South Korea tourism balance hits deficit in July

South Korea's tourism balance returned to a deficit in July, recording a loss of US$50.3 million. This follows a four-month period of surpluses, including a $596.6 million surplus in June, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization.

In July, spending by South Koreans traveling abroad reached $2.67 billion, surpassing the $2.62 billion spent by foreign visitors within the country. The tourism balance had previously been in deficit for 72 consecutive months starting in March 2020 due to the pandemic, before briefly returning to a surplus earlier this year.

Data from the Bank of Korea indicates that foreign tourist spending accounted for 1.17 percent of the country's GDP in 2025. During that year, 18.94 million foreign visitors traveled to South Korea, staying an average of 6.5 days and spending approximately US$177.8 per person per day.