“Mongolia can emerge as a key player in world tourism”

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Minister of Environment, Green Development and Tourism N.Battsereg paid a working visit to the General headquarters of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) this January 18 in Madrid of Spain. He highlighted opinions on Mongolia’s role in ensuring of a sustainable tourism development, its participation in regional and global integrations, on involvement strategies in international cooperation, and on determining perspectives for the next decade on cooperation with the UNWTO. Mr Taleb Rifai, the UNTWO Secretary-General said Mongolia has a capability to emerge as a key player in world tourism and promised to support Mongolia in achieving this goal by all means. Mongolia’s nomadic tourism has been named one of the most attractive landmarks in the world by CNN and National Geographic. During this working visit, the sides also agreed on establishing the first Tourism Observatory in Mongolia with an assistance of UNWTO. The observatory is expected to conduct analyses on tourism’s impact on the environment, community and economy, and on tourism statistics, building thus a general database. A decision was also made to organize the first “Nomadic Tourism” forum in Ulaanbaatar together with UNWTO this October in order to promote Mongolia and to create brands of tourism products themed “on the track of nomads”. The UNWTO agreed to give long-term training and internships to Mongolian tour specialists and promised to provide methodological assistance on working out a national tourism development plan accorded with international perspectives. The Minister N.Battsereg and the Secretary-General T.Rifai also shared opinions on technical assistance for Mongolia on implementing the Silk Road programme.