Tourism Review Online Magazine - Destination Mongolia

8/6/2019 Tourism Review Online Magazine - Destination Mongolia

1/11

Monola nown for ts ast

plains, Nomads and cheerful

feasts. Dscoer the contry

that is opening up to the global

torst oern prsne natre,

rocy montans as well astours through the modern capi-

tal ulaanbaatar.


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DESTINATION monol ia: goin hot and cold

June, 2011

d y Kw? That Mongolians are the only people whohave 54 names for a horse.

That the rst Naonal Park in the world wasestablished in Mongolia? In 1778 the BogdKhaan mountain range was declared as aNaonal Park.

That territory of Mongolia is three mes thesize of France but its populaon is 30 mesless than that of France.

MongoliaTourism.gov.mn

mongoliA the Wild

lAnd of nomAds

Mongolia is one of the last nspoled prsnelands on or small planet wld, splendd andrtally ntact astness.

Snow-capped montans, ancent olca-noes, rn forests, placd laes, pre rersfll of freshwater sh and steppes that areserenely whte or ml-colored from lshreen, bronze or yellow rass ... Fana andora, althoh threatened to some extent bythe whims of nature or human excesses, areextraordnarly derse and exberant espe-cally drn warm seasons.

Despite its ceasing resorts of loneliness, its sll an nhabted wlderness, nown n tsnqe recesses only by Monolans who haeroamed the vast plains for centuries. These

frendly and cordal people embody the sprtof ths harsh natre, to whch they belon, loeand now so mch abot.

A half of ts 2.5 mllon nhabtants sll pre-sere a nomadc lfestyle, freely mran nthe steppes, mountains and deserts and livingon lestoc breedn and natral resorces,follown thosand-year-old tradons.


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June, 2011

Althoh "rbanzed", the other half neer

loses an occason to adentre nto the nntesteppes both for pleasre and necessty.

Mongols are nomads in the heart. However,

nle other few nomadc naons on earth,ther lfestyle s natrally reconzed by thecontry's leaders and compatrots.

Monola s a free democrac contry wherethe economy, obosly mared by the col-lapse of a commnst system once ery rmlyestablshed, depends manly on lestoc that

s ten mes more than the contry's popla-on. Sheep, horse, camel, oat, cow and yaherds graze on rich semi-wild vast pasturestriple the size of France.

The two terrble wnters of 2000 and 2001had a seere mpact on the contry. Manynomadic families who lost their herds migratedto sele n the rban areas, manly n the cap-

tal cty, the poplaon of whch has reached

oer a mllon n the last two yearsindependence of ths contry aer centres

of Manch domnaon followed by Rssancontrol and sral of a rtally nchanedway of lfe and cltre for centres s almosta mracle. Prod of ther loros hstory, Mon-gols live in peace with their powerful neigh-bors onn aan ther belefs as Anmsts andBddhsts.

Despite its geographical enclavement Mon-

golia opens to the world, and this openingdesred by the maorty of Monols wll enablethem to test the strenth of ther denty andto carry a messae of peace, harmony and tol-erance by the powerfl wnds of the steppes.

hp://www.e-mongol.com
http://www.olomouc-guide.com/


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June, 2011

The global economic slowdown caused adramatic drop in demand for and prices ofMonolan natral resorces. The economyand torsm sffered consderably as a con-

seqence. Domestc torsm was mpacted

mongoliAs tourism industry

fAcing chAllenges

healy. Monola has felt the mpact ofthe lobal economc crss more healythan most contres n Asa. The nmberof nbond arrals fell as wea prchasn

power affected both the ablty to trael and

the travel choices of international consum-ers.

The number of arrivals and departuresdeclned n 2010. The mpact of the lobaleconomic downturn caused travel and tour-sm prodcts and serces to shrn. Theongoing global economic crisis discouragedmany wold be traelers n recesson-htmarets sch as the uS, the uk, japan andCanada.

