Inbound Tourists to Korea Surpass 1 Million per Month for Two Consecutive Months Since COVID-19

263,000 Japanese and 260,000 Chinese Visitors to Korea in August
Rapid Recovery Since COVID-19

As the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea steadily increases, it has surpassed 1 million for two consecutive months for the first time since COVID-19.

On the 24th, Chinese group tourists are arriving at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. On this day, to commemorate the 31st anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China, the Korea Tourism Organization held a welcoming event for Chinese group tourists. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the 'August Korea Tourism Statistics' released by the Korea Tourism Organization on the 27th, the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea in August reached 1,089,133, an increase of 250.3% compared to the previous year.

This represents a recovery to about 69% of the same period in 2019, before COVID-19.

The cumulative number of inbound tourists from January to August totaled 6.55 million, reaching 57% of the same period in 2019, showing a rapid recovery trend.

The top visiting countries were Japan and China, each recording around 260,000 visitors, ranking first and second respectively. The market with the highest number of visitors in August was Japan (263,000), followed by China (260,000).

The fastest growing major inbound market recently is Taiwan (99,000), which increased about 22 times compared to the same period last year, ranking third.

Hong Kong also showed remarkable growth in the Greater China market, ranking fifth with 43,031 visitors, nearly 20 times more than the same period last year. The United States ranked fourth with 83,250 visitors.

Following were Thailand (17,379), the Philippines (24,059), Vietnam (39,540), Malaysia (15,522), Russia (14,198), Indonesia (18,538), and Singapore (15,070).

Meanwhile, the number of Korean nationals traveling abroad in August was 2,093,236, an increase of 198.1% compared to 702,153 in the same period last year. This is about 86% of the level in the same period in 2019, before COVID-19.