South Korea’s inbound tourism surges, with Taiwan and US outpacing China

South Korea saw a strong rebound in foreign arrivals in May 2024, with 1.945 million inbound visitors – 31 % higher than the same month in 2019. While China remained the largest source market (560,000 visitors), its growth was modest at 10 % year‑on‑year. In contrast, Taiwan’s arrivals jumped 188 % and the United States 158 % over 2019 levels, highlighting a diversification of the inbound tourism mix. Cumulatively, January‑May foreign arrivals rose 21 % versus the previous year and reached 125 % of the pre‑pandemic total.

In the historic city of Gyeongju, foreign tourist numbers also climbed, up 18.3 % from the same period last year to 569,357 visitors. Local officials attribute the rise to heightened international visibility after the APEC summit, and they are rolling out a “post‑APEC global tourism policy” to further attract visitors from the United States, Southeast Asia, Russia and other regions.