North Korea Reverses Its Tourism Comeback, Freezing Western Travel And Jeopardizing Its Luxury Beach Resort Project

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North Korea has abruptly paused Western tourism just weeks after reopening its borders, leaving travel groups uncertain about future visits to the secretive nation.

North Korea has unexpectedly suspended its efforts to attract Western tourists, mere weeks after welcoming foreign visitors for the first time in years.

Travel agencies that had been offering Britons rare access to the secretive nation now report that trips to the port city of Rason have been put on hold. This comes shortly after Pyongyang cautiously reopened its borders to international travelers last month.

Young Pioneer Tours, a company known for organizing trips to unconventional destinations, issued an advisory on Wednesday urging travelers to delay booking flights.

The move comes as a surprise, particularly as North Korea had been making efforts to reestablish its tourism sector after sealing itself off during the Covid-19 pandemic. While some restrictions eased in 2023, the first groups of Russian tourists were only allowed entry last year.

Pyongyang had even been promoting a grand new tourism project—the Wonsan Kalma resort on the west coast, designed to rival Spain’s Costa Blanca. The ambitious beachfront development was expected to open as soon as this summer, promising a “coastal wonderland” for foreign guests.

However, the sudden halt on tourism raises fresh questions. Travel agencies report that their North Korean contacts have offered no explanation for the decision.

Despite the abrupt change, tour companies confirmed that groups already in Rason were able to complete their trips as planned.

Justin Martell, marketing director at Young Pioneer Tours, told MailOnline that a tour group had successfully returned from North Korea just a day prior. Images from their visit included snapshots at the Russian Friendship Pavilion near the border and a Taekwondo performance.

North Korea has long sought to develop its tourism sector, with grand ambitions to create a “Benidorm-style” resort on its western coast. The Wonsan Kalma project, reportedly inspired by a 2017 research trip to Spain, was envisioned as one of the largest single-operator beach resorts in the world, with capacity for up to 100,000 visitors at a time.

Originally slated to open in May 2025, the resort—situated along pristine white sand beaches—sits uncomfortably close to a rocket-testing site.

The indefinite tourism suspension casts uncertainty over these plans.

South Korean agencies estimate that approximately 880 Russian tourists visited North Korea last year, while at least a dozen Western travelers have entered the country on five-day tours organized by Koryo Tours.

Before the pandemic, the country’s tourism sector attracted around 350,000 visitors annually, with an estimated 90 percent coming from China, according to the South Korean Institute for National Security Strategy.

With North Korea once again shutting its doors, the future of its fragile tourism revival remains unclear.