SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – South Korea welcomed over 2 million international visitors in July 2026, with inbound travel remaining above pre-pandemic figures. The Korea Tourism Organization reported a total of 2,093,223 foreign arrivals for the month, reflecting a 20.8% increase from 1,733,199 in July 2025. This number also represents 144.6% of the July 2019 figure, before the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global travel.
Compared to July 2024, the total grew by 48.6% from 1,408,499 foreign visitors, with notable gains across South Korea’s main inbound markets. China continued to be the largest source, with approximately 777,000 travelers, followed by visitors from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Japan contributed around 330,000 visitors, and Taiwan accounted for about 261,000. The United States sent roughly 150,000 travelers, while Hong Kong’s arrivals totaled approximately 76,000. Each of these five markets surpassed its July 2019 numbers, with Chinese arrivals increasing by 49.6%, Japanese by 20.2%, and Taiwan recording the largest percentage growth at 129.4% from its 2019 level.
Leading Asian nations drive visitor growth
Arrivals from the United States rose by 54.4% compared to July 2019, and Hong Kong saw a 29.1% increase. These data indicate that South Korea’s primary inbound tourism markets have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels. China remained the dominant source in July, with Japan and Taiwan ranking second and third, while the United States continued to be the leading outside East Asia origin.
Between January and July 2026, South Korea hosted 12,803,142 foreign visitors, marking a 21.3% rise from the same period in 2025. This tally also reached 129.5% of the January-July figures from 2019. During this span, China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, Japan 2.28 million, Taiwan 1.41 million, and the United States about 960,000.
Seven months see 12.8M arrivals
In the first half of 2026, Hong Kong provided approximately 420,000 visitors. The Korea Tourism Organization announced the July tourism figures on August 25, which include both inbound visitors and outbound Korean travelers. In July, outbound travel by South Koreans reached 2,419,457, down slightly by 0.7% from the same month in 2025 when it was 2,435,291.
From January through July, roughly 17.38 million South Koreans traveled abroad, a figure that is 98.5% of the same period in 2019. The July statistics highlight a divergence in travel patterns, with foreign arrivals exceeding pre-pandemic levels while outbound travel remains just below the 2019 benchmark. The inbound total for July also outperformed both 2024 and 2025 figures by double-digit percentages.