1.73 Million Foreign Tourists Visited Korea in July... Up 23.1% Year-on-Year

Cumulative Number of Foreign Tourists Surpasses 10 Million This Year

This year, the number of inbound foreign tourists to Korea has surpassed 10 million. Considering that the 10 million mark was also reached in August during 2019, the year with the highest number of foreign tourists on record, there is a strong possibility that Korea will attract an all-time high number of foreign visitors this year.

According to tourism statistics for July released by the Korea Tourism Organization on August 29, the number of foreign tourists in July reached 1,733,199, a 23.1% increase compared to the same month last year. The 23.1% growth rate is the highest monthly increase so far this year.

As a result, the cumulative number of foreign tourists this year has risen to 10,559,166, up 15.9% from 9,109,906 during the same period last year. The year with the highest annual number of foreign tourists was 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. By July 2019, the cumulative number of foreign tourists had reached 9,887,281. As of now, the number of foreign tourists this year is 6.8% higher than in 2019, when the all-time record was set.

On the 28th, domestic and international visitors to the 2025 Seoul International Cosmetics and Beauty Industry Expo and International Health Industry Expo in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are lining up to enter the exhibition hall. 2025.5.28. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

By country, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest share of foreign visitors in July, with 602,147 arrivals. This represents a 31.2% increase from 459,069 in July of the previous year.

Following China, the largest numbers of visitors came from Japan (299,782), Taiwan (199,280), the United States (131,822), Hong Kong (64,224), Vietnam (47,692), and the Philippines (41,692). The numbers of tourists from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Philippines also increased by 23.4%, 39.6%, 9.1%, 10.2%, 5.3%, and 20.4% respectively compared to the same month last year.

The number of outbound Korean tourists in July, which reflects the number of Korean nationals traveling abroad, was 2,435,291, a 2.7% increase from 2,501,969 in July last year. The cumulative number of outbound Korean tourists this year stands at 16,998,915, up 2.9% from 16,525,351 during the same period last year.