Highlights
- Foreign card spending in South Korea hit a record ₩1.41 trillion (over $900 million USD) in May, up 73.7% year over year.
- South Korea welcomed 1.99M foreign visitors in June, 35% above the 2019 levels, with Chinese tourists accounting for the lion’s share of arrivals.
- South Korea’s overseas tourist influx surpassed its own outbound travel as the sector fell by 10% to 2M in June.
Monthly spending by foreign tourists in South Korea hit a record ₩1.41 trillion (over $900 million USD) in May, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization. It marked the third consecutive month of cross-border card transactions exceeding the ₩1T (~ $683M) threshold, emphasizing sustained tourism demand.
The figures move past interim event-based spikes to a wider commercial stabilization. Earlier expenditure records in March and April aligned with global fan arrivals for BTS performances in Seoul and Goyang. Foreign spending remained high in May despite the absence of major entertainment catalysts, signaling a steady baseline demand throughout retail and hospitality sectors.
Foreign Arrivals Rise Above 2019 Benchmarks
Inbound arrivals hit 1,993,128 in June, up 23.1% from the previous year and 135% of the threshold set in June 2019. Total first-half foreign visitor arrivals reached 10.71M, showcasing a 21.3% surge over the same period last year and surpassing the first-half levels of 2019 by 26.9%.
Mainland Chinese travelers were the key driver of top-line gains, increasing by 36.2% year-over-year to 649,582 in June. Visitors from China recorded 32.6% of cumulative foreign arrivals during the month and generated 46.1% of the overall year-over-year net increase. In the first half, Chinese visitor arrivals hit 3.21M, up 27.1% from the prior year.
Regional and long-haul source markets also maintained double-digit growth against pre-pandemic benchmarks. Taiwanese visitor arrivals surged 35.3% year-over-year to 223,127 in June, thus reaching 188.4% of June 2019 figures. On the other hand, US visitor traffic grew 6.9% to 177,744, which is 168.6% of its 2019 baseline. Simultaneously, Japanese tourist numbers grew 21.3% to 348,216. Combined arrivals from Europe and the Americas hit 376,000, up 47% as compared to June 2019.
South Korea’s Travel Gap Narrows
The expansion in foreign arrivals comes amidst a decline in overseas travel by domestic residents. Outbound South Korean departures fell 10% year-over-year in June 2026 to 2,004,723. First-half outbound departures totaled 14.96M, reaching 99.7% of levels recorded in the same period of 2019. As inbound arrivals topped outbound departures, South Korea's monthly travel gap narrowed down to 11,595 travelers in June, marking a significant improvement from its historical post-pandemic deficits.
