North Korea tourism revival expected in China as relations thaw
Number of cross-border tourists expected to increase this year, with rising interest from potential visitors and tensions lower on the peninsula
The number of tourists entering North Korea from China is expected to rise significantly in 2018, with Chinese and overseas travellers eager to experience the hermit kingdom that may be on the brink of opening up, industry insiders and local officials say.
More cross-border tour routes and tourism sites in North Korea will be on offer by tour agencies in China’s northeast province of Jilin, which borders North Korea, and there has already been a clear growth in tourists seeking travel information about the country, as geopolitical tensions have eased since Kim Jong-un’s first visit to Beijing, in March.
“Several infrastructure projects for tourism sites in North Korea are under construction,” said Che Jing, a deputy manager of a travel company in Jilin’s capital of Changchun, at an event promoting the province’s tourism in Shenzhen on Thursday.
“We are going to run at least seven or eight tour routes to North Korea this year, including a one-day tour to Nanyo and a trip of four to five days to Pyongyang, Kaesong and Panmunjom.
“We served over 40,000 tourists travelling in Jilin last year, and half of them experienced cross-border tours. We hope the number of cross-border tourists could increase 30 or 40 per cent this year.”