Passengers wait for their luggage upon arrival at the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea on Oct. 21, 2014.
In recent months, North Korea has taken steps to encourage foreign tourists — and their wallets — to visit the usually secretive country. But those efforts are now on hold because of the fear of Ebola.
Foreign tourists will no longer be allowed into the country beginning Friday, tour operators have said.
“We have just received news from our travel partners in North Korea that as of tomorrow (24th October 2014) tourists from any countries, regardless of where they have recently visited, will be temporarily suspended from entering North Korea as a strict measure of protection against the recent Ebola outbreak in the world,” Young Pioneer Tours posted on its website.
The tour company stated it is still waiting for direct confirmation from authorities in Pyongyang.
Foreign tourists have previously been allowed to visit the country, as long as they register with government-approved tours. However, the U.S. State Department advises against Americans visiting: Several U.S. tourists have been detained recently.
“Three days ago, they said that anybody who’s been to West Africa would have to provide a doctor’s certificate stating that they don’t have Ebola,” Gareth Johnson, the founder of Young Pioneer, told The New York Times. “And then today, they just said no foreign tourists at all.”
From a summer camp open to foreign kids, to opening the Pyongyang Marathon to amateur foreign runners, there has been no shortage of activities available to curious travelers.
The ban, however, would apply to all foreign tourists, regardless of whether they had recently visited the three countries most affected by Ebola: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
No cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Asia.