The number of outbound travelers, whichs nderdeeloped, fell sncantly as Mon-olan consmers stayed at home. Wth hol-dayn sll consdered a lxry, Monolanconsmers were frther dscoraed by wea-ened prchasn power, persstent naonarypressure and a lower exchange rate, and as aresult, travelling abroad was low on their list ofprores drn 2010.

chinA groWs in importAnce

Chna has conned to row n mportanceas the leading source of inbound arrivals overthe reew perod. Chnas rown economcpower and eoraphc proxmty hae felledgreater interest in Mongolia. This has helpeddrive growth in the number of trips to Mongo-lia. Chinese businesses and government haveincreased their demand for development and

nestment n the contrys natral resorces,


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June, 2011

nfrastrctre and torsm, ncldn hhwaysand hotels.

government involvement BeloW the expectAtions

As a deelopn economy and a small pop-laon the rown nterest n Monola haslead to an almost exclusive focus on the coun-trys natral resorces, oen at the expense ofndstres wth reat economc potenal. Manyndstry players feel that the oernment hasnot scently promoted Monola abroad. Atthe same me, mproements n the torsm-related infrastructure have been slow. This hascreated a dclt enronment for ndstryplayers, wth smaller operators especally feel-ing the brunt of the economic downturn.

tourism focus expAnding BeyondulAAnBAAtAr

ulaanbaatar has lon domnated Monolastrael and torsm ndstry. The captal ctys home to the naons only nternaonal ar-port. As a captal cty, ulaanbaatar fnconsas an economc centre for the rapdly expand-n domesc resorces ndstry and s a pol-cal and cltral hb. Relaely lle focs hasbeen placed on sncant torsm deelop-ments otsde of the captal cty.

sloW recovery AnticipAted

A slow recoery n Monolas torsm econ-omy s expected. Whlst oernment spport sexpected to remain below that seen in neigh-

born marets, awareness of Monola as anappealn holday desnaon, parclarly foradentre traelers, s set to help smlaterowth n nternaonal arrals. Otbondtourist trips are forecast to recover even latersince approvals are needed for outbound trav-els. in the lon term, reater nfrastrctredeelopment by the oernment wll lead toa gradual improvement and expansion of the

naons road and hhway networ, whch wllboost domesc trael and spport nterna-onal arrals.

(Execuve summary from Euromonitor Internaonalsreport )

hp://www.euromonitor.com

Aa ma(000 )

2009 2010 2011Forecast

China 204.5 198.4 198.8

Russia 51.3 48.8 48.0

South Korea 48.5 46.8 46.5

Japan 16.2 15.9 16.1

USA 10.9 10.4 10.2

Germany 8.5 8.2 8.2

United Kingdom 5.7 5.4 5.2

France 5.5 5.3 5.3

2011 Euromonitor Internaonal


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June, 2011

Mongolia, the land of endless steppes andnomadc tradons s chann; t s happennery fast bt s t a chane for ood or rather achane for worse?

Mongolia is undergoing an economicchane the land of genhs khan s eolnfast and the contry has recently oned theworld of rapdly deelopn naons. Thans tothe abundance of mineral resources, the coun-

try has opened tself p to lare lobal mnn

players een to mae the most of ts nder-rond wealth. The gDP of the contry s setto trple oer the next few years wth ts smallpoplaon (3 mllon) set to become one of thelobally wealthest per capta wthn the next10 years.

This change is apparent the most in the capi-

tal cty of ulaanbaatar where ts czens sportnew Los von bas, where cars are new

and expense and where ostentaos dsplays

of wealth are becomn ncreasnly common.Ths s also sble n the new lxry syscrap-ers appearn all oer the cty and the newshopping malls bustling with expensive goods.

Ths has both pose and neae mpactson the contry and ts torsm ndstry. Amon

the pose eects s the deelopment of thetransport nfrastrctre. A rcher contry caninvest in improving roads, opening new airlinerotes and prodn ncenes to the pratesector to nest n hosptalty and torsm.

The investments of the private sector can bealready seen n the deelopment of nterna-onal brand hotels n ulaanbaatar. Shanr-La,Hlton, Best Western, Sheraton and Ramadaare all n constrcon and set to open n the

next cople of years. The new Ramada Hoteland Stes wll be the rst nternaonal brandhotel to open n uB n jne 2011 n the newMax towers near the gandan Monastery.

