SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea recorded 2,093,223 international visitors, demonstrating a significant rebound in global travel. This figure marked a 20.8% increase compared to the 1,733,199 arrivals in July 2025 and was 44.6% higher than the pre-pandemic level in July 2019. The Korea Tourism Organization released these latest monthly tourism statistics on August 25.
The number of foreign visitors also saw a notable jump from July 2024, when South Korea welcomed 1,408,499 travelers, making this year’s total 48.6% higher. During July 2026, China remained the leading source of inbound tourists, with around 777,000 visitors, while Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five source markets.
Japan contributed approximately 330,000 foreign visitors, and Taiwan brought in about 261,000. The United States accounted for roughly 150,000 arrivals, with Hong Kong providing about 76,000. All five primary markets surpassed their July 2019 figures, with China increasing by 49.6%, Japan by 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing a 129.4% growth.
Asian regions lead July tourism growth
Visitors from the United States rose 54.4% compared to July 2019, and arrivals from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The July data confirms that South Korea’s major tourism markets exceeded their pre-pandemic levels, with China maintaining its position as the largest inbound source, followed by Japan and Taiwan. The United States ranked fourth among the five key markets for that month.
Data for the first seven months of 2026 also reveal robust growth in foreign visitors. South Korea welcomed 12,803,142 international arrivals during this period, a 21.3% rise from the same months in 2025, reaching 129.5% of the 2019 comparable total. According to Korea Tourism Organization figures, China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, with Japan at 2.28 million and Taiwan at 1.41 million.
Foreign arrivals surpass pre-pandemic levels
During the first seven months of 2026, the United States accounted for around 960,000 travelers, while Hong Kong contributed about 420,000. These figures highlight the extent of South Korea’s inbound tourism compared to previous years, with July arrivals exceeding both 2024 and 2025 monthly totals by double digits, and total foreign visitors remaining well above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel, however, showed a different trend. Approximately 2,419,457 South Koreans traveled abroad in July, down 0.7% from 2,435,291 in the same month last year. Between January and July, about 17.38 million South Koreans went overseas, a figure representing 98.5% of the same period in 2019. While outbound travel is slightly below its pre-pandemic benchmark, inbound tourism continues to be significantly higher.