Ulaanbaatar, May 9, 2024 /MONTSAME/. The number of tourists visiting Mongolia in the first quarter of 2024 reached 86.2 thousand, an increase of 8.2 (10.5%) thousand from the same period of the previous year. 

Compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of tourists from China increased by 15.2 (2.3 times more) thousand passengers, tourists from South Korea increased by 3.5 (48.9%) thousand passengers, tourists from Kazakhstan increased by 0.5 (23.8%) thousand passengers, and tourists from Japan increased by 0.5 (30.9%) thousand passengers.

In terms of nationality, of all inbound foreign passengers, 37.1% were Chinese, 35.1% were Russian, 10.2% were South Koreans, 2.5% were from Kazakhstan, 2.0% were from Japan, and 13.1% were from other countries.  Additionally, 55.8% of inbound foreign passengers visited from East Asia and the Pacific region, 39.7% from Europe, 2.1% from the Americas, 1.2% from the Middle East, 0.8% from South Asia, and 0.4% from the African regions. 

In the first quarter of 2024, 570.0 thousand Mongolian passengers (double counting) traveled abroad. Among them, 443.9 (77.9%) thousand traveled for tourism purposes, which increased by 226.1 (2.0 times more) thousand from the same period of the previous year. Additionally, 126.1 (22.1%) thousand traveled for purposes such as employment, study, and permanent residence, which decreased by 5.5 (4.2%) thousand from the same period of the previous year. 

Out of all outbound Mongolian passengers, 361.8 (63.5%) thousand were male adult passengers, 208.2 (36.5%) thousand were female adult passengers, and 39.6 (7.0%) were children. In terms of duration of stay, 549.1 (96.3%) thousand Mongolian passengers stayed for up to 30 days, 4.4 (0.8%) thousand stayed from 31 to 90 days and 16.5 (2.9%) thousand stayed for more than 90 days. 

In the first quarter of 2024, 1,342.3 thousand passengers (double counting) crossed the border of Mongolia. Compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of passengers increased by 488.5 (57.2%) thousand. The number of passengers crossing the border increased by 1 191.6 (8.9 times more) compared to the same period of 2022 and 1 152.4 (7.1 times more) thousand compared to the same period of 2021.

In the first quarter of 2024, 667.8 thousand passengers entered Mongolia. In terms of border points for all inbound passengers, 32.5% passed through Zamiin-Uud, 24.7% through Chinggis Khaan, 11.3% through Gashuun Sukhait, 10.5% through Altanbulag, 5.4% through Shiveekhuren, 3.4% through Khangi, and 12.2% through other border points. Out of the inbound passengers, 556.9 (83.4%) thousand were Mongolian citizens and 110.9 (16.6%) thousand were foreigners.