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Number of foreign tourists breaks Q1 record with 4.76 million visitors

Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 11:21 Updated: 16 Apr. 2026, 17:03

Visitors walk by BTS merch at a store in Jung District, central Seoul, on April 13. [NEWS1]

The number of foreign tourists to Korea reached 4.76 million from January through March, the highest figure for the first quarter of any year since the government began recording such data, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Thursday.

It marks a 23 percent increase from the same period last year. This March alone, 2.06 million foreign visitors arrived — also a monthly record — driven largely by BTS’s comeback performance on March 21.

By region, Chinese visitors accounted for the largest share with 1.45 million, followed by Japan with 940,000 and Taiwan with 540,000. Taiwan, notably, posted the fastest growth in visitor numbers among major markets, rising 37.7 percent.

The number of long-haul travelers from the United States and Europe rose to 690,000 during the first quarter of this year, up 11.9 percent and 25.6 percent, respectively, from last year.

Foreign tourists spent 3.2128 trillion won ($2.2 billion) with their credit cards over the same period, marking a 23 percent on-year increase.

Visitors also traveled beyond the capital.

Entries through regional airports, or those excluding Incheon International Airport and the Seoul-based Gimpo International Airport, rose 49.7 percent on year, and the share of overseas visitors traveling outside Seoul increased to 34.5 percent.

A total of 338 cruise ships stopped at major Korean ports, including Jeju, Busan and Incheon, up 52.9 percent from a year earlier.

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]