SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed over 2 million international visitors, maintaining a level of inbound tourism that exceeds pre-pandemic figures. The Korea Tourism Organization reported that the country received a total of 2,093,223 foreign travelers during the month. This represents a 20.8% increase from the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025 and amounts to 144.6% of the July 2019 total, prior to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to global travel patterns.
Compared to July 2024, the latest figures show a 48.6% rise from the 1,408,499 foreign visitors. The data highlights significant growth across South Korea’s primary inbound tourism sources. China remained the leading contributor, accounting for roughly 777,000 arrivals, followed by travelers from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed approximately 330,000 visitors in July, while Taiwan’s share was around 261,000. The United States brought in about 150,000 tourists, with Hong Kong contributing roughly 76,000. Each of these markets surpassed their July 2019 figures, with Chinese arrivals up 49.6%, Japanese visitors up 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing the largest percentage jump at 129.4% from 2019 levels.
Leading Asian markets drive visitor growth
The United States saw an increase of 54.4% in arrivals compared to July 2019, while Hong Kong’s numbers rose 29.1%. These figures demonstrate that South Korea’s key inbound markets have rebounded past their pre-pandemic levels. In July, China remained the dominant source by a considerable margin. Japan and Taiwan ranked second and third, respectively, with the United States remaining the top outside-East Asia origin market.
From January to July 2026, South Korea received 12,803,142 foreign visitors. This seven-month total signifies a 21.3% rise over the same period in 2025 and reached 129.5% of the January-July level in 2019. China contributed roughly 3.99 million visitors, Japan followed with 2.28 million, Taiwan provided 1.41 million, and the United States accounted for about 960,000.
Seven-month inbound arrivals total 12.8 million
During the first seven months of 2026, Hong Kong contributed approximately 420,000 visitors. The Korea Tourism Organization released the July tourism data on August 25, which covers inbound foreign arrivals and outbound travel by South Korean residents. In July, outbound trips decreased slightly by 0.7%, totaling 2,419,457 people compared to 2,435,291 in the same month of 2025.
Between January and July, about 17.38 million South Koreans traveled abroad, reaching 98.5% of the same period in 2019. The data reveals a divergence: inbound visitor numbers are well above pre-pandemic levels, while outbound travel remains just below the 2019 benchmark. The inbound count for July also surpassed the figures for both 2024 and 2025 by double-digit percentages, highlighting a strong recovery in international arrivals.