SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – As of July 2026, South Korea experienced a significant surge in inbound tourism, with foreign visitor numbers surpassing 2 million for the first time since the pandemic. The country welcomed a total of 2,093,223 international travelers during the month, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. This figure represents a 20.8% increase compared to 1,733,199 visitors in July 2025 and amounts to 144.6% of the count recorded in July 2019, before COVID-19 disrupted global travel patterns.
In addition, the July total reflects a 48.6% rise from the 1,408,499 foreign arrivals documented in July 2024. The latest data highlights broad growth across South Korea’s key inbound tourism markets. China remained the primary source of foreign visitors for the month, with approximately 777,000 travelers arriving from there, followed by visitors from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed roughly 330,000 visitors in July, while Taiwan brought in about 261,000. The United States accounted for around 150,000 arrivals, and Hong Kong contributed approximately 76,000. All of these markets also exceeded their July 2019 figures. Arrivals from China grew 49.6% from July 2019, Japanese visitors increased by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced the largest percentage growth at 129.4% compared to 2019 levels.
Leading Asian Markets Drive Visitor Numbers
Compared to July 2019, arrivals from the United States rose by 54.4%, while Hong Kong’s numbers increased by 29.1%. The data clearly indicates that South Korea’s major inbound tourism sources have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. China remained the dominant contributor by a substantial margin, with Japan and Taiwan ranking second and third respectively, and the United States maintaining its position as the largest outside East Asia market.
From January through July 2026, South Korea hosted 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month tally increased by 21.3% compared to the same period in 2025 and reached 129.5% of the January-July total in 2019. During this period, China provided around 3.99 million travelers, followed by Japan with 2.28 million, Taiwan with 1.41 million, and the United States with about 960,000 visitors.
Seven-Month Visitor Count Hits 12.8 Million
In the first half of 2026, Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 visitors. The Korea Tourism Organization released the July tourism figures on August 25, encompassing both inbound travelers and South Koreans traveling abroad. During July, outbound trips by South Korean residents totaled 2,419,457, representing a slight 0.7% decrease from July 2025, when outbound travel was 2,435,291.
Between January and July, roughly 17.38 million South Koreans traveled overseas. This cumulative outbound travel figure is 98.5% of the corresponding period in 2019. The July data reveals contrasting trends: while inbound tourism has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, outbound travel remains just below the 2019 benchmark. Additionally, South Korea’s inbound arrivals in July surpassed figures from both 2024 and 2025 by double digits.