ULAN BATOR, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia recorded a total of 678,850 inbound tourist visits by foreign passport holders in the first nine months of 2025, according to official data released by the Mongolian Tourism Organization on Saturday.

During the period, China has become one of the biggest sources of foreign tourists to Mongolia, followed by Russia and South Korea.

Currently, Mongolia's economy continues to rely most heavily on the export of mineral resources. Tourism promotion is considered one of the priorities for diversifying the country's economy and increasing the competitiveness of its tourism in the context of global competition.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sport, Tourism and Youth, the Mongolian government has decided to continue the "Years to Visit Mongolia" tourism program until 2028 to promote the development of four-season tourism in the country.

The landlocked Asian country attracted a total of 727,400 foreign tourists in 2024, earning 1.6 billion U.S. dollars from the tourism sector. ■