South Korea sees record foreign arrivals in Q1 2026

SEOUL: The Republic of Korea welcomed a record number of foreign tourists in the first quarter of this year, driven by a massive influx of fans attending a landmark performance by K-pop megastar BTS in central Seoul last month, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 4.76 million foreign tourists entered the country between January and March, up 23 percent from the same period in 2025, the highest first-quarter figure on record.

China led inbound travel with about 1.45 million visitors, up 29 percent, followed by Japan with 940,000, a 20 percent rise.

Taiwan posted the sharpest year-on