File photo: CGTN

Official data released Saturday shows that Mongolia raked in a total of 607.2 million U.S. dollars from tourism in 2019, up 10.2 percent from the previous year.

The Mongolian Environment and Tourism Ministry said the Asian country attracted around 577,300 foreign tourists last year, up 9.1 percent compared to 2018.

Chinese visitors accounted for more than one-third of the total foreign tourists to Mongolia last year, according to the ministry.

Mongolia, whose economy is largely dependent on export earnings from the mining sector, has been striving to diversify its economy by developing the tourism sector.

The country has set itself a goal of receiving 1 million foreign tourists and earning 1 billion dollars from tourism in 2020.