Following a surge in bookings following the March DPRK-USA summit in Hanoi, a Vietnamese travel agency has entered into a deal with the Korea International Travel Company (KITC) to charter flights direct from Vietnam to Pyongyang.
The official memorandum of understanding was signed between the two organisations at the Vietnam International Tourism Mart, taking place between March 27th-30th in Hanoi. The deputy director of the Vietnamese company, Hanoitourist, stated that both parties were working towards increasing promotion to the little-visited country via charter flights.
Previously, tourists wishing to visit the DPRK from Vietnam were required to take a three-hour flight to Beijing, and a further two-hour flight to Pyongyang.
Le Hong Thai, deputy director of Hanoitourist, stated that the length of tours to the DPRK would remain the same, but by cutting out the Beijing transfer they could maximise tourists’ time spent in the DPRK.
Previously, the carrier used to take tourists from Vietnam to North Korea was Air China, which necessitated the inconvenient and costly Beijing connection. Very few countries have direct flights to North Korea, Russia and China currently being the only two.
North Korea’s tourist policy is extremely strict; all tourists are required to travel with an authorised tour company and are unable to travel on their own, with visas being issued through the tour company rather than direct to tourists.
The deal reached between the Hanoi-based tour company and KITC follows the historic second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in March. Whilst seen by many as something of a disappointment, the summit has nevertheless stoked the interest of the Vietnamese in travelling to the DPRK. Bookings have surged following the summit, which has enabled Hanoitours to broker the deal leading to chartered flights into the country.
In the meantime, however, tourists will have to opt for more traditional routes into the DPRK, which we are more than happy to help with! Contact us today to book your tour!
Interested in visiting Vietnam? We also offer tours there — check out our Vietnam and South-West China tour or Ultimate Leaders tour!
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