SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea experienced a notable increase in foreign visitors, with the total reaching 2,093,223 and reflecting a continued strong rebound in global tourism. This monthly figure represents a 20.8% rise compared to 1,733,199 arrivals in July 2025. Additionally, it surpasses the pre-pandemic level of July 2019 by 44.6%. The Korea Tourism Organization announced these updated monthly tourism statistics on August 25.
Foreign visitor numbers in July 2026 also showed significant growth compared to the same month two years prior. South Korea recorded 1,408,499 international arrivals in July 2024, making the current total 48.6% higher. China maintained its position as the country’s largest inbound tourism source during July 2026, with approximately 777,000 visitors. Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five source markets.
Japan contributed around 330,000 visitors during the month, while Taiwan accounted for roughly 261,000. The United States sent about 150,000 travelers, and Hong Kong supplied approximately 76,000 visitors. All five primary markets exceeded their visitor totals from July 2019, with China increasing by 49.6%, Japan by 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing a 129.4% rise.
Asian source markets propel July tourism growth
The number of visitors from the United States grew by 54.4% compared to July 2019, while arrivals from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The data for July demonstrates that South Korea’s leading tourism markets have all exceeded their pre-pandemic levels. China remains the dominant source in terms of visitor volume, followed by Japan and Taiwan, with the United States ranking fourth among the five largest markets for that month.
Looking at the wider year-to-date figures for 2026, the upward trend continues. From January through July, South Korea welcomed 12,803,142 international travelers, marking a 21.3% increase over the same period in 2025. This total reached 129.5% of the comparable figure in 2019. Data from the Korea Tourism Organization indicates China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, with Japan providing 2.28 million and Taiwan 1.41 million.
Inbound tourism exceeds pre-pandemic benchmarks in 2026
The United States added roughly 960,000 visitors during the first seven months of 2026, while Hong Kong contributed around 420,000 in the same timeframe. These latest figures highlight the significant rebound in South Korea’s inbound travel compared to the years preceding the pandemic. Arrivals in July surpassed both the 2024 and 2025 monthly totals by double-digit percentages, with cumulative foreign visitors remaining well above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel patterns, however, displayed a slight decline during this period. Approximately 2,419,457 South Korean residents traveled abroad in July, which is a 0.7% decrease from 2,435,291 the previous year. From January to July, around 17.38 million South Koreans went overseas. This cumulative figure is at 98.5% of the same period in 2019, indicating outbound travel has slightly dipped below its pre-pandemic level, even though inbound tourism stays substantially higher.