In September, foreign tourism to South Korea reached full recovery for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, even surpassing 2019 levels. According to the Korea Tourism Organization’s latest statistics, 1,464,300 foreign tourists visited South Korea last month, marking a 33.4% increase from last year and a slight 0.3% rise compared to September 2019.
Among international visitors, China led the way with 420,000 tourists, followed by Japan (310,000), Taiwan (120,000), the United States (110,000), and Vietnam (40,000). Compared to 2019, visits from Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., and Vietnam grew by 23.7%, 22.7%, 20.8%, and 2.4% respectively, while Chinese tourism recovered to 78% of its pre-pandemic levels.
From January to September, 12.14 million tourists visited South Korea, representing a 58.7% year-over-year increase and a 94% recovery compared to the same period in 2019. The largest numbers came from China (3.61 million), Japan (2.31 million), Taiwan (1.1 million), the U.S. (970,000), and Hong Kong (410,000).
Outbound tourism by South Korean citizens also surged. In September, 2,311,792 Koreans traveled abroad, a 14.6% rise from the previous year. Cumulative outbound travel from January to September reached 21.2 million, which is 96% of 2019’s levels for the same period.
This milestone highlights South Korea’s robust tourism recovery, with both inbound and outbound travel nearing or surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Leave a Reply