SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed a total of 2,093,223 foreign tourists, demonstrating a robust resurgence in global travel to the country. This monthly figure reflects a 20.8% rise compared to the 1,733,199 arrivals recorded in July 2025. Notably, it is also 44.6% higher than the number seen in July 2019, prior to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. The Korea Tourism Organization disclosed the latest monthly tourism statistics on August 25.
The number of international visitors in July 2026 also experienced a significant increase compared to the same month two years earlier. South Korea saw 1,408,499 overseas travelers in July 2024, making the current total 48.6% higher. During July 2026, China remained the leading source of inbound tourists to South Korea, with approximately 777,000 visitors. Following China, Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five source markets.
Japan contributed around 330,000 foreign visitors in July, while Taiwan provided roughly 261,000. The United States accounted for approximately 150,000 travelers, and Hong Kong added about 76,000. All five primary markets surpassed their visitor totals from July 2019. China increased by 49.6%, Japan by 20.2%, and Taiwan experienced a remarkable 129.4% growth from that benchmark.
Asian nations lead the July tourism recovery
Tourists from the United States grew by 54.4% compared to July 2019, with Hong Kong arrivals rising by 29.1%. The data for July indicates that South Korea’s key tourism markets have all rebounded past their pre-pandemic levels. China maintained its position as the largest visitor source, followed by Japan and Taiwan. The United States ranked fourth among the five leading markets reported for the month.
The overall 2026 figures further highlight a strong upward trend in foreign tourism. From January through July, South Korea received 12,803,142 international visitors, which is a 21.3% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The total for the first seven months reached 129.5% of the corresponding 2019 level. Data from the Korea Tourism Organization indicates that China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, with Japan providing 2.28 million and Taiwan 1.41 million.
Inbound travel remains above pre-pandemic figures
During the first seven months of 2026, the United States brought in approximately 960,000 visitors, while Hong Kong contributed roughly 420,000. These figures underscore the extent of South Korea’s inbound tourism recovery compared to pre-pandemic years. In July alone, arrivals exceeded both the 2024 and 2025 monthly totals with double-digit growth, and the cumulative number of foreign visitors remained well above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel, however, showed a different pattern. In July, around 2,419,457 South Korean residents traveled abroad, a slight decrease of 0.7% from 2,435,291 the previous year. Between January and July, approximately 17.38 million South Koreans went overseas. This cumulative figure reached 98.5% of the same period in 2019, indicating outbound travel is marginally below its pre-pandemic level while inbound tourism stays significantly higher.