🚦 TRAVEL TIPS | ECONOMY | MEDIA ART FESTIVAL

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Good morning! Hope you don’t mind a little brain exercise. Take this geography quiz and see if you get all the countries right. In case you don’t know where Mongolia is, it looks something like this. 😅

🤔 DID YOU KNOW?

🚦 THE ECONOMY AT A GLANCE

All around the world, the top most googled searches might be an economic recession, inflation, and interest rate hike. The same goes for Mongolia, but what exactly is going on in our economy? 

The ugly: depreciation + inflation

The Tugrik (MNT) has depreciated 9.5% this year so far against USD, a huge blow to everyone.  Now, add inflation to the equation. Inflation has reached 15.1% as of May 2022 due to not only currency depreciation but also global supply chain issues, rising oil prices, etc. The depreciation of MNT followed by high inflation is just ugly.  

The bad: it’s not transitory 

The bad thing is that high inflation will stay for a while. The IMF expects inflation to remain high at an average rate of 14.5% in 2022, reflecting global price increases. The budget deficit has decreased, but we still have a deficit of $172 million as of May. Currency reserves have reduced by 31% this year to $1 billion. And more importantly, the global supply chain and geopolitical issues are nowhere near to end - a heavy blow for a mining-dependent country like ours. 

The good: coal exports and tourism

Alright, here are some bright stories. The health of Mongolia’s economy can be diagnosed just by looking at the mining sector, especially coal exports. The good news is that coal output rebounded by 3.73% in May. It is still bad. However, some upgrades have been made recently in export transportation. On top of that, international tourists and many Mongolians who were not able to come here for a long time can finally visit the country.

⏭️ ULAANBAATAR INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ART FESTIVAL 2022

The Arts Council of Mongolia (ACM), in partnership with Goethe-Institut, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and Taipei Trade and Economic Representative Office in Ulaanbaatar, is currently organizing the 7th Ulaanbaatar International Media Art Festival. 

This year’s theme ‘DIVOCCINATED’ centers around the 2-year-long pandemic and the effects it has had on our mindset and behavior. The festival includes works of 18 international and local artists and consists of various exhibitions in different locations.

June 21

• Exhibition: ‘As Above, So Below’

• Artist: E.Jantsankhorol

• Location: Red Ger Creative Space

• Time: 4 pm

June 22

• Exhibition: ‘H.M HOME’

• Artists: B.Bat-Erdene, Ts.Davaajargal, Dj Adrien De Ville

• Location: Bogd Khan Palace Museum

• Time: 8 pm

June 23

• Closing event: “Concentric Colorfield” 360 ͦ  media video

• Artists: Ali Demerel /Germany/, Music by Pastime  /Germany/, DJ Nomt, Demi Moors

• Location: White Rock Center

• Time: 8:30 pm

🤯 9 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE COMING TO MONGOLIA

SURVIVING...

🔥 The brutal sun: Coming to Mongolia without sunscreen is like sentencing yourself to months of extreme skin treatment routine. The scorching sun, together with the vicious wind, might leave some permanent marks on you, unless you bring an SPF 50+ sunscreen. Save your skin and thank us later.

🍖 The meat-heavy cuisine: Even if you’re a carnivore at heart, please don’t be overly confident about being able to successfully digest all the Mongolian dishes that are mostly meat. You’ll probably be fine with everything you eat here, but do bring your meds anyway. For vegans and vegetarians, there are plenty of good restaurants available - go ask Google! 

🆘 Emergency numbers:

1. Fire - 101

2. Police - 102

3. Ambulance - 103

4. Rescue and disaster management - 105

5. Child helpline - 108 

6. Tourist info center - 70101011

CULTURE!

👣 Keep your feet on the ground: It’s considered very rude to put one’s feet on a table or anything that’s above one’s knee level in general. We probably won’t explicitly show our disapproval if you do that, but come on! 

