North Korea halts foreign tours over Ebola fears – travel agents

BEIJING, China – North Korea will close its borders to foreign tourists on Friday, October 24, due to Ebola fears, travel agencies said, as the number of people that have contracted the deadly virus nears 10,000 in West Africa.

Three travel agencies specializing in North Korean tours, two of them based in China, issued statements Thursday, October 23, informing clients that the country was closing itself to tourists until further notice because of the threat of the disease.

North Korean state news agency KCNA did not confirm the ban, but said “thorough preventive measures” were being taken in Pyongyang and elsewhere to combat Ebola.

“The virus has not entered the country as yet,” it added.

It was unclear whether the reported travel ban would also apply to business and official travelers.

But Nick Bonner, founder of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, said the company had been told that tourists would be barred from entry from Friday.

“We have just received news from our partners in Pyongyang that the country is not accepting any international tourists from tomorrow, effectively closing its borders due to the threat of the spread of the Ebola virus,” he said.

“It is presently unknown how long this closure will be in effect for,” he added, citing “the very changeable nature of DPRK policy”.

Young Pioneer Tours, which is headquartered in the Chinese city of Xian, said in a statement that Pyongyang was barring tourists “regardless of where they have recently visited”.

A third company, London-based Juche Travel Services, also confirmed that it had received news of the ban via its North Korean partners.

But three Chinese travel agencies in the border city of Yanbian said they had received no such notice.

The KCNA statement said that North Korean officials were carrying out more thorough checks and quarantine procedures “at airfields, trading ports and border railway stations”.

“Public health organs are regularly examining all people in order to rapidly confirm people suspicious of having contracted the disease and taking measures to treat them,” it added.

The UN’s public health body said Wednesday that 9,936 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three countries at the epicenter of the world’s worst-ever Ebola epidemic – have contracted the disease. In total, 4,877 people have died so far.

Some countries have banned travelers and flights from Ebola-hit countries, and a number of airlines have boycotted the region.

But North Korea would be the first country to ban foreign tourists entirely.

The move would not be unprecedented: in 2003 it suspended tours for three months due to fears over the spread of SARS, Koryo Tours said.

“During the SARS epidemic, there was a similar reaction from the North Koreans,” a Koryo spokesperson said.

“They probably feel that it is a threat – or perceived threat – and have gone into shutdown mode, which is unfortunate for tourism.” – Rappler.com