Chinese travel agencies cool on North Korea tourism restart

Chinese travel agencies that spent months marketing North Korea tour packages amid warming China-North Korea ties are now urging prospective customers to wait for official approval, as an anticipated tourism restart has yet to materialize, a Daily NK source said.

According to the source, China’s travel industry has repeatedly floated optimistic forecasts that North Korea tourism would “resume soon” whenever ties between the two countries appeared to be improving, driving aggressive marketing of North Korea tour packages.

That marketing intensified after the international passenger train between Beijing and Pyongyang resumed in March, and especially after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang last month, both developments that raised hopes across China’s travel industry that tourism would follow.

Travel agencies posted a steady stream of promotions for three-night, four-day and six-night, seven-day North Korea tour packages on major Chinese platforms including WeChat, Kuaishou and Douyin, according to the source, fielding booking inquiries and assigning waitlist numbers to prospective tourists.

Agencies based in Beijing, Shenyang, Dandong and Yanji are continuing to field inquiries from Chinese travelers interested in North Korea tourism, the source said, some claiming they already have a second and third round of recruits lined up and ready to depart as soon as government approval comes through.

But with nearly a month having passed since Xi’s visit and no sign of a restart, fatigue is setting in among prospective Chinese tourists. “The agencies just kept pushing the timeline back, June, then July, then August, while continuing to promote the packages,” the source said. “People who were hopeful at first are now showing disappointment, wondering if this is just going to be delayed again like every other time.”

Waitlisted travelers grow impatient

Several Dandong-based agencies, including Dandong Chunqiu International Travel, Dandong Jiuzhou International Travel and Dandong Kehua International Travel, have told customers on their waitlists that tourism, including trips to the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone, may become possible starting in July, and have asked them to continue waiting.

Frustration is mounting as those notices repeat without a firm outcome, according to the source. “People interested in North Korea tourism are running out of patience with this cycle of false hope,” the source said. “They’re now saying, in irritation, that agencies should stop claiming it will open soon and instead offer packages only once the schedule is confirmed and procedures actually begin.”

Sensing that shift in mood, agencies have moved away from confidently naming resumption dates and are instead asking customers to wait for the government’s official approval and notice, the source said.

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