Mongolia expects to receive more tourists this month

Oyundelger 2019-07-05 06:07

Society

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism reported that it is hopeful that at least 15,000 foreign tourists will visit during the national holiday Naadam festival this month.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism reported that it is hopeful that at least 15,000 foreign tourists will visit during the national holiday Naadam festival this month. The Naadam Festival, which is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage, is an official holiday celebrated every year from July 11 to 15 across the country and features horse racing, archery, and wrestling. The Minister of Environment and Tourism noted that the ministry has been working to improve services to cater to foreign tourists. Mongolia has been striving to develop its tourism sector in a bid to diversify its mining-dependent economy. Furthermore, Mongolia has set itself a goal of receiving 1 million foreign tourists and earning 1 billion U.S. dollars from tourism by 2020. Mongolia attracted around 530 thousand foreign tourists in 2018, of which about 12,000 visited the Naadam festival, according to the ministry.