Tourism

The tourism industry has taken on an increasingly central role in Mongolia in recent years. In 2013 the country saw more than 415,000 incoming visitors and reported market turnover of $263m, which represented about 4% of GDP at the end of the year. These moves are in line with the government’s ambitious short-term and medium-term objectives, which include increasing international arrivals to 600,000 in 2015 and 1m by 2017. These goals will be supported by a considerable reworking of Mongolia’s tourism regulatory framework, which was under way as of April 2015. Broadly, under the new legislation, the government plans to take on a more active role in the development of the tourism sector and to work to facilitate increased transparency and competitiveness in the private sector. Most local players agree that Mongolia has the potential to eventually become a sizeable and highly profitable tourist destination. The country’s many tourism assets bode well for growth, as does the government’s restructuring effort.

This chapter contains an interview with B. Indraa, Executive Director, Tourism for Future NGO, and Director of the Governing Board, Mongolia National Tourism Organisation.