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Mongolia seeks to grow tourism sector amid challenges www.channelnewsasia.com
Most of the groups that tour guide Ariun Bold leads in Mongolia are from neighbouring China.
“The mainland may have been cooped up for a longer period of time, so after the removal of restrictions, the uncles and aunties might want to travel abroad more,” said the 26-year-old.
Although she is Mongolian, Ms Bold, who is known as Xiao Ai to the tour groups, speaks fluent Mandarin, a language she picked up while studying in Shanghai, on a scholarship funded by the Chinese government.
Among the itinerary for tourists is a visit to the towering 40m-high equestrian statue of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire, which sits on the famous Mongolian steppe and a trip to the Gobi desert.
She believes more are curious about Mongolia after the country became part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The global infrastructure project is meant to improve China's connections with the rest of the world, in a 21st-century version of the Silk Road trading routes from China to the Middle East and onto Europe.
“When people talk about the Belt and Road, they will definitely think of Mongolia or these regions in Central Asia. After all, it was indeed a very important country at that time. It was in the 13th century, and Mongolia was a trading city,” said Ms Bold.
BOOSTING TOURISM SECTOR
The visitors come at a time when Mongolia is looking to boost its tourism sector, as it looks to diversify its economy beyond its export-oriented mining industry.
In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 570,000 foreign tourists visited Mongolia. A third of them came from China.
As of October last year, this number surpassed 600,000, the country’s tourism revenue stood at more than US$1 billion.
China, Russia and South Korea are Mongolia’s biggest source of tourists.
“They are our neighbours and relations are better now. We mainly wanted to see the steppes. We are on a 19-day journey, passing through Mongolia, reaching Moscow. It is a long journey but I like it,” said 68-year-old tourist Chen Nanqun, who hails from Nanjing city in eastern China.
“That adventure style outdoors holiday is becoming an increasing trend amongst young Chinese professionals who want to go and experience something a bit different. There's also the wellness aspect, that's also starting to develop in Mongolia,” said Mr Chris Devonshire-Ellis, an investment consultant with experience in the region.
CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS
However, Mr Devonshire-Ellis noted that there are challenges to be addressed, including historical sensitivities between China and Mongolia.
Also, about 30 per cent of the Mongolian population are still nomadic herders living a traditional way of life.
Mongolia is not a hugely rich country and given a strong sense of culture, are at times reluctant to develop, he said.
“You really only have one big city, Ulaanbaatar, which in the winter … becomes rather polluted. (It) has Soviet-era coal-burning furnaces to heat the population and that creates significant pollution during the winter,” said Mr Devonshire-Ellis, chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates.
A balance among development, preserving culture and the environment is something that experts say will have to be struck by Mongolia, especially as climate change has caused desertification and other changes.
Published Date:2024-01-06
