1–11 Months: 17.42 Million Foreign Visitors to Korea, Surpassing Last Year
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
South Korea welcomed 17.42 million foreign visitors from January to November, exceeding last year’s total. November arrivals reached about 1.60 million, recovering to 109.6% of last year’s same month. Top source markets were China (378,000 in Nov; 5.09 million YTD), Japan (363,000; 3.35 million YTD), Taiwan (158,000; 1.73 million YTD), the U.S. (133,000; 1.38 million YTD) and the Philippines (60,000; 560,000 YTD). Compared with November 2019 (pre-COVID), China and Japan recovered to 74.8% and 140.4% respectively, while Taiwan, the U.S. and the Philippines exceeded 2019 levels. Overall 1–11 month arrivals are 108.6% of the same pre-pandemic period. The industry expects total inbound visitors to surpass 18.7 million by year-end, helped by growing K-culture (K-pop, K-drama) interest and shifting demand from China and Japan amid regional tensions. Meanwhile, 2.47 million Koreans traveled abroad in November, and 26.8 million Koreans traveled overseas Jan–Nov (about 101.6% of 2019).
