SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed more than 2 million overseas tourists, with inbound travel figures remaining higher than those before the pandemic. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the country recorded 2,093,223 international visitors in that month. This represents a 20.8% increase from 1,733,199 arrivals in July 2025 and accounts for 144.6% of the visitor number in July 2019, prior to the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
The July tally also shows a 48.6% rise from the 1,408,499 foreign tourists recorded in July 2024. The recent statistics reveal significant growth across South Korea’s key source markets. China remained the top origin country during 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 visitors in July, while Taiwan brought in about 261,000. Visitors from the United States numbered approximately 150,000, and Hong Kong accounted for around 76,000 arrivals. Each of these markets also surpassed their July 2019 figures. Chinese visitors increased by 49.6% compared to July 2019, Japanese visitors went up by 20.2%, and Taiwan saw the largest percentage growth with an increase of 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Leading Asian nations drive visitor expansion
Compared to July 2019, arrivals from the United States rose by 54.4%, while Hong Kong visitors increased by 29.1%. The data indicates that South Korea’s principal inbound markets have rebounded above their pre-pandemic levels. China continued to be the largest contributor by a significant margin in July. Japan and Taiwan ranked second and third, respectively, with the United States remaining the primary source market outside of East Asia.
From January to July 2026, South Korea received a total of 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month total reflects a 21.3% growth compared to the same period in 2025 and has reached 129.5% of the January-July figure in 2019. China contributed about 3.99 million visitors during this span, followed by Japan with 2.28 million, Taiwan with 1.41 million, and the United States with around 960,000 arrivals.
Seven-month inbound arrivals total 12.8 million
During the first half of 2026, Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 tourists. On August 25, the Korea Tourism Organization published the July tourism data, which encompasses both inbound visitors and South Korean residents traveling abroad. In July, outbound travel by South Koreans was recorded at 2,419,457 trips, representing a slight decrease of 0.7% from the same month in 2025, which saw 2,435,291 outbound travelers.
Between January and July, roughly 17.38 million South Koreans traveled overseas, reaching 98.5% of the corresponding period’s level in 2019. The July figures highlight contrasting trends: inbound tourist numbers are significantly above pre-pandemic levels, whereas outbound travel remains just below its 2019 benchmark. Notably, South Korea’s inbound count in July surpassed its figures from both 2024 and 2025 by double digits.