Mongolia's tourist arrivals up around 400 pct in first 5 months

Mongolia has received a total of 42,060 foreign tourists in the first five months of this year, up 391.7 percent from the same period last year, the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism said Wednesday.

The sharp increase is directly related to Mongolia's re-opening of its borders to foreign tourists, according to the ministry. In February, Mongolia canceled its heightened state of readiness imposed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia and South Korea were the biggest sources of foreign tourists to Mongolia during the January-May period, it said.

Currently, Mongolia's economy is largely dependent on its export-oriented mining sector. Developing tourism is seen as the most viable way to diversify the economy.

Mongolia has set a goal of welcoming 1 million foreign tourists and earning 1 billion U.S. dollars from tourism in 2024, and planned to set 2023 and 2024 as "Years to Visit Mongolia" to promote the pandemic-hit tourism sector.

In addition, as part of its efforts to promote the tourism sector, the Mongolian government has decided to allow South Korean tourists to visit Mongolia without a visa for up to 90 days until the end of 2024. The visa-free policy took effect on June 1.