Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the North Korean government. Only about 4,000 to 6,000 Western tourists visit North Korea each year. All tourism is organized by one of several state-owned tourism bureaus, including Korea International Travel Company (KITC), Korean International Sports Travel Company (KISTC), Korean International Taekwondo Tourism Company (KITTC) and Korean International Youth Travel Company (KIYTC).

On January 2, 2016, Warmbier was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport while awaiting departure from North Korea. Danny Gratton, a British member of Warmbier’s tour group, witnessed the arrest.[25] He said:

No words were spoken. Two guards just came over and simply tapped Otto on the shoulder and led him away. I just said kind of quite nervously, ‘Well, that’s the last we’ll see of you.’ There’s a great irony in those words. That was it. That was the last physical time I saw Otto, ever. Otto didn’t resist. He didn’t look scared. He sort of half-smiled.[19]

When the group’s plane was about to leave the terminal, an official came aboard and announced, “Otto is very sick and has been taken to the hospital.”[13] Some media reports indicated that Warmbier spoke by phone to a Young Pioneer tour guide following his arrest,[19][26] but this was denied by a Young Pioneer spokesman who told BBC News that “none of its employees had direct contact with Otto after he was escorted away.”[11] The others in his tour group left the country without incident