After Flocking to Japan, Why Are Chinese Tourists Now Choosing Korea? ... A Dramatic Reversal in Just One Year

Chinese Visitors to Korea Surge 29% in July While Travel to Japan Plummets 56.1%

Korea Overtakes Japan After One Year; Record-High 2.09 Million Inbound Travelers

Culture & Tourism Institute Cites "Chinese Government's Advisory Against Travel

In July, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea was 1.8 times higher than those visiting Japan. Just last year, the number of Chinese travelers visiting Japan was significantly larger than those coming to Korea, but within a single year, the trend has reversed. While the number of Chinese tourists to Korea continued to show double-digit growth, the number visiting Japan dropped to less than half, resulting in a divergent trend in Chinese demand within the Korea-Japan tourism market.

Tourists waiting to enter in front of a duty-free shop in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the “International Tourism Trends 2026, Issue 8,” published by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute on September 14, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea in July reached 777,000, representing a 29.0% increase from the same month the previous year. Chinese visitors accounted for 37.1% of the total 2,093,000 inbound visitors to Korea. In the same period, the number of Chinese travelers to Japan was 428,200, which is a 56.1% decrease from the previous year. In simple terms, there were roughly 350,000 more Chinese tourists in Korea than in Japan, making the scale about 1.8 times larger.

The contrast becomes even clearer compared to a year ago. Based on the year-on-year change rates provided by the institute, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea in July last year was about 600,000, while those visiting Japan were approximately 980,000. At that time, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan was about 1.6 times that of Korea’s, but this year, the roles are reversed, with Korea’s numbers becoming 1.8 times those of Japan. While Korea saw an increase of approximately 170,000 visitors, Japan saw a decrease of about 550,000, resulting in the reversal of rankings.

The growth in Chinese tourism to Korea is especially notable even compared to pre-pandemic levels. In July, Chinese arrivals to Korea were at 149.6% of the figure for the same month in 2019, meaning about 50% more than before the pandemic. Taiwan was even higher, at 229.4% compared to July 2019. Alongside China, Taiwan grew 30.7% year-on-year, Hong Kong 18.7%, the United States 14.1%, and Japan 10.2%, with all of the top five inbound markets to Korea showing double-digit growth.

The total number of arrivals in Korea also hit an all-time monthly record. In July, 2,093,000 inbound foreign visitors entered Korea, up 20.8% from the same month last year. Following China were Japan with 330,000 visitors, Taiwan with 261,000, the United States with 150,000, and Hong Kong with 76,000. For the cumulative period from January to July, the total number of inbound visitors reached 12,803,000, up 21.3% year-on-year and 29.5% higher than the same period in 2019.

This does not mean that Japan’s overall inbound market has stagnated. In July, 3,442,000 foreigners visited Japan—increasing 0.1% compared to the same month last year, and still overwhelmingly higher than Korea’s total inbound numbers. While Chinese arrivals sharply declined, the number of South Korean and Taiwanese visitors to Japan increased significantly. The number of Koreans visiting Japan was 894,700, a 31.9% year-on-year rise, while Taiwanese visitors reached 763,800, up 26.4%, both marking all-time highs for July or any single month.

Looking only at the total inbound visitor scale, Japan still holds the lead. In July, Japan saw 3,442,000 visitors, about 1,350,000 more than Korea’s 2,093,000. The most notable finding in this data is not the reversal in the overall tourism market, but rather the completely opposite trends observed in Chinese tourist flows to Korea and Japan.

The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute cited the impact of the “Chinese government’s advisory to refrain from visiting Japan” as the primary reason behind the steep drop in Chinese tourists to Japan. Indeed, the number of Chinese visiting Japan in July was down 56.1% year-on-year, with the decline persisting. In contrast, the number of Chinese tourists to Korea rose by 29.0% in July and reached 149.6% of the same month in 2019, far surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

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