Tourism could comprise 10% of Mongolia’s gross domestic product if the country can attract 2 million annual tourists by 2030, the country’s tourism minister told CNBC Wednesday. Â
“We now have a giant, ambitious form of goal, which is about 2 million tourists by 2030, which can be around a $4 billion contribution towards our GDP,” said Nomin Chinbat, Mongolia’s minister of culture, sports, tourism and youth.
Money from tourists currently makes up between 3%-4% of Mongolia’s GDP, she said.
The landlocked Asian country welcomed a record-breaking 808,000 foreigners in 2024, and interest continues to rise, especially amongst those searching for nature, adventure, culture and spiritual tourism, Chinbat said.
“Tourism numbers have been growing quite rapidly,” she said. “12 months on yr, growth has been around 9%. We’re wishing to extend it to 16%.”
Incoming flights from the US
United Airlines’ first flight to Mongolia landed Thursday night, an event Chinbat called a “milestone” for the country’s tourism industry.
“We have recently done a Mongolian tourism strategy with Boston Consulting Group, and one among the important thing features with a purpose to improve our tourism industry is international connectivity, and particularly from North America.”
She said Mongolia is hoping that the thrice-weekly flights, which land in Tokyo before departing for the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, will “at the least the double” the variety of U.S. visitors, which last yr topped 22,000 people.
“The USA is one among our source markets, a market we’re working towards, and the incontrovertible fact that it’s one airline, despite the fact that it’s connecting in Narita [Airport], it would make it rather more convenient for people to find a way to fly to Mongolia.”
Most inbound travelers to Mongolia hail from its neighboring countries of China and Russia, in addition to South Korea.
Investing in infrastructure
Mongolia needs to take a position $4 billion to construct roads, hotels, camps and other infrastructure to support its burgeoning tourism industry, Chinbat said.
“The federal government is creating low-rate, long run loans for private and non-private entities to cooperate together with a purpose to quickly increase the infrastructure,” she said.
As interest in visiting Mongolia rises, Chinbat said, the country’s biggest challenge is ensuring that the country grows in a sustainable way.
“We’d like to ensure that our natural resources are … sustained. And on the opposite side, that locals advantages from the tourists coming into Mongolia too,” she said.
