The number of foreign tourists who visited South Korea in April surpassed 2.03 million, 24% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. With visitors increasing sharply not only from China and Japan but also from Taiwan, the United States and Europe, the recovery in the inbound tourism market is spreading beyond a few countries to major source markets across the board.
According to the "April 2026 Korea Tourism Statistics" released Friday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Tourism Data Service Team of the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of foreign visitors to Korea last month totaled 2,027,860. The figure represents an 18.8% increase from 1,707,113 in the same month last year and is 124.0% of the level seen in April 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
By country, Chinese tourists led the way at 574,283, followed by Japan with 304,053, Taiwan with 192,854, the United States with 173,457 and the Philippines with 76,963. Compared with the same month last year, arrivals from China rose 29.6%, Japan 17.9%, Taiwan 27.2% and the United States 13.1%.
Most major markets also showed a recovery against pre-pandemic levels. Arrivals from China reached 116.4% of the April 2019 level, while Japan recovered to 104.8%. Taiwan and the United States far exceeded 2019 levels at 170.6% and 169.2%, respectively. The Philippines also recorded 115.7%.
Growth in long-haul markets was also notable. Visitors from the Americas in April totaled 236,370, 76.6% more than in April 2019. Arrivals from Europe reached 182,887, up 62.4% from the same month in 2019, driven by sharp increases from major European countries including France, Germany and Italy compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Cumulative inbound visitors this year have also continued to grow. Foreign tourists in the January-April period totaled 6,770,982, up 21.4% from the same period last year and 123.6% of the level in the same period of 2019. On a cumulative basis, China led with 1,998,609, followed by Japan with 1,244,028, Taiwan with 735,524, the United States with 482,625 and the Philippines with 230,356.
The number of Koreans traveling abroad has also surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Outbound Korean travelers last month numbered 2,285,843, up 6.3% from the same month last year and reaching 101.8% of the April 2019 level. Cumulative outbound travelers in the January-April period totaled 10,616,842, 5.0% more than in the same period of 2019.
The tourism industry is paying attention to the fact that this year's inbound market is moving away from a structure that relied solely on the recovery of China and Japan, as visitors are now increasing simultaneously from diverse markets including Taiwan, the United States and Europe. "The number of inbound visitors has already exceeded pre-pandemic levels," a tourism industry official said. "Going forward, what will matter is how much the increased foreign visitors translate into regional tourism and longer-stay spending beyond Seoul."
