SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed a total of 2,093,223 international tourists, indicating a robust rebound in global travel to the country. This monthly figure marks a 20.8% increase compared to the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025. Moreover, it exceeds the pre-pandemic level of July 2019 by 44.6%. The Korea Tourism Organization released the latest tourism statistics on August 25.
The number of foreign arrivals also saw a significant rise compared to the same month two years prior. In July 2024, South Korea hosted 1,408,499 international travelers, making the current total 48.6% higher. During July 2026, China continued to be the leading source of inbound tourists, with approximately 777,000 visitors. Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five source markets.
Japan contributed about 330,000 visitors for the month, while Taiwan provided around 261,000. The United States sent roughly 150,000 travelers, with Hong Kong contributing about 76,000. All five primary markets surpassed their respective July 2019 visitor figures. China saw an increase of 49.6% over that baseline, Japan grew by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced a 129.4% rise.
Tourism from Asia fuels July’s growth
Visitors from the United States rose 54.4% compared to July 2019, while arrivals from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The data for July demonstrate that South Korea’s key tourism markets have all rebounded past their pre-pandemic levels. China remains the top source in terms of visitor volume, followed by Japan and Taiwan. The United States ranked fourth among the five major markets for that month.
Looking at the overall first seven months of 2026, foreign tourism continues to thrive. South Korea received 12,803,142 international visitors from January through July, reflecting a 21.3% rise from the same period in 2025. The total for these seven months reached 129.5% of the corresponding figure in 2019. According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, China contributed around 3.99 million visitors, with Japan providing 2.28 million and Taiwan 1.41 million.
Inbound visitor levels stay above pre-pandemic figures
During the first seven months of 2026, the United States brought in approximately 960,000 tourists, while Hong Kong contributed about 420,000. These latest statistics highlight how inbound travel volumes remain significantly above the pre-pandemic years. Notably, July arrivals surpassed the totals for both July 2024 and July 2025 by double-digit percentages, with cumulative foreign visitor numbers also remaining well above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel, however, showed a different trend. In July, about 2,419,457 South Korean nationals traveled abroad, which is a 0.7% decrease from 2,435,291 a year earlier. From January through July, around 17.38 million South Koreans went overseas. This cumulative total represented 98.5% of the same period in 2019, indicating outbound travel is slightly below its pre-pandemic level, whereas inbound tourism remains notably higher.