Tuesday, December 09, 2003

In case you missed "Visit Mongolia 2003", the big government sponsored drive to attract tourists to Mongolia, you will have a second chance. They've decided to do it again, as in "Visit Mongolia 2004". It seems "Visit Mongolia 2003" was more-or-less a bust, mainly because of the Killer Virus Thing (remember that?). Government tourism officials hoped for 200,000 tourists in 2003 but got only 168,300, down 10% from the year before. Japanese make up the biggest group of tourists to Mongolia, with 6997 visiting in 2003, compared to 9424 in 2002. And don't forget, the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongol Empire, is coming up in 2006. Many dignitaries from all over the world are coming, but presumably not Saddam Hussein.

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