Tourists wishing to travel to North Korea’s border city of Gaeseong on weekdays will have to pay more starting next month.
Hyundai Asan, the operator of the tour program, said Friday that it will raise the tourism fee to Gaeseong by 10-thousand won, or around ten dollars.
Beginning September, adults will have to pay 188-thousand won to travel to Gaeseong during the week, students 170-thousand, preschoolers 150-thousand and children aged under two 120-thousand won.
When it first launched tours to Gaeseong last December, Hyundai Asan set its tourism fee at 180-thousand won without age limits. But beginning in April, the tourism operator introduced a fee system based on age.
Hyundai Asan reportedly decided to raise the tourism package fees amid a sharp drop in profits generated by inter-Korean tourism programs following the suspension of tours to Mount Geumgang. High global oil prices and high interest rates are also likely to be factors that led to the price hike.