As hopes fade for a resumption of Chinese group tours to North Korea, travel agencies are pivoting to a new product this year: business trips. Agencies that once aggressively marketed North Korea tourism now sell visits framed as business travel instead. Some Chinese travelers say they suspect North Korea never intended to reopen to tourists at all.
A source in China told Daily NK on Monday that many Chinese travelers who had waited for tours to resume are giving up hope. Travel agencies in the border provinces of Jilin and Liaoning offer no clear timeline for a reopening. They tell customers only to wait a little longer, the source said.
North Korea resumed international passenger rail service with China in March. Flights followed soon after. Chinese travel agencies rushed to launch North Korea tour packages and promoted them aggressively. Many Chinese travelers expressed interest and made reservations. But roughly three months later, a tourism reopening remains uncertain.
Agencies once compared prices and schedules for rail and air travel in detailed marketing materials, the source said. The promotions were so specific that customers could picture the trip in advance. Those same agencies can no longer give clear information about North Korea tours.
One agency recently posted a notice online addressing repeated customer questions about whether tourism had already reopened. The agency said it had no specific updates. It added that a reopening would only happen once North Korea itself decided to open its doors.
The same agency advised prospective travelers to wait longer. It also warned that a record of visiting South Korea could block entry to North Korea. Travelers with that history should consider applying for a new passport in advance, the notice said.
Business trips floated as North Korea tourism stalls
Some agencies are now promoting business trips to North Korea as an alternative, the source said. With no sign that tourism will resume, several agencies have dropped purely recreational travel packages. Instead, they pitch business visas as a way to see North Korea more freely.
Some Chinese agencies now tell customers that no one knows when tourism will resume, according to the source. But they say business trips offer a fast, easy way into North Korea, including visits to factories. Some frame the moment as a limited opportunity, warning North Korea could close its borders again at any time.
Businesspeople who invested in North Korea before the COVID-19 pandemic are now traveling in and out relatively freely, the source said. Photos and videos of their factory visits have circulated online. That has fueled frustration among Chinese would-be tourists, who ask why businesspeople are allowed in while ordinary tourists are not.
The gap between high expectations and the current reality has fueled frustration among Chinese travelers. Some say North Korea never intended to reopen tourism at all. Others note that investors travel in and out of North Korea multiple times a week while ordinary tourists remain barred, calling the policy hard to understand. Still others say North Korea seems willing to accept only those ready to invest money.
A growing number of Chinese people now believe that only business travel to North Korea is realistically possible, the source said. Doubts are mounting over whether tourism will ever actually resume.
Reporting from inside North Korea
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July 13, 2026 at 10:41PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)