Tour operators who had planned to take
groups to the Arirang, or Grand Mass
Gymnastic and Artistic Performance, in
North Korea watched the fruits of their labors dissolve instantly
as the government of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
canceled the event.
The cancellation
was attributed to the effects of severe flooding that has
reportedly left several hundred dead or missing, thousands homeless
and massive damage to infrastructure and the harvest. A planned
mobilization to deal with the crisis took precedence over the
countrys showcase event.
The Arirang,
originally scheduled for select dates from August through October,
is a spectacular event featuring 100,000 gymnasts, synchronized
dancers in brilliant costumes bathed in colored lights and people
who hold up colored placards in the stands, becoming pixels in
gigantic images.
Although some
suspected political motives to the cancellation in light of North
Koreas controversial military exercises in early July, Walter
Keats, president of Kenilworth, Ill.-based Asia Pacific Travel,
said he believes the cancellation is due to the flood.
The May Day
stadium (where the event was to be held) is on an island in the
middle of the river; one of the five-star hotels is also on an
island on the river, he said. They make money doing this. It would
not be in their interest to cancel it for political
reasons.
The cancellation
of the games was the second shoe falling for tour operators, Keats
added.
On June 29, the
government announced that they were expecting so many visitors that
they were going to restrict our stays to four days, he said. Like
many other tour operators, we were selling eight-day packages. With
two days for travel each way and one day in Beijing to get visas,
you want more than just three nights there. Most of our people said
its not worth it and canceled. But we still had about 65 out of 200
who were going.
With the
cancellation of the event, North Korea revoked its temporary
exception to its rule against issuing visas to
Americans.
Its back to
business as usual, said Tony Poe, director of marketing for Poe
Travel of Little Rock, Ark.
Tour operators
are now busy putting together their plans B, in hopes of persuading
their clients to still take the trips as scheduled, though theyll
no longer include North Korea.
To contact reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].