North Korea to open beach resort
North Korea is set to open up a new beach resort town to tourists.
Wonsan Kalma will initially open to domestic tourists next week.
It was the hometown of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un
According to state media the resort can accommodate up about 20,000 visitors, along a 4km stretch of beachfont, featuring hotels, restaurants, shopping and a water park.
It will start welcoming local tourists but there is is no news on when or if it will be open to foreign visitors.
Inbound tourism is still heavily restricted to mostly Russian and Chinese groups.
“I was hoping this might signal a broader reopening to international tourism, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case for now,” said Rowan Beard, the co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours.
North Korea started welcoming Russian tour groups again last year after a long gap since the pandemic.
Earlier this year it started accepting a limited number of foreign tourists from the UK, Europe and Australia.
However, that stopped just a few weeks later and there has been no news since about restarting it.
State media designed Wonsan Kalma as a ‘new era in tourism.’
Related News Stories: North Korea reopens for tour groups News Archive - Page 3097 of 9406 - TravelMole Thailand closes borders crossing after clash with Cambodia military Ride malfunction kills tourist in China Saint Lucia Tourism Authority names new CEO Avolon delivers Royal Jordanian's first Airbus A320neo South Korea offers visa exemption for China tour groups SkyTeam Airline Alliance | Official Website Korean Air makes big Boeing order Jetstar adds more Seoul flights
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Skyscanner reveals major travel trends 2026 at ITB Asia
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements