1,629,387 Inbound Foreign Tourists in May... Up 14.9% Year-on-Year

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on June 30 that the number of inbound foreign tourists to Korea in May reached 1,629,387, marking a 14.9% increase compared to the same month last year. In May of the previous year, the number of inbound foreign tourists was 1,418,463.

Last month’s figure also represents a 9.7% increase compared to May 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, when 1,485,684 foreign tourists visited Korea. This indicates that the number of inbound tourists has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Yonhap News Agency

The cumulative number of inbound foreign tourists from January to May this year reached 7,206,747, a 14.7% increase compared to 6,284,133 during the same period last year.

By country, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest share of inbound visitors in May, with 484,390 arrivals. This represents a 22.6% increase from 395,222 Chinese tourists in May last year.

Japan followed with 291,626 visitors, then Taiwan with 150,272, the United States with 132,324, the Philippines with 60,559, and Hong Kong with 51,363. The number of tourists from Japan, Taiwan, and the United States also increased by 4.7%, 28.5%, and 7.8%, respectively, compared to the same month last year.

The number of outbound Korean tourists in May, representing Korean nationals traveling abroad, was 2,391,130, a 5.4% increase from 2,268,310 in the same month last year.