Ecotourism is a new tourism type in Mongolia. As it is a nature friendly activity, SGP has to experience it. The number of individual tourists and eco-tourists coming to Mongolia every year has been increasing more rapidly than that of collective tourist groups. In this situation, some herder families set up extra gers during tourist season in summer in addition to their own and receive individual tourists at lower prices and costs. They often ask the Government for support, the government can not support at the current stage of transition.
This grant project attempts to work out and experience a community participatory ecotourism model/best practice in cooperative arrangements between "Gun Galuut" local community association and "Selena travel" tourism company by establishing a locally protected area of 15 000 ha. to conserve Argali sheep habitat ecosystem, while enhancing local people livelihoods with ecotourism income generating activities.
It works well. 15.000 ha area with about 30 Argali sheep herd is now under control of the local community group involved in the project and Selena travel. By a resolution No 08 of 26 September, 2003 of the Citizen Representative Hural of Bayandelger soum of Tuv province, the whole area of 15,000 ha was declared as locally protected area. The "Gun Galuut" local community association is now the responsible body for management and protection of the locally protected nature reserve.
The tourist camp established by Selena travel had received 300 tourists in 2005. Local community members benefit a lot from ecotourism activities such as hiking, horse back riding, Argali and bird watching, boating and fly fishing. The "Gun Galuut" local community association charges entrance fees to foreign tourists and visitors at the main entrance to the locally protected area.