Foreign Visitors to Korea Top 10 Million in H1 as Spending Hits Record High
Creatrip Team
a month ago
South Korea welcomed over 10 million foreign tourists before the end of June, reaching the milestone about a month earlier than last year as K-pop and Korean content boost travel demand. From January to May, arrivals rose 21% year-on-year to 8.72 million, with another roughly 1.3 million in June pushing the total past 10 million. China and Japan remain the largest source markets, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, Europe, and the Americas also showed strong growth. Notably, more visitors are arriving via regional airports (a 42% increase Jan–May) rather than concentrating on Seoul’s airports, and cruise passengers are up as well. Foreign spending has surged: monthly card spending exceeded 2 trillion won in May for the first time since records began in 2018, and cumulative Jan–May card purchases jumped 47.3% year-on-year to 7.99 trillion won. Government officials credit expanded flight routes and the global popularity of K-content for the rebound and plan to partner with private sectors like K-pop to further promote Korea.
