hit hard, with the number of foreign tourists plummeting and tourism revenue significantly reduced. In response to this crisis, Mongolia** has taken a series of measures, including implementing air transport-related policies, increasing the frequency and capacity of international flights, increasing aviation cooperation with other countries, reducing airport taxes and fees, simplifying visa procedures, expanding the scope of visa-free countries, improving the quality of tourism services, strengthening tourism security, promoting tourism products and destinations, and enhancing international reputation.
These measures have had a remarkable effect, and in 2022, Mongolia's tourism industry began to recover, the number of foreign tourists returned to the level of 2019, and tourism revenue also increased. In 2023, Mongolia's tourism industry achieved a breakthrough, with the number of foreign tourists increasing by 14% to 650,000 and tourism revenue doubling to $1.2 billion. These figures show the strong momentum of Mongolia's tourism industry and reflect Mongolia's ability and confidence to recover its economy after the pandemic.
In order to further promote the development of tourism, Mongolia** declared 2023-2025 as the "Year of Visiting Mongolia" and announced the agenda of "Welcome to Mongolia for 2023 Events". In the next three years, Mongolia will host a series of international events, including the International Children's Day, the International Nomadic Culture Festival, the International Equestrian Festival, the International Wrestling Festival, the International Mongolian Festival, the International Mongolian Food Festival, the International Mongolian Costume Festival, the International Mongolian Art Festival, etc., to showcase Mongolia's diverse culture and charm. At the same time, Mongolia will also provide 30-day visa-free treatment to citizens of 34 countries, including Austria, to attract more foreign tourists.
Mongolian Governor Battseseg said that the trip to Mongolia is an important strategy of Mongolia, which aims to promote Mongolia, restore tourism, promote economic development, increase investment, strengthen friendly cooperation with other countries, and enhance Mongolia's international status and influence. He also said that Mongolia welcomes friends from all over the world to travel to Mongolia, experience Mongolia's natural scenery, understand Mongolia's history and culture, feel Mongolia's hospitality, and share Mongolia's development achievements.