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Tourism in Mongolia was extremely limited by the Socialist Government, but has been expanding following the 1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia in the wake of the collapse of the USSR and the Revolutions of 1989. Mongolia is a unique and relatively unexplored travel destination that offers a great combination of scenic natural features, a wide variety of untouched landscapes, nomadic life style and culture. Travel organizations in Mongolia date back to half a century ago, but the private sector-based tourism is barely twenty years old. Now Mongolia boasts 403 travel companies, 320 hotels, 647 resorts and tourist camps, all employing the graduates from over 56 educational establishments. [1] Mongolia takes an active part in United Nations World Tourism Organization, of which it is a member party.
To boost foreign investment in tourism, the Government of Mongolia offers special tax exemption equaling up to 10 percent of the total investment if offered for construction of high-rated hotels and tourist complexes. Licenses for tourism business were abolished and service provided by tour operators for expatriate visitors is now exempt from VAT. Standards and regulations are largely non-restrictive, with no complicated layers of bureaucracy issuing permission and exercising control.
A vivid example of the successful reform of the legal framework is the progressive increase of the number of visitors – the number reaching 450,000 in 2010 - tripling the 2000 estimate. [2] With one of the world's lowest population densities, the vastness of the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland, desert, as well as the numerous mountains, rivers and lakes offer plenty of adventure. Although backpacking is becoming more common, travel outside Ulanbataar is mostly arranged by tour operator companies.
In January 2013, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Mongolia approved official slogan for Mongolia's tourism called “Go Nomadic, Experience Mongolia”[ citation needed ] which, it believes, will properly position help boost tourism industry in Mongolia. However, after a year the Ministry replaced the official slogan to new "Mongolia - Nomadic by Nature.[ citation needed ]
On March 5, 2014, during ITB Berlin 2014 exhibition in Germany, officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Mongolia signed an agreement to become official partner country for ITB Berlin 2015. [3]
The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Mongolia has been restructured into the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism in December, 2014 as a result of country's government cabinet change.[ citation needed ]
Activity travels available include trekking, climbing, bird watching, horse riding, rafting, camel riding, yak caravan and overland motorcycle tours. Many of these tours focus strongly on ecology and wildlife, and almost all of them include the Gobi Desert as one of their destinations; apart from its numerous native animal species, the desert is famous for its fossilised dinosaur bones and eggs. Mongolia's lakes represent another good hiking destination, as do the Four Holy Peaks surrounding Ulaanbaatar or the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, in the Umnugobi. [2] The economy of Mongolia is expecting "unstoppable" growth as its natural resources are tapped, [4] which will enable further investment in infrastructure.
In 2023, Mongolia decided to promote tourism and allow visitors from 34 countries enter the country visa-free until the end of 2025. [5] Among the countries which citizens can enter Mongolia visa-free are all the European Union countries (except for Germany, which have already had visa-free entry to Mongolia), UK, Australia and New Zealand. [6]
Most visitors arriving to Mongolia on short term basis for tourism were from the following countries of nationality:
Country | 2/2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 21,750 | 213,332 | 153,162 | 12,525 | 29,635 | 141,927 | 129,095 |
![]() | 15,069 | 108,869 | 11,186 | 5,763 | 13,513 | 168,298 | 163,979 |
![]() | 7,283 | 139,512 | 53,382 | 2,312 | 5,060 | 101,279 | 84,184 |
![]() | 1,635 | 20,537 | 17,555 | 727 | 1,509 | 16,264 | 16,144 |
![]() | 1,210 | 19,600 | 6,411 | 377 | 1,131 | 24,419 | 20,990 |
![]() | 916 | 13,539 | 8,562 | 1,570 | 1,147 | 18,838 | 17,838 |
![]() | 743 | 6,902 | 4,029 | 4,026 | 2,090 | 2,902 | 2,210 |
![]() | 585 | 9,725 | 3,994 | 511 | 599 | 12,405 | 10,819 |
![]() | 569 | 6,108 | 3,453 | 1,401 | 545 | 1,874 | 2,699 |
