Tourists mostly decide where they can travel to based on visa regulations and flight prices. According to a survey, 57 percent of tourists choose flying. Mongolia is vast land, however, it has only one international airport. This means, that hiring transport can be very expensive for some tourists. For example, tourists who want to see Eagle Festival, which takes place annually in October in the far west of the country need to spend nearly USD 1000 for flying to Ulaanbaatar and then drive to Bayan-Uulgii which takes two days or spend money again on a local flight.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia is working to attract investments for the development of infrastructure and maintenance of rural airports. The ministry plans for six rural airports to gain international status.

The size of the needed investments, role of rural airports in regional development and advantages for air carriers have been studied. The proposals are to be submitted to the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other international donor agencies.

The launch of international flights to rural areas in Mongolia is expected to boost tourism and to enhance competition in the low-cost airline market.