😐 Don’t touch anybody’s head: In Mongolian culture, a person’s head is considered sacred. There’s no written law which forbids touching people’s heads, but everyone here knows that it’s unacceptable.

⛰️ There are mountains that are forbidden for women to climb: No matter how hardcore feminist you are, if a monk says you're not allowed to do something, please obey what he says. Let’s admit that arguing with someone in a foreign country over something like this is not worth it.

MONEY + TRANSPORTATION

💸 Don’t bring ripped money! If you’re planning to bring some USD and exchange it for the local currency here, keep in mind that most banks don’t accept banknotes that are even slightly ripped or damaged. Most places in the capital city accept Visa or MasterCards anyway, but don’t count on finding ATMs in the middle of nowhere if you decide to visit the countryside.

🚌 Planning to use public transportation? Say goodbye to personal space: There is no subway or metro system in Ulaanbaatar, so expect to heavily rely on buses that are usually packed -  that is, if you’re not intending to take taxis everywhere you go. In case you do intend to take taxis, download the UBCab app. But overall, Ulaanbaatar is comparably small, so maybe just use your feet.

🚕 Airport -> city center: Don’t hop in a random taxi as soon as you exit the airport! Some self-employed cab drivers may charge you much higher than the actual fare. The best option would be to use the taxi services the airport offers itself, or just get on a bus. The “Airport express 3” stops at Sukhbaatar Square, from where you can easily reach any destination in the city center. 

✈️ DATA STORY

Considering the number of tourists who visited Mongolia between January and May in 2021 was only 8.5 thousand, it could be said with confidence that the country is experiencing a real Post-COVID-19 tourism boom. Notably, the industry’s YoY revenue growth currently stands at 499%.

📱 FEATURING UNITEL LLC

It's not easy to live in a foreign country when you aren't fully fluent in the language. But it doesn’t mean that you always have to be “lost in translation” - especially when it comes to essential services, such as telecommunications, internet and cable TV. 👇

Unitel, Mongolia’s leading telecom company, has recently launched its exclusive services specifically tailored for expats. Now you don’t have to worry about Google Translate or a broken set of Mongolian language skills. 😉

🏃‍♀️ QUICK STORIES

📌 NASA to make Mongolian cashmere sustainable. The NASA-supported collaboration called the Sustainable Cashmere Project is aimed at helping companies and conservation organizations tackle overgrazing of cashmere goats by assessing rangeland conditions with satellite information.

📌 TMK Energy (ASX:TMK) begins drilling Snow Leopard-3 well in Mongolia. Snow Leopard-3 is the 3rd of 4 wells in the initial exploration program of the Australian oil and gas exploration company. The program is targeting thick coal seams within the Gurvantes XXXV Coal Seam Gas project in the country.

📌 Mongolia’s 5th telecom operator ONDO to issue its first mobile numbers on June 26. The company is also testing 5G and looking to introduce the technology to the market after the government starts issuing relevant licenses in 2023. ONDO is planning to IPO in 2 years, becoming the first public telecom company in the country. 

📌 In the first 5 months of 2022, budget expenditures reached $2 billion, leading to a deficit in the balance of payments in the amount of $174 million.

🟦 TOP NEWS

1. Mongolia’s ‘1 Billion Tree’ Movement. (The Diplomat)

2. Mongolia to Take Digital Development to a New Level. (Retail News Asia)

3. Mongolia's Khuvsgul Lake added to UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. (China.org.cn)

4. Miss Mongolia Gantogoo Nicole to bridge the cultures of the UAE and Mongolia. (Gulf News)

5. UNDP’s 2022 civil society engagement programme launched. (MONTSAME)

6. Ulaanbaatar Sustainable Urban Transport Project to be implemented in five years to reduce traffic congestion. (MONTSAME)

7. Mongolia Receives 302,400 Pediatric Doses of Pfizer Vaccine Donated by the United States through COVAX. (U.S. Embassy in Mongolia)