1.23 Million Foreign Tourists Visit Korea in October... 'Highest Annual Record'

Korea Tourism Organization October Korea Tourism Statistics

The number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea last October was recorded at 1.23 million, marking the largest scale this year.

On the 24th, Chinese group tourists are arriving at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. On this day, to commemorate the 31st anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations, the Korea Tourism Organization held a welcoming event for Chinese group tourists. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the Korea Tourism Organization on the 29th, the number of visitors to Korea in October was 1,229,899, an increase of 158.3% compared to the same month last year (476,097).

The monthly number of inbound tourists exceeded 1 million for four consecutive months. The cumulative number of visitors from January to October reached 8.88 million, showing a 61% recovery compared to the same period in 2019 before COVID-19.

The country with the highest number of visitors in October was Japan (255,000). It was followed by China (249,000), the United States (116,000), Taiwan (97,000), and Thailand (46,000).

By region, the Gumi market showed the fastest recovery at 97% compared to 2019 before COVID-19. The Asia-Middle East region also recorded a recovery level of about 86%.

The number of overseas tourists from Korean nationals is also rapidly increasing. In October, the scale of overseas tourism by Korean nationals was 2,042,703, an increase of 164.1% compared to the same month last year (773,480). This is a recovery to about 95% of the same period in 2019.

From January to October, the total number of Korean nationals traveling abroad was 18.24 million, showing a recovery of up to 75% compared to the same period in 2019.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.