SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / RankWire.AI / – In July 2026, South Korea saw an influx of 2,093,223 foreign tourists, marking a notable continuation of the country’s robust rebound in global travel. This monthly figure represents a 20.8% increase compared to the 1,733,199 visitors recorded during the same month in 2025. Additionally, the total surpasses the July 2019 count by 44.6%, indicating a strong recovery to pre-pandemic levels, as reported by the Korea Tourism Organization on August 25.
The growth in international arrivals also reflects a significant rise from the same period two years earlier, with South Korea welcoming 1,408,499 international travelers in July 2024, making the latest tally 48.6% higher. During July 2026, China remained the leading source market for inbound tourism, with approximately 777,000 visitors. Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Hong Kong rounded out the top five countries contributing visitors.
Japan accounted for roughly 330,000 arrivals during the month, while Taiwan contributed about 261,000. The United States sent approximately 150,000 travelers, and Hong Kong provided roughly 76,000 visitors. All five of these key markets exceeded their visitor numbers from July 2019, with China increasing by 49.6%, Japan by 20.2%, and Taiwan experiencing a substantial 129.4% growth.
Asian regions propel July tourism growth
The United States saw a rise of 54.4% in visitor numbers compared to July 2019, while Hong Kong experienced an increase of 29.1%. The data for July indicates that South Korea’s most significant tourism markets have all moved past their pre-pandemic levels, with China remaining the dominant source of visitors, followed by Japan and Taiwan. The United States ranked fourth among the five main markets for that month.
Furthermore, the overall figures for 2026 demonstrate a strong upward trend in foreign tourism, as South Korea welcomed 12,803,142 international visitors from January through July, reflecting a 21.3% increase from the same period in 2025. This seven-month total reached 129.5% of the comparable 2019 level, with China contributing about 3.99 million visitors, Japan 2.28 million, and Taiwan 1.41 million, according to Korea Tourism Organization data.
Inbound tourism remains above pre-pandemic levels
During the first seven months of 2026, the United States contributed approximately 960,000 visitors, while Hong Kong added about 420,000 over the same period. These recent figures emphasize how much South Korea’s inbound travel volume has recovered compared to the years prior to the pandemic, with July arrivals surpassing the monthly totals of both 2024 and 2025 by double-digit percentages, and cumulative foreign visitor numbers remaining well above 2019 levels.
In contrast, outbound travel followed a slightly different trend during this period, as roughly 2,419,457 South Korean nationals traveled abroad in July, representing a 0.7% decrease from the 2,435,291 recorded in the same month last year. Between January and July, approximately 17.38 million South Koreans traveled internationally, a figure that equates to 98.5% of the same period in 2019. This suggests outbound travel is now marginally below pre-pandemic levels, even as inbound tourism remains significantly higher.