SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed over 2 million international tourists, with the total reaching 2,093,223, as inbound tourism remained robust above pre-pandemic figures. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, this number represents a 20.8% increase from the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025. It also accounts for 144.6% of the foreign arrivals in July 2019, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak that disrupted global travel.
Compared to July 2024, this total shows a significant rise of 48.6% from the 1,408,499 foreign tourists recorded. The latest data reveal substantial growth across South Korea’s key inbound tourism markets, with China remaining the top source of visitors for the month. Travelers from China numbered approximately 777,000, followed by tourists from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed roughly 330,000 visitors in July, while Taiwan accounted for about 261,000 arrivals. The United States sent approximately 150,000 tourists, and Hong Kong contributed around 76,000. All five of these markets exceeded their July 2019 figures, with Chinese arrivals increasing by 49.6% from 2019, Japanese arrivals up by 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing the highest percentage growth at 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Major Asian Markets Drive Growth in Tourist Arrivals
Visitor numbers from the United States rose by 54.4% compared to July 2019, while Hong Kong saw an increase of 29.1%. These figures indicate that South Korea’s primary inbound tourism regions have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels. China continues to be the leading contributor by a large margin, with Japan and Taiwan ranking second and third, respectively. The United States remains the leading source market among non-East Asian countries.
From January to July 2026, South Korea hosted 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month total grew by 21.3% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 129.5% of the inbound arrivals during the January-to-July span of 2019. During this period, China supplied approximately 3.99 million visitors, followed by Japan with 2.28 million, Taiwan with 1.41 million, and the United States with about 960,000.
Seven-Month Tourist Figures Hit 12.8 Million
Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 visitors during the first half of 2026. The Korea Tourism Organization published the July tourism data on August 25, covering inbound foreign travelers as well as South Korean residents traveling abroad. In July, outbound trips by South Koreans reached 2,419,457, reflecting a slight 0.7% decrease compared to the same month in 2025, which recorded 2,435,291 outbound travelers.
Between January and July, around 17.38 million South Koreans traveled abroad, with this cumulative outbound travel figure reaching 98.5% of the same period in 2019. The July data highlight contrasting trends in inbound and outbound travel, as foreign visitor counts have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, whereas outbound trips remain just below the 2019 benchmark. Additionally, South Korea’s inbound arrivals in July surpassed both their 2024 and 2025 figures by double-digit percentages.