page_title: Tourism in North Korea
section_title: Tourists from Western countries
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in North Korea / Guided tours / Tourists from Western countries
caption_attribution_description: Outdoor water park
context_page_description: Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the North Korean government. Only about 4,000 to 6,000 Western tourists visit North Korea each year. All tourism is organized by one of several state-owned tourism bureaus, including Korea International Travel Company, Korean International Sports Travel Company, Korean International Taekwondo Tourism Company and Korean International Youth Travel Company.
context_section_description: For Westerners, there are a small number of private tour operators that help provide access to North Korea. These include Koryo Tours (known for its North Korean-related films such as Comrade Kim Goes Flying and strong history in the region); Uri Tours (known for its role in Dennis Rodman's and Eric Schmidt's trips to North Korea); Lupine Travel (a UK-based budget travel agency known for its DPRK Amateur Golf Open); Rocky Road Travel (a Berlin based company); Juche Travel Services (a UK-based company); and KTG (known for their small sized groups and affordable tours). FarRail Tours also takes tours to see operating steam railways and the Pyongyang Metro.
  In 2016, an American college student, Otto Warmbier, was arrested and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for allegedly removing a propaganda poster from a wall in his Pyongyang hotel. At the time of his arrest, Warmbier was traveling with China-based tour operator Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) on a five-day tour of North Korea. He was later released and returned to the U.S. in a coma, which led to his death on 19 June 2017. As a result, YPT announced it would no longer take U.S. citizens to North Korea as the risk was "too high". Other North Korea tour companies  announced they would also review their positions on accepting U.S citizens. In July 2017, the U.S. government announced that American citizens would no longer be permitted to visit North Korea as tourists. The travel ban took effect on September 1, 2017.
caption: Munsu Water Park
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