SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – Inbound tourism in South Korea surpassed 2 million visitors in July 2026, maintaining levels above those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. The country attracted a total of 2,093,223 international travelers during that month, as reported by the Korea Tourism Organization. This figure represents a 20.8% increase compared to 1,733,199 arrivals in July 2025, and it also amounts to 144.6% of the July 2019 count, prior to the global travel disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Furthermore, July’s total marked a 48.6% rise from the 1,408,499 foreign visitors recorded in July 2024. The latest statistics reveal significant growth across South Korea’s main inbound tourism markets. China remained the top source of visitors for the month, with approximately 777,000 arrivals from there, followed by travelers from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed roughly 330,000 tourists in July, while Taiwan brought in about 261,000. The United States accounted for around 150,000 visitors, and approximately 76,000 arrived from Hong Kong. Each of these five markets also exceeded their respective July 2019 figures. Chinese arrivals grew by 49.6% compared to July 2019, Japanese visitors increased by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced the largest percentage growth, rising 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Leading Asian Markets Drive Visitor Expansion
Compared to July 2019, arrivals from the United States grew by 54.4%, and those from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The data indicates that South Korea’s primary inbound tourism regions have moved above their pre-pandemic levels. China remained the largest contributor by a considerable margin in July. Japan and Taiwan ranked second and third, respectively, with the United States remaining the leading source outside East Asia.
From January to July 2026, South Korea hosted 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month total shows a 21.3% increase over the same period in 2025, reaching 129.5% of the January-July figure from 2019. China supplied roughly 3.99 million visitors during this period, followed by Japan with 2.28 million, Taiwan with 1.41 million, and the United States with about 960,000 arrivals.
Seven-Month Tourist Count Hits 12.8 Million
During the first half of 2026, Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 visitors. The Korea Tourism Organization published the July tourism figures on August 25, which include inbound arrivals and South Korean residents traveling abroad. In July, outbound trips by South Koreans reached 2,419,457, reflecting a slight decline of 0.7% from July 2025, when outbound travel totaled 2,435,291.
Between January and July, around 17.38 million South Koreans traveled overseas. This cumulative outbound number is at 98.5% of the same period in 2019. The July data indicates contrasting trends: inbound visitor numbers are well above pre-pandemic levels, whereas outbound travel is still marginally below its 2019 benchmark. Inbound arrivals in July also outperformed both the 2024 and 2025 figures by double-digit percentages.