In an expanded meeting, the Yanggang Province Party Committee discussed organizing tourism projects to follow up on the adoption of a new tourism law, Daily NK has learned.
“After the adoption of the new tourism law at the end of August, Yanggang Province’s party committee convened officials from the field of tourism in mid-October to discuss ways to carry out tourism initiatives,” a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
According to the source, the provincial party committee stressed during the meeting that given provisions about expanding international tourism in the newly enacted tourism law, Yanggang Province needs to turn Samjiyon, which is on the slopes of Mt. Paektu, into a global tourism destination so that the province can support itself with tourism.
The provincial party committee noted that the reason Samjiyon has been upgraded from a county to a city and has received so much support from the whole country was so that it could become a global tourism destination. As such, the committee said, city officials need to take the lead in raising funds for the Workers’ Party with tourism revenue.
Another point raised by the provincial party committee is that non-Koreans frequently remark that it is better to approach Mt. Paektu from the North Korean side, in Yanggang Province, than from the Chinese side, which would give the North Koreans a chance to corner the market in tourism to Mt. Paektu.
The provincial party committee also instructed local officials to take the initiative in preparing administrative and financial agencies for frequent field trips to the city of Samjiyon and tours of Mt. Paektu.
At the same time, the provincial party committee asked officials to organize more frequent training for people working in the field of tourism, including tour guides, attendants and interpreters, to boost their capabilities, on the grounds that extensive knowledge and information about tourism will be needed to draw tourists to the area.
The committee furthermore stressed the need for the general public to be educated in the basic approach to treating foreign tourists.
In addition, the committee called for establishing reliable programs for managing, repairing and preserving precious historical sites and battlefields in Yanggang Province that are holy sites of the revolution where patriots shed their blood.
North Korea’s State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance will reportedly be reviewing a wide range of facilities at the end of this month to see whether Samjiyon is capable of simultaneously accommodating tours by foreigners and field trips by locals.
The provincial party committee instructed officials to take the necessary preparations to ensure the province makes a suitable impression, given the revolutionary sites located there, thus avoiding humiliation when inspectors visit from the Central Committee.
“The provincial committee has dispatched officials to various tourist facilities in Samjiyon to deal with any outstanding issues or complications prior to the inspectors’ arrival,” the source said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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