On January 11, MIAT State Owned Enterprise introduced the "Special Tariff to Support Tourism" and signed a memorandum with the Mongolian Tourism Association with the purpose of improving the cooperation condition between tourism and air transport.
B.Munkhtamir, Executive Director of MIAT Mongolian Airlines, was interviewed related to this.
-How does MIAT cooperate with tourism companies and support the development of the sector?
-On January 11, MIAT SOE signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Tourism Association. We have been cooperating with regular understanding over the past years. MIAT SOE approved the special tourism tariff in 2022 in order to support tourism. The implementation of this tariff was not as we expected. And we discussed the reasons and further improvements.
The Government of Mongolia has announced tourism as a major sector for economic development. As a result, 2023-2025 has been set as the "Year of Visiting Mongolia" and a goal of receiving one million tourists. In this framework, tourism and airline companies are making discussions on further cooperation and mutual benefits. The role and participation of both the tourism and transport sectors is very important in this.
DIRECT FLIGHT TO THE U.S IS PLANNED
-Please give us details about the special tariff that is being discussed as the main topic.
-There is a space for tourism development except for peak summer months which are June, July and August. Tourists travel a lot during summer months in Mongolia. During summer, the workload of airline companies is the highest. Related to this, we are making a special tariff for tourism.
In particular, we are preparing a winter time schedule for tourists coming to Mongolia. In the framework of the government's policy, tourists who will participate in the events organized throughout 2023 will have flights with discounted prices.
In 2023, MIAT is expecting to make flights of 23,000 hours and sell about 750,000 seats. Before the pandemic, we used to make flights of 19,000 hours per annum. This year, we made a plan to have 4,000 hours more, which is the largest target in the history of MIAT.
In addition, we are planning to open direct flights to the United States in the first and second quarters of 2024. In this regard, before the peak summer season of 2023, MIAT will bring a wide body aircraft. This plane will make long distance flights. So there will be no shortage of planes.
Also, a 20-hour weekly flight will be made to Seoul. Six flights to Frankfurt, four to Istanbul and 11 to Beijing are planned weekly.
-People criticize that the flight ticket price is high compared to other countries.
-The special tariff for the winter schedule for tourists will be about 50% off the average tariff. We've worked hard on fuel and plane rentals, which make up the airfare. Starting from 2022, we started to buy fuel at a relatively low price. The related law was amended with the support of the Government and Parliament of Mongolia.
For example, the tariff for the Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul flight was reduced to MNT 1.8 million. The lowest price was MNT 3.8 million before MIAT opened the new Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul destination in April 2022. This is an example of the rapid decline in ticket prices. Ticket prices are expected to decrease in other destinations as well.
-Does it mean a special tariff will be applied after signing the memorandum? When will the implementation start?
-In the main provisions of the memorandum, it was reflected in the work on the basis of signing a contract. This memorandum is about MIAT will support the development of tourism in Mongolia in the future. No contract has been made yet.
Within the framework of the memorandum, we held a meeting with the Mongolian Tourism Association, and made discussions. MIAT should also look at their own benefits. We will work in a mutually beneficial way.
- Does the special tariff apply to tourists coming through a travel company?
-No, all tourists can get a special tariff. We can’t give advantage to certain companies. Therefore, the procedure for implementation of special tariffs is presented. Tourists using this tariff must participate in certain events, and there are requirements such as traveling to Mongolia with a group with at least 4 people. The reason we are talking about this discount is because the airline business depends on two things; one of them is seat occupancy. If the seat is not sold, the company will have a loss. If the seat occupancy is full, we will start lowering the prices accordingly. There is a policy of reducing prices and keeping seats fully sold.
-Thank you for the interview.
-Thank you.
On January 11, MIAT State Owned Enterprise introduced the "Special Tariff to Support Tourism" and signed a memorandum with the Mongolian Tourism Association with the purpose of improving the cooperation condition between tourism and air transport.
B.Munkhtamir, Executive Director of MIAT Mongolian Airlines, was interviewed related to this.
-How does MIAT cooperate with tourism companies and support the development of the sector?
-On January 11, MIAT SOE signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Tourism Association. We have been cooperating with regular understanding over the past years. MIAT SOE approved the special tourism tariff in 2022 in order to support tourism. The implementation of this tariff was not as we expected. And we discussed the reasons and further improvements.
The Government of Mongolia has announced tourism as a major sector for economic development. As a result, 2023-2025 has been set as the "Year of Visiting Mongolia" and a goal of receiving one million tourists. In this framework, tourism and airline companies are making discussions on further cooperation and mutual benefits. The role and participation of both the tourism and transport sectors is very important in this.
DIRECT FLIGHT TO THE U.S IS PLANNED
-Please give us details about the special tariff that is being discussed as the main topic.
-There is a space for tourism development except for peak summer months which are June, July and August. Tourists travel a lot during summer months in Mongolia. During summer, the workload of airline companies is the highest. Related to this, we are making a special tariff for tourism.
In particular, we are preparing a winter time schedule for tourists coming to Mongolia. In the framework of the government's policy, tourists who will participate in the events organized throughout 2023 will have flights with discounted prices.
In 2023, MIAT is expecting to make flights of 23,000 hours and sell about 750,000 seats. Before the pandemic, we used to make flights of 19,000 hours per annum. This year, we made a plan to have 4,000 hours more, which is the largest target in the history of MIAT.
In addition, we are planning to open direct flights to the United States in the first and second quarters of 2024. In this regard, before the peak summer season of 2023, MIAT will bring a wide body aircraft. This plane will make long distance flights. So there will be no shortage of planes.
Also, a 20-hour weekly flight will be made to Seoul. Six flights to Frankfurt, four to Istanbul and 11 to Beijing are planned weekly.
-People criticize that the flight ticket price is high compared to other countries.
-The special tariff for the winter schedule for tourists will be about 50% off the average tariff. We've worked hard on fuel and plane rentals, which make up the airfare. Starting from 2022, we started to buy fuel at a relatively low price. The related law was amended with the support of the Government and Parliament of Mongolia.
For example, the tariff for the Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul flight was reduced to MNT 1.8 million. The lowest price was MNT 3.8 million before MIAT opened the new Ulaanbaatar-Istanbul destination in April 2022. This is an example of the rapid decline in ticket prices. Ticket prices are expected to decrease in other destinations as well.
-Does it mean a special tariff will be applied after signing the memorandum? When will the implementation start?
-In the main provisions of the memorandum, it was reflected in the work on the basis of signing a contract. This memorandum is about MIAT will support the development of tourism in Mongolia in the future. No contract has been made yet.
Within the framework of the memorandum, we held a meeting with the Mongolian Tourism Association, and made discussions. MIAT should also look at their own benefits. We will work in a mutually beneficial way.
- Does the special tariff apply to tourists coming through a travel company?
-No, all tourists can get a special tariff. We can’t give advantage to certain companies. Therefore, the procedure for implementation of special tariffs is presented. Tourists using this tariff must participate in certain events, and there are requirements such as traveling to Mongolia with a group with at least 4 people. The reason we are talking about this discount is because the airline business depends on two things; one of them is seat occupancy. If the seat is not sold, the company will have a loss. If the seat occupancy is full, we will start lowering the prices accordingly. There is a policy of reducing prices and keeping seats fully sold.
-Thank you for the interview.
-Thank you.