SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – South Korea reported welcoming 2,093,223 international visitors in July 2026, marking a significant rebound in overseas tourism. This monthly figure grew by 20.8% compared to the 1,733,199 arrivals in July 2025. Additionally, it was 44.6% higher than the number recorded in July 2019, prior to the pandemic’s impact on global travel. The Korea Tourism Organization shared the latest monthly tourism statistics on August 25.
Compared to the same month two years earlier, foreign visitors also increased markedly. In July 2024, South Korea saw 1,408,499 international arrivals, making the current total 48.6% higher. China remained the leading source market for inbound tourism during July 2026, with approximately 777,000 visitors from there. Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five source countries.
Japan contributed around 330,000 foreign visitors that month, while Taiwan provided about 261,000. The United States sent roughly 150,000 travelers, and Hong Kong accounted for approximately 76,000. All five of these key markets exceeded their visitor counts from July 2019. China’s figures increased by 49.6% over that benchmark, Japan’s rose by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced a remarkable 129.4% growth.
Asian nations propel tourism growth in July
U.S. visitors rose by 54.4% compared to July 2019, while arrivals from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The data for July reveal that South Korea’s primary tourism markets have all surpassed their pre-pandemic levels. China continues to lead in visitor volume, trailed by Japan and Taiwan, with the United States ranking fourth among the top five markets for the month.
The overall figures for the first seven months of 2026 also demonstrate robust growth in international tourism. From January to July, South Korea welcomed 12,803,142 overseas travelers, representing a 21.3% increase over the same period in 2025. This seven-month total reached 129.5% of the corresponding period in 2019. Data from the Korea Tourism Organization indicated that China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, followed by Japan with 2.28 million and Taiwan with 1.41 million.
Inbound tourism remains above pre-pandemic levels
During the first seven months of 2026, the United States accounted for roughly 960,000 visitors, while Hong Kong added about 420,000 in the same timeframe. These latest statistics highlight the substantial increase in South Korea’s inbound travel compared to pre-pandemic years. July arrivals exceeded both the 2024 and 2025 monthly totals by double-digit percentages, and overall foreign visitor numbers remained significantly above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel, however, showed a different trend during this period. Approximately 2,419,457 South Koreans traveled abroad in July, representing a slight decrease of 0.7% from 2,435,291 the previous year. From January to July, around 17.38 million South Koreans journeyed overseas. This cumulative figure equates to 98.5% of the same timeframe in 2019, indicating outbound travel has dipped slightly below its pre-pandemic level, while inbound tourism remains notably higher.