Tourists from China pose for photos before the Three Charters monument in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. (AFP/Ed Jones)

Wave of Chinese Tourists Flooded into North Korea

Kinanty Nadia Putri
Social & Life
Travel
Jun 19, 2019
2224
Chinese tourists visiting North Korea has reached record highs, according to travel industry sources—so much even Pyongyang officials had to impose a limit on travel. General manager of Koryo Tours, a Western travel company based in Beijing, Simon Cockerell said that there had been a huge increase of Chinese tourist signed up for a tour in North Korea.

In a day at peak times 2,000 people could arrive in Pyongyang, which is far too many that North Korea has no infrastructure to accommodate the numbers of tourist, such as hotel space, plan tickets, and train tickets. As a result, North Korean authorities have set a limit at 1,000 people a day to come to the country for tourism. However, Cockerell said it was unclear whether this applied solely to Chinese who make up the biggest arrivals or to the total number of tourists in the industry.

Ordinary Chinese usually pay travel companies around US$360 for a standard three-day trip, arriving by train in Pyongyang to tour the capital’s iconic highlights.

One of the most visited spots by the Chinese is a historic monument called Friendship Tower—that shows a mural of North Korean and Chinese soldiers battling against US-led forces in the Korean War. There is also an inscription on it lauds the Volunteer Army from China who fought on the land with North Koreans to smashed down the common enemy, as it proclaims the friendship forged in blood between the people of China and North Korea will last forever.

The monument has also been spruced up by hundreds of soldiers and workers in recent days which suggests that the monument may also be on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s itinerary during his visit to the North this week.
Later on, Chinese tourists also visit the Arch of Triumph and Kim Il Sung Square which followed by heading to the Demilitarized Zone on the next day before returning home.

Despite multiple UN Security Council sanctions and the US travel ban on its citizen to visit North Korea, tourism is not among the sectors targeted by the UN which potentially enabling China to use it as an incentive for its key ally.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3014997/chinese-tourists-flood-north-korea-beijing-remains-its-key

China , Pyongyang , Tourism , Travel