Ths wll lead to a new phase n Monolastourism development since it will allow high-end traelers to mae the most of Monolasnatral beaty and enoy ts ncredble derselandscape. The contry has a nqe set ofaracons ncldn camels n the gob, yas

in the endless steppes of central Mongolia,rendeers n the dstant northern montans all of ths mxed wth ast laes, sand dnesand some of the most prsne and ntochednatral beaty on earth.

Monola s one of the few contres n Asato hae retaned ts tradonal nomadc her-tae ale as an mportant part of ts daly lfe.A lare poron of the Monolan poplaonsll les as nomads and t prodes an mpor-

tant basis for its economic development.

mongoliA chAnging

tourism lAndscApe


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June, 2011

it s eqally lely that the ncreasn ncome

per capita as well as the opening up of thecontry to hh end torsm wll promote thedevelopment of adventure sports and recre-aonal aces sch as ht schools, para-chn, o-arn, qad bn, hnn andthe openn p of dedcated recreaonal parsand facles all oer the contry.

it s hoped that wthn a few years, Mono-lia will be able to develop its tourism sectortowards wnter aces, thereby enabln the

torsm sector to reman ace throhotthe year and allown those worn wthnit to become professional tourism operatorsinstead of amateurs who consider it as a sum-mer ob.

Of corse, lare scale mnn operaons scarthe earth and destroy the natral beaty ofMongolia. Even responsible mining will leave

a sble mpact n the contrysde. The pos-

e mpacts of Monolas economc deel-opment far otweh the neae damaethough. Most important of all the develop-ment of Monolas torsm sector wll allowthe contry to obtan a dersed sorce ofwealth whch does not nole mnn ac-es as well as employ a sncant poron ofthe poplaon.

The challenge for Mongolia will be to man-ae careflly the enormos ncreases n re-

enes and not rn ts exsn potenal for thesae of cheap torsm or pleasn nternaonaloperators loon for a more sterle enron-ment for the tourists.

By Christopher de Gruben

hp://www.mad-mongolia.com


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June, 2011

Like nearly one halfof the Mongolian popu-laon, the captal cty of ulaanbaatar s anomad. The cty has chaned locaons morethan twenty mes oer the past 350 yearsbefore tan root n ts crrent locaon na sweepn alley bonded by for sacred

peas, ncldn the Bod khan montan nthe south.

Besdes ts locaon the captal has alsochaned ts names seeral mes oer theyears, han been called ur from 1639to 1706, ih Hree from 1706 to 1911, NslelHree from 1911 to 1923, and nally ulaan-baatar snce 1924 (meann Red Hero). Btdespte ts many transformaons, Monolascaptal has remaned constant as the polcal,

economc, and cltral center of the naon,and as a cty rch n both character and con-trast. indeed there arent many world captalsn whch yo can rde a horse, st a nomadcfamly, and enoy ne dnn and lxros spatreatments all n the same day.

ulaanbaatar today s a brant cty of morethan one mllon resdents. The cty reects aclose and somemes amsn xtaposon ofnomadc tradons and modern socety, per-

haps best smmarzed by ts sylne doed wthboth ers (felt tents) and towern syscrapers.The ctys contrast can also be fond amonthose who call t home, from tradonal-cloth-n-clad herders, to Arman-st-wearn bs-ness men and women, to a growing number ofex-patrots haln from nearly eery corner ofthe lobe. Only n ulaanbaatar yo can nd ahorse cart bouncing down the central avenuealonsde a Mercedes Benz, or a maret selln

both lestoc and desner clothn. in short,

ulAAnBAAtAr:

tents And sKyscrApers


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June, 2011

there s somethn for eeryone, and always aste to behold n ulaanbaatar.

if ces hae a heart, and they certanly do,then the heart of ulaanbaatar s ShbaatarSqare. Ths sprawln plaza stated n frontof the capital building, is the place whereresdents and stors ather for celebraons,exhbons, and concerts, or st for a lesrelystroll with friends. Running along the southern

ede of the sqare s Enh Tany Oron Choloo(Peace Aene), ulaanbaatars man thoroh-fare, which spans from East to West across thecty. On Peace Aene, yoll nd a myrad ofshoppn hotspots, selln eerythn fromcashmere, to anqes and soenrs, to hhfashon cotre. Yoll also nd a srprsnarety of restarants, bars, and cafes, sernp italan, French, korean, Chnese, Trsh,

Amercan, and Monolan csne, to name bta few.

