SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea welcomed a total of 2,093,223 international tourists, signaling a robust rebound in global travel. This monthly figure reflects a 20.8% rise from the 1,733,199 visitors recorded in July 2025. Moreover, it surpasses the pre-pandemic benchmark of July 2019 by 44.6%. The Korea Tourism Organization shared the latest tourism statistics on August 25.
Compared to the same month two years earlier, international arrivals also saw a significant increase. In July 2024, South Korea recorded 1,408,499 foreign visitors, making the recent total 48.6% higher. China remained South Korea’s primary inbound tourism source during July 2026, with approximately 777,000 visitors from that country. Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong were the other leading source markets.
Japan accounted for roughly 330,000 visitors, while Taiwan contributed about 261,000. The United States sent approximately 150,000 travelers, with Hong Kong providing around 76,000. Each of these five key markets exceeded their visitor numbers from July 2019, with China rising by 49.6%, Japan increasing by 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing a 129.4% growth.
Asian markets lead July tourism increases
Visitor numbers from the United States grew 54.4% compared to July 2019, while arrivals from Hong Kong increased by 29.1%. The data indicates that South Korea’s top tourism sources had all recovered past their pre-pandemic levels. China maintained its position as the largest market by visitor volume, with Japan and Taiwan following. The United States ranked fourth among the five major markets reported for this month.
The overall figures for 2026 also demonstrate notable growth in inbound tourism. From January through July, South Korea received 12,803,142 international visitors, marking a 21.3% increase over the same period in 2025. The total for these seven months reached 129.5% of the 2019 level. According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, China contributed about 3.99 million visitors, Japan 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 accounted for approximately 960,000 travelers, with Hong Kong adding about 420,000. These latest data highlight the volume of South Korea’s inbound tourism relative to pre-pandemic years. July arrivals exceeded the totals of July 2024 and 2025 by double-digit percentages, while overall foreign visitor numbers remained well above 2019 levels.
Outbound travel, however, followed a different trend during the same period. In July, roughly 2,419,457 South Koreans traveled abroad, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.7% from 2,435,291 the previous year. Between January and July, about 17.38 million South Koreans ventured overseas. This cumulative figure is 98.5% of the 2019 equivalent, indicating that outbound travel is marginally below its pre-pandemic level, while inbound tourism remains significantly higher.
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