The number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with growth from Taiwan, the United States, and Europe adding to the recovery in Chinese and Japanese arrivals. The inbound tourism market is broadening from a few key countries to a wider mix of major source markets.
According to the "April 2026 Korea Tourism Statistics" released on the 21st by the Tourism Data Service Team of the Korea Tourism Organization on the 23rd, the number of foreign visitors to Korea last month totaled 2,027,860. This represents an 18.8% increase from 1,707,113 in the same month last year and stands at 124.0% of the level recorded in April 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
China was the largest source of visitors. Chinese arrivals in April reached 574,283, up 29.6% from a year earlier. Japan followed with 304,053 visitors, up 17.9%. Compared with April 2019, Chinese and Japanese arrivals reached 116.4% and 104.8% of pre-pandemic levels, respectively, also surpassing previous visitor numbers.
Notably, the growth in arrivals was not limited to China and Japan. Taiwanese visitors totaled 192,854, up 27.2% from a year earlier, while American arrivals reached 173,457, up 13.1%. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, Taiwan stood at 170.6% and the United States at 169.2%, far exceeding 2019 figures.
Long-haul markets including Europe and the Americas also showed strength. April arrivals from Europe and the Americas totaled 469,000, reaching 158.5% of the April 2019 level. The Asia and Middle East region recorded 413,000 visitors, recovering to 113.8% of the same month in 2019. Arrivals from the six Southeast Asian countries totaled 314,000, up 16.9% from a year earlier.
Cumulative arrivals this year have also continued to grow. From January to April, foreign visitors to Korea totaled 6,770,982, up 21.4% from the same period last year and at 123.6% of the same period in 2019. On a cumulative basis, China led with 1,998,609 visitors, followed by Japan with 1,244,028, Taiwan with 735,524, the United States with 482,625, and the Philippines with 230,356.
Outbound travel by Korean nationals has also surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The number of Koreans traveling abroad last month was 2,285,843, up 6.3% from the same month last year and at 101.8% of the level in April 2019. Cumulative outbound travelers from January to April totaled 10.62 million, reaching 105% of the same period in 2019.
The tourism industry believes that with foreign tourists arriving in greater numbers than before the pandemic and from a broader range of countries, Seoul-centered tourism should be expanded to regional visits and longer-stay spending. The growing inflow from multiple markets, including not only China and Japan but also Taiwan, the United States, and Europe, needs to be translated into tangible tourism benefits. "It is positive that visitors are increasing from a variety of markets," a tourism industry official said. "We need to design tourism products more thoroughly so that the growing number of foreign visitors can travel to the regions and spend locally."
