24 REGION ASIA H.E.
24 REGION ASIA H.E. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism and Member of Parliament of Mongolia A Breath of Fresh Air Mongolia named as partner country of ITB Berlin 2015 Until recently, Mongolia has been little thought-of as a tourist destination, but today this is changing. To whit, the government of this stark, surprising land is working hard to ensure sustainability and authenticity in every respect. At a ceremony at ITB Berlin, it has been announced that Mongolia will be the show’s official 2015 partner country, showcasing to the world the country’s commitment to the future of tourism for its land and people. Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, the Honourable Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Mongolia is actively behind the move, and says the partnership will build traveller awareness, interest and excitement in visiting her wonderful country. “Mongolia is honoured to be working with ITB Berlin as a Partner Country in 2015,” said the Minister. “Mongolia is committed to building a future for its people through tourism, and therefore recognises the critical role that events such as ITB Berlin play in building traveller awareness, interest and excitement in visiting our wonderful country. We look forward to working with ITB Berlin to bring our new brand and national tourism offerings to life, making 2015 a milestone year for tourism in Mongolia.” The nation of Mongolia has emerged as a travel destination offering a new, fresh, compelling alternative to other locations across the globe. Mongolia has, within its offering, an innate mystique that can be summarised in a few key words: authenticity, virgin beauty, emotion, freedom, nature, nomadic, purity, wildlife. Mongolia is without doubt the best place on earth for a person to find him or herself in the depth of their soul. Far from the traditional clichés of many DMOs of sandy shores, amazing beaches and stunning seaside resorts, Mongolia offers new horizons with the purity of its natural environment, a richness of indigenous wildlife, an array of outdoor activities from trekking and horseback and camel riding to bird watching, rafting and a timeless nomadic lifestyle. Mongolia is blessed with a multitude of compelling options, over and above its richness of culture, history, heritage and hospitality. Mongolia underlines that it is committed to ensuring the destination stays true to its roots through proactively responsible tourism development. According to the Minister, this approach is serving Mongolia well to protect it from unstructured growth to the detriment of the nation and the travel experience. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH ITB BERLIN TO BRING OUR NEW BRAND AND NATIONAL TOURISM OFFERINGS TO LIFE, MAKING 2015 A MILESTONE YEAR FOR TOURISM IN MONGOLIA Thanks to the 2015 partnership with ITB Berlin, Mongolia will be reinforcing the priority that Mongolia places on tourism. The country will be using ITB Berlin 2015 as a platform for revealing its new brand positioning to the world’s travel and tourism communities: “Mongolia, Nomadic by Nature”. Main target tourists are people who are adventurous, explorers, emotionally “nomadic by nature” who appreciate the uniqueness and excitement of our Mongolia living culture. Hall 26 C Stand 339 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 6 th March 2014 www.itb-berlin-news.com
25 HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS WHERE TO GOIN BERLIN WWW.WHERETOGOINBERLIN.COM CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE The Berlin Boom The city of Berlin is booming, and of course 2014 sees the 25 th anniversary of the Berlin Wall. We asked Markus Luthe, Chief Executive of the German Hotel Association (IHA) what people here for ITB should do in order to better understand the importance of the event and get a feeling for the incredible history of Berlin… Anyone who is interested in the history of Berlin cannot refrain from visiting its authentic locations: Along Bernauer Street in Berlin-Mitte (center) you will find the last piece of the wall among the remains of the border fortifications. A visit to the former Tempelhof airfield in the west of the city offers a good opportunity to get one’s head free after having enjoyed various stands of the Berlin Messe. Not only is the Tempelhof field Berlin’s greatest urban park, where you can relax and do sport, but reflects an exciting piece of the division history. As Berlin was completely blocked by the Soviets, American allies started and landed aircrafts - “Berlin Airlift”- and supplied the population with food in 1948/49. Berlin is internationally considered to be the genuine tourist boomtown. This is because Berlin satisfies diversified tourist demands: a wide range Markus Luthe Chief Executive, German Hotel Association (IHA) of cultural and culinary offerings, and of course, the many and varied accommodation options. Whether a 5- star- hotel in the city, an advanced congress and conference centre with infrastructure or a budget hotel, the price-performance ratio of the German hotel industry is certainly unique in Western Europe. Berlin is a green city, and this fact still surprises most tourists, when they discover its forests, lakes and rivers. Berlin is said to be the most wooded city in Europe. The “green lung”, the Tiergarten park, is known by the majority of the tourists. But only a 20-minute drive by car or the S-Bahn takes you to Lake Wannsee located south or to the Tegel Woods in the north. These are areas where people, according to their interests, spend their leisure time by swimming, sailing or walking and jogging. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 6 th March 2014
