SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – The number of foreign travelers arriving in South Korea in July 2026 reached 2,093,223, marking a notable rebound in global tourism. This monthly figure shows a 20.8% rise compared to the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025. It also exceeds the pre-pandemic July 2019 level by 44.6%. The Korea Tourism Organization provided the latest monthly tourism data on August 25.
Compared to the same month two years earlier, foreign arrivals increased significantly. In July 2024, South Korea saw 1,408,499 international visitors, making the current total 48.6% higher. During July 2026, China remained the largest source of inbound tourists, with approximately 777,000 visitors from that country, while Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong made up the top five source markets.
Japan accounted for around 330,000 international visitors in that month, with Taiwan contributing roughly 261,000. The United States sent about 150,000 travelers, and Hong Kong added roughly 76,000. All five key markets surpassed their visitor numbers from July 2019. China increased by 49.6% from that benchmark, Japan by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced a 129.4% growth.
Asian countries lead the July tourism growth
From July 2019, visitor numbers from the United States rose by 54.4%, while arrivals from Hong Kong grew by 29.1%. The data for July demonstrates that South Korea’s main tourism sources have all recovered beyond their pre-pandemic levels. China remains the top source in terms of visitor volume, followed by Japan and Taiwan, with the United States ranking fourth among the five largest markets reported for the month.
The overall figures for the first seven months of 2026 also reflect strong international tourism growth. South Korea hosted 12,803,142 foreign visitors from January to July, an increase of 21.3% compared to the same period in 2025. This seven-month total reached 129.5% of the 2019 level. According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, China contributed roughly 3.99 million visitors, with Japan providing 2.28 million and Taiwan 1.41 million.
Inbound tourism remains well above pre-pandemic levels
The United States accounted for about 960,000 visitors during the first seven months of 2026. Over the same period, Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 arrivals. These recent figures highlight how South Korea’s inbound travel volumes in 2026 compare with pre-pandemic years. July arrivals surpassed both the 2024 and 2025 monthly totals by double-digit percentages, while total foreign visitor counts for the year stayed significantly above 2019 figures.
Outbound travel, however, followed a different trend in the same period. Approximately 2,419,457 South Korean residents traveled abroad in July, representing a slight decrease of 0.7% from 2,435,291 in the previous year. From January to July, around 17.38 million South Koreans traveled overseas. This cumulative figure is 98.5% of the 2019 equivalent, indicating outbound travel remains just below pre-pandemic levels, whereas inbound tourism continues to stay notably higher.