The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced that, together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth of Mongolia and the Mongolian Tourism Organization, they held an opening ceremony for the "Mongolia Tourism Comprehensive Education Center" in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on May 29.
The Mongolia Tourism Comprehensive Education Center is the first tourism infrastructure facility established as part of the Ministry's Official Development Assistance (ODA) project in the tourism sector. Going beyond a simple educational facility, it is designed to support the qualitative improvement of Mongolia's tourism infrastructure and to establish a model for sustainable tourism development. The center was built over approximately three years of design and construction.
The opening ceremony was attended by a large number of high-ranking Mongolian officials, including Nomin, Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth, and Tuvshinjargal, President of the Mongolian Tourism Organization. At the ceremony, the Mongolian government announced a step-by-step implementation roadmap for its tourism policy as well as a new tourism brand, "Go Mongolia 2.0." The government stated that, taking the establishment of the center as an opportunity, it would strengthen the country’s tourism competitiveness.
Minister Nomin said, "Mongolia aims to attract 2 million foreign visitors by 2030. The Tourism Comprehensive Education Center will play an important role in achieving this goal, and I would like to thank the Korean government for successfully completing the construction of the center."
The center, which consists of two above-ground floors and one basement floor with a total area of 2,500 square meters, is a multi-purpose educational facility equipped with lecture rooms, various practice rooms, conference rooms, and state-of-the-art IT-based educational equipment. It will offer tailored educational programs for a wide range of tourism professionals, including tour guides and accommodation workers in ger (traditional Mongolian dwellings) and hotels.
The Ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization will continue to support the Mongolian government so that it can gradually operate its own tourism education programs utilizing its unique natural and cultural resources. By 2028, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will dispatch volunteer groups to support: ▲ strengthening the capabilities of Mongolian tourism personnel, instructors, and teachers; ▲ enhancing the operational capacity of the Mongolia Tourism Comprehensive Education Center; ▲ providing education to employees of Mongolian tourism companies; and ▲ raising public awareness of tourism services in Mongolia.
Since 2020, the Ministry has been promoting sustainable tourism development projects based on Korea's advanced tourism industry experience in key ODA partner countries such as Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Through these projects, it has established tourism infrastructure such as education centers and tourist information centers, and has provided capacity-building education for tourism guides and local residents, as well as support for the development of tourism content and experiential products.
A policy official from the Ministry stated, "The Mongolia Tourism Comprehensive Education Center is a representative example of tourism cooperation based on mutual trust between the two governments, and it will provide practical support for the growth of Mongolia’s tourism industry and the training of professionals. The Ministry will continue to work with Mongolia to strengthen tourism exchanges between the two countries."
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