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U.S. Tourists Clamoring to Get Into North Korea

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 30, 2006
The anti-American commentary coming from North Korea hasn't deterred Americans from booking tours there.

While locals are clamoring to get out, U.S. visitors are clamoring to get in. The reason is obvious: the reclusive Communist country, which rarely grants visas to Americans, is allowing such visits for its annual Grand Mass Gymnastic and Artistic Performance, also called the Arirang Festival, during certain dates during a three-month stretch that starts in August.

The show features 100,000 performers in a 150,000-seat stadium and has been compared with the staging of Aida at the Great Pyramids and Turandot in Beijing's Forbidden City.

Although hotels, restaurants, and even plumbing can be concerns in the poverty-stricken country, American tour operators report quick sell-outs of their North Korean offerings.

Asia Pacific Travel, a Chicago-area company, has an itinerary that also features the Fatherland Liberation War Museum and the Grand Monument - a huge statue of the late Kim Il Sung, father of the current dictator and founder of the nation. Visitors will be accompanied by two North Korean escorts and won't be able to meet or talk to residents.

"North Korea is a destination that isn't comfortable," said Tony Poe, marketing director of Poe Travel in Little Rock, "but this is a chance to glimpse a society and culture that may not be around for very long."

He said his firm is excited to offer North Korea as a destination because many of his clients are world travelers who have made multiple visits to such places as Beijing.

North Korea has allowed American tourists only three times previously, most recently in 2005 and also for the Arirang performances. But all three previous offers were issued too late for potential travelers to plan their trips.

Among U.S. tour operators offering trips to the Arirang festival are Asia Pacific Travel, Geographic Expeditions, Koryo Tours, Poe Travel, and Universal Travel System.

Asia Pacific has 13 itineraries of 12 days each, Geographic Expeditions offers six 11-day excursions, and Universal features eight week-long itineraries that also include two nights in Beijing. Poe's tours include four nights in North Korea and extensive train travel.

Koryo is a Beijing-based British firm that specializes in North Korea and offers tours for Americans.

All travel in North Korea is handled by a government agency and visiting Americans are charged more than other international tourists. The average daily cost of $500 doesn't seem to deter the curious, however.

The late-summer tours to the reclusive dictatorship are selling so well that several operators have added additional departures. At the same time, they are telling clients to bring flexibility and a sense of humor with them.

"You've got to have the travel bug and be interested in exotic destinations," said Universal's Klaus Billep.

Luxury travel it ain't.

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