Besdes sern as the mpn o pont forall trael throhot the contry, ulaanbaatarhas mch to oer ts stors. The ctys ehtmsems are brsn at the seams wth trea-sres sch as 3,000 year old Hnn arfacts,prehstorc dnosar bones, and genhs khan-era armor and weapons. Dozens of cultural

enes throhot the cty present daly per-formances of dance, theatre, music, and con-toronsm. The cty s also home to one of theworlds larest open ar marets, Narantl,wth more than 2500 endors selln eery-thing under the sun.

hp://www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn

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June, 2011

Mongolia boasts of being the last and the leasttraeled torst desnaon n the world. Asthe old sayn oes the best s ept to last n1991 aer ben hdden behnd the comm-nist iron curtain for seven decades, Mongoliaopened p for adentrers and traelers. Manydreamed for years to st the steppes wherethe reat genhs khan was born and rled theworld. These dreams came tre. Today, thereare approxmately one mllon nomads ln n

centres old yrts, herdn ther lestoc andhn one of the worlds most extreme tem-peratres. Monola s rhtly called the lostcontry sll relaely nnown to ast maor-ty of torsts arond the world.

Torsm n Monola s relaely new com-pared to the rest of Asa and the world. Yo wllnot nd well deeloped nfrastrctre, hhlyoranzed tors, neatly presered torst shts,and aracons n Monola. Bt these dsad-

antaes are aracn the lobal nomads.up nl now, Monolan tor operators wereoern almost dencal tors n a handfl oftorst desnaons n the contry. The sercesalso had lle derence bt the prce ranewas noceable. De to small wndow of tor-st season, the torst companes were lterallybddn for ther clentele. The old systems weresll stron wth the same old leaders, ths, theold bsness enronment le no chance for

average tourist businesses to survive.

tourism in mongoliA: getting reAdy

for visitors


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June, 2011

However, there are good signs and stats thatshow the growth of tourism in Mongolia. Thebest trend s the collaboraon between thegovernment and private sectors. Though thesoco-economc and polcal systems of thecontry are sll n transon stae, the o-ernment started spporn torsm n macroleels, prodn the same opportnes to all,promon beer bsness enronment andcooperaon erss compeon. Fnally, eery-

one n the ndstry nderstands that we alltogether can succeed.

There s a rown trend of specalzaon orniche products within the tourism sector. Thegrowing numbers of companies specialize inther own elds sch as cltral eents, aden-tres trps, shn, hnn etc. As the torsmdevelops, there will be more and more diver-scaon n prodcts, all worn toward the

same goal.

The last trend s the sncant sh of these of socal meda maren as opposed totradonal webstes. Wthot excepons themaorty of torst related companes haelown ashy webstes wth zero to mnmaltrac. Howeer, some companes sensed the

lobal trend n socal meda maren on me,if not too late.

So f yo are plannn to st Monola, loofor companes that prode serces that yoare nterested n. if yo are a tre adentrer,the well nown Monol Rally s a mst-seearacon. Monola prodes a wde rane ofshts for natralsts. Search Faceboo, Twerfor yor nche.

Todays torsts can explore the contry

nder mch beer condons than the earlystors. Thns chane and they do chane fastn Monola. And f yo already experencedMongolia in person, please, help spread theword ot n yor spheres of nence and cr-cles of frends. Help s to mae Monola bet-ter and brighter.

By Tsogt-Erdene Khorloo

hp://www.mongolia-aracons.com

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