Organisational structures and legal framework for tourism at local level : a case study of Mongolia

Since 1990, when the country opened its door to the world tourism market, the role and nature of tourism has changed significantly. At present, like other post socialist oriented economies in transition, Mongolia suffers from low human resource capacity, inadequate governance, weak institutions and immature democratic structures at both national and local levels. This study reveals that major issues currently facing tourism development in Mongolia are mainly due to the inherited management structures and previous poorly developed infrastructure. A lack of understanding of the importance of broader involvement of local communities in decision making processes have resulted in the management structures and planning for tourism taking place at the national level only. Consequently, local communities are very much excluded from tourism planning processes. The study also indicates that poor co-ordination within and between various governmental agencies involved in tourism and the private sector is a result of the absence of the nominated management structures. At this stage, to attain established tourism development objectives at both macro and micro levels the management structures for tourism need to be broadened and human resources developed. In the meantime, it remains the central government's responsibility to provide regional and local governments with necessary resources both expertise and funding