SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed more than 2 million international tourists as inbound travel figures continued to surpass pre-pandemic levels. The Korea Tourism Organization reported a total of 2,093,223 foreign visitors for the month. This number reflects a 20.8% increase from the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025. Furthermore, it represents 144.6% of the visitor count from July 2019, prior to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to global travel.
The July total also marks a 48.6% growth compared to the 1,408,499 foreign arrivals in July 2024. Recent data indicate widespread gains across South Korea’s key inbound tourism markets. China remained the leading source of foreign visitors in July, with approximately 777,000 arrivals, followed by travelers from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed around 330,000 visitors, while Taiwan brought in roughly 261,000. The United States accounted for about 150,000 visitors, and Hong Kong contributed approximately 76,000. All five of these markets also exceeded their July 2019 figures. Chinese arrivals increased by 49.6% from July 2019, Japanese visitors went up by 20.2%, and Taiwan saw the largest percentage rise among them, increasing by 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Leading Asian markets drive surge in visitor numbers
Compared to July 2019, arrivals from the United States grew by 54.4%, and those from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. These figures demonstrate that South Korea’s major inbound tourism sources have now surpassed their pre-pandemic levels. In July, China remained the dominant contributor by a significant margin, with Japan and Taiwan ranking second and third. The United States continued to be the largest outside East Asia market for South Korea.
Between January and July 2026, South Korea received 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month total reflects a 21.3% rise compared to the same period in 2025, and it reached 129.5% of the inbound figures from January to July 2019. China accounted for about 3.99 million visitors during this period, with Japan following at 2.28 million. Taiwan contributed 1.41 million, and the United States sent roughly 960,000.
Seven-month foreign arrivals total 12.8 million
During the first half of 2026, Hong Kong provided about 420,000 visitors. The Korea Tourism Organization published the July tourism data on August 25, covering both inbound visitors and South Koreans traveling abroad. Outbound trips by South Koreans in July numbered 2,419,457, showing a slight decrease of 0.7% from July 2025 when outbound travel was 2,435,291.
From January to July, approximately 17.38 million South Koreans traveled overseas, reaching 98.5% of the same period’s 2019 level. This indicates a divergence between inbound and outbound travel trends, with foreign visitors exceeding pre-pandemic numbers, while outbound trips remain marginally below their 2019 benchmarks. The July inbound count also outperformed both 2024 and 2025 figures by double digits.