![]() | 469 | 5,129 | 317 | 30 | 95 | 5,930 | 5,233 |
![]() | 277 | 5,677 | 2,863 | 213 | 305 | 10,572 | 9,773 |
![]() | 261 | 3,437 | 1,340 | 132 | 383 | 7,014 | 7,495 |
![]() | 261 | 3,319 | 1,578 | 182 | 302 | 5,931 | 5,905 |
![]() | 242 | 2,004 | 618 | 93 | 127 | 2,631 | 2,259 |
![]() | 187 | 1,515 | 774 | 107 | 57 | 727 | 524 |
![]() | 150 | 1,952 | 1,103 | 123 | 169 | 3,594 | 3,578 |
![]() | 122 | 1,929 | 1,041 | 194 | 184 | 2,478 | 2,298 |
![]() | 107 | 2,235 | 1,034 | 71 | 53 | 2,062 | 1,731 |
![]() | 94 | 1,570 | 1,309 | 14 | 65 | 1,061 | 704 |
![]() | 82 | 2,160 | 753 | 29 | 65 | 3,010 | 2,649 |
![]() | 77 | 1,278 | 792 | 63 | 86 | 3,613 | 3,777 |
![]() | 77 | 1,091 | 468 | 54 | 79 | 1,204 | 1,169 |
![]() | 71 | 1,356 | 686 | 66 | 76 | 2,927 | 2,665 |
![]() | 69 | 2,622 | 244 | 8 | 147 | 4,311 | 3,121 |
![]() | 61 | 2,488 | 1,007 | 174 | 74 | 3,655 | 3,192 |
![]() | 46 | 1,003 | 419 | 35 | 48 | 2,080 | 1,969 |
Total | 53,691 | 594,013 | 286,282 | 33,100 | 58,859 | 577,300 | 529,370 |
Source: Ulaanbaatar Tourism Department [7] [8] [9] [10] |
The main festival is world-famous Naadam, which has been organized for centuries and is held on July 11 to July 13 in honor of the Democratic Revolution. Naadam consists of three Mongolian traditional sports: archery, long-distance horse-racing, and Mongolian wrestling. In 2013, The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Mongolia published Mongolia Tourism Calendar of Events 2013, in which the Ministry collected all public events related to Mongolian tourism and culture.[ citation needed ] Many events included in the calendar, which is also available for download online, are repeat events.
Other events include:
The festival includes two types of camel races, Camel-Polo, and some other competitions related to camel breeders’ cultural heritage, such as training of untamed camels, making ropes from camel wool, and loading. And there is a folk concert by school children from the county.[ citation needed ]
The festival is held annually March 6–7 for two days at Bulgan county, South Gobi province, Mongolia. The festival is one of the heart touching events because of the camel training and other activities related to the camel breeding tradition. [ citation needed ]
Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar is the major international airport in the country, offering scheduled flights to and from Russia, China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Germany and Turkey.
The Trans-Mongolian Line of the classic and well known Trans-Siberian Railway connects Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar with Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia as well as Beijing, China.
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometres, with a population of just 3.5 million, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state. Mongolia is the world's largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country's population.
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, located between China and Russia. The terrain is one of mountains and rolling plateaus, with a high degree of relief. The total land area of Mongolia is 1,564,116 square kilometres. Overall, the land slopes from the high Altai Mountains of the west and the north to plains and depressions in the east and the south. The Khüiten Peak in extreme western Mongolia on the Chinese border is the highest point. The lowest point is at 560 m (1,840 ft), is the Hoh Nuur or lake Huh. The country has an average elevation of 1,580 m (5,180 ft).
Ulaanbaatar, previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. With a population of 1.6 million, it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipality is located in north central Mongolia at an elevation of about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. The city was founded in 1639 as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre, changing location 28 times, and was permanently settled at its modern location in 1778.
Articles related to Mongolia include:
The national flag of Mongolia is a vertical triband with a red stripe at each side and a blue stripe in the middle, with the Mongolian Soyombo symbol centering on the leftmost stripe. The blue stripe represents the eternal blue sky, and the red stripes thriving for eternity. The Soyombo symbol is a geometric abstraction that represents fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and a symbol representing two fish as in Mongol mythology fish never sleep thus symbolizing that the spirit of the Mongol people never sleeps.
The culture of Mongolia has been shaped by the country's nomadic tradition and its position at the crossroads of various empires and civilizations. Mongolian culture is influenced by the cultures of the Mongolic, Turkic, and East Asian peoples, as well as by the country's geography and its history of political and economic interactions with other nations.
Bayan-Ölgii is the westernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The country's only Muslim and Kazakh-majority aimag, it was established in August 1940. Its capital is Ölgii.
The Bayankhongor Province or Bayanhongor Aimag is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southwest of the country and, at 116,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest aimags. The capital of the aimag shares the provincial name, Bayankhongor.
Khövsgöl is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
Erdenet is the second-largest city in Mongolia, with a 2018 population of 98,057, and the capital of the aimag (province) of Orkhon. Located in the northern part of the country, it lies in a valley between the Selenge and Orkhon rivers about 240 km (149 mi) northwest of Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, the capital. The road length between Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet is about 370 km (230 mi).
Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh, is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match. Bökh means "firmness, reliability, vitality, wrestler", from Mongolic root *bekü "firm, hard, solid; fighter, strong man" possibly from Turkic *böke "warrior" < "Dragon". Wrestling is the most important of the Mongolian culture's historic "Three Manly Skills", that also include horsemanship and archery. Genghis Khan considered wrestling to be an important way to keep his army in good physical shape and combat ready. The court of the Qing dynasty (1646–1911) held regular wrestling events, mainly between ethnic Manchu and Mongol wrestlers. There are several different versions, Mongolian, Buryatian, Oirat and Inner Mongolian.
Ölgii is the capital of the Bayan-Ölgii Aimag (province) of Mongolia, located in the extreme west of the country on the banks of the Khovd River. It lies on an altitude of 1,710 meters. As of 2014 it had a population of 30,338 people.
Religion in Mongolia has been traditionally dominated by the schools of Mongolian Buddhism and by Mongolian shamanism, the ethnic religion of the Mongols. Historically, through their Mongol Empire the Mongols were exposed to the influences of Christianity and Islam, although these religions never came to dominate. During the communist period of the Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1992) all religions were suppressed, but with the transition to the parliamentary republic in the 1990s there has been a general revival of faiths.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mongolia:
Mongolia's education system has undergone colossal changes in the 20th century. The education reforms during communist times were a stark break with traditional education that was often religious and esoteric. These reforms were modeled on Soviet education systems and greatly expanded access to education for Mongolian citizens. Among the changes was a transition from the traditional Mongolian script, from 1941 to 1946, to the Cyrillic alphabet. Literacy was greatly expanded as most of the population enjoyed free primary school. However, the move to democracy and free markets in the 1990s has had some negative impacts on education in Mongolia, though these setbacks have been ameliorated some by an improving economy and policy reforms. Many adults benefit from the non-formal distance education programmes sponsored by the government in conjunction with foreign NGOs. Today education in Mongolia is overseen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science.
Rail transport is an important means of travel in the landlocked country of Mongolia, which has relatively few paved roads. According to official statistics, rail transport carried 93% of Mongolian freight and 43% of passenger turnover in 2007. The Mongolian rail system employs 12,500 people. The national operator is UBTZ, traditionally also known as Mongolian Railway. This can be a source of confusion, since MTZ is a distinct company established in 2008. The Mongolian Railway College is located in Ulaanbaatar.
The Mongolia Charity Rally is the charity rally from London to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolia Charity Rally is organised by Charity Rallies, part of Go Help, a UK-based charity.
Visitors to Mongolia must obtain a visa from one of the Mongolian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.
Tavan Bogd Group is a Mongolian conglomerate with 14 subsidiaries and four affiliates in trades and services, manufacturing, financial services and mining supplies along with restaurant, tourism and hospitality businesses in Mongolia. Established in 1995, Tavan Bogd Group is one of the largest corporations in Mongolia, officially representing some of the world’s best-known brands such as Toyota, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Colgate-Palmolive, Toto, L'Occitane en Provence, KFC, Pizza Hut, Bridgestone, Heinz, Funai, Xerox and Double A. In addition, Tavan Bogd Group sells luxury cashmere products through Gobi Cashmere, which currently operates about 140 boutique stores in 40 countries.
Gobi Corporation(Mongolian: ГОВЬ ХК) is a Mongolian cashmere manufacturer co-headquartered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
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