Mongolia overlooked

In the Chinese language, “China” is referred to as “Zhongguo” which means “center of the world.” This, of course, is a relative term like East and West depending on one’s point of reference. However, for travelers in Asia, China is, indeed, the center of the region with its capital, Beijing, as the center of Asian travel. In fact, Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) boasts of being the second busiest airport in the world (after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in America), with 557,167 take-offs and landings as well as an average of 224,465 passengers every day in 2012.

Over 70 airlines stop at BCIA, flying to more than 200 cities worldwide. It is the airport of all Asian airports. It currently serves almost all major destinations in Asia. From China’s capital, one can travel directly to any capital city in Asia – unlike at Chinggis Khaan International Airport here in Ulaanbaatar where only three capital cities are served – Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing. In short, any traveler coming from UB and wishing to visit Manila in the Philippines or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, for example, has to have a stopover in South Korea, Japan, or China as there are no direct flights to anywhere else in the region.

I was actually in Beijing two weeks ago not because I wanted to travel there, but because I had a flight to Pyongyang. I arrived in China’s capital on a Saturday and my flight to North Korea was on a Monday. That Sunday evening, I had a chance to be in a get-together of expats, foreign residents, and tourists. The whole bar was filled with foreigners and I was about to think that I was not in China. It was a very friendly and open environment. Time passed and I found myself going from table to table, sometimes staying at one for a much longer period of time, mingling with people of different ages, professions, and nationalities – all with the same love of and passion for traveling.

It was like speed dating but not so much to find someone compatible and be in a relationship with, but mostly to listen to everyone’s travel experiences. Most of the conversations started with the question, “Why are you in Beijing?” – and the usual response was not just to travel to China’s capital, but also to travel to other cities in Asia. Another reply was that the person has recently traveled to another country and “BJ” (yes, it’s not only Ulaanbaatar that is fondly given an acronym that is UB) was a stopover. In short, majority of the people I met have already been there and are en route to another Asian destination outside of China.

The typical countries or, for political correctness, territories these travelers have been or are going to are Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Of the 30 or so people I spoke with, only two or three of them mentioned Mongolia. And only one of them knows about the Naadam Festival and that she missed it because she thought that it was held during the month of August. In other words, from what I gathered that evening, it seems as though Mongolia is a relatively unknown travel destination or, at the least, is the least of their priority places to go to.

And it is not as if getting to UB from BJ is difficult. Mongolian Airlines has daily return flights from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, and so does Air China. It is not that expensive either. The last time I checked, the ticket costs around 300 USD as compared with flying to Lhasa which is two times higher. Not that Mongolia is a practical travel substitute for Tibet because they are two unique countries which offer visitors something different and incomparable, but that going to Mongolia’s capital is quite affordable from China so the ticket price should not restrict people from traveling to here.

It is also not the case that there is nothing to see in Mongolia. It has two sites that are recognized in the UNESCO World Heritage list – the Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape and the Petroglyphic Complexes of the Altai. For nature lovers, there is the Gobi Desert and Khuvsgul Lake. For history buffs, it is the land of Chinggis Khaan and the Great Mongol Empire. For soul searchers, there are numerous Buddhist temples and Shamanic places to visit both in the cities and in the countryside. For travelers interested in ancient cultures, they can still witness the nomadic way of life and see for themselves a surviving script that is more than a thousand years old. And for those whose interest is in architecture, there are many buildings and structures in UB that range from Soviet-style to contemporary. In short, there is always something for everybody in this country.

So why is it that not many tourists want to visit Mongolia? I guess one major reason is that they do not know much about this country. And they are unaware of it because the government is not doing anything much about it. I always watch CNN and BBC, and I have never seen any advertisements promoting Mongolia as a tourist destination – ever. I have watched ads on relatively unknown countries such as Azerbaijan and Yemen, but nothing on the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky. Even on travel websites whenever I search for flights and hotels, I have never encountered ads, be they pop-up or banner, on traveling to Mongolia – ever.
Assuming that there are people interested in visiting Mongolia, it is usually hard for them to get here because they will most likely need a visa. Ask any traveler to know that getting a visa to travel to a country is always a hassle and, at times, restrictive. Between going to Ulaanbaatar and Bangkok where a Thai visa can be easily obtained at the airport, any visitor would choose the latter. And it is not as if there are Mongolian embassies and consulates in every country. If one happens to be South American, he or she has to go America or Cuba to apply for a visa; or, if the person is Brazilian, wait until the planned embassy opens in Brasilia.

According to the recent economic impact research of the World Travel & Tourism Council, tourism contributed last year to almost 10 percent of the global economy, one in 11 jobs, five percent of investment, and five percent of exports. Should the Mongolian government actively promote tourism in the country, Mongolia does not have to rely on its mineral wealth alone for job creation and economic development. Unlike mining in which its resources are non-renewable, promoting tourism can be a sustainable and long-term strategy for the country to develop. Other developing countries have been doing it and are reaping its benefits, so why can’t Mongolia do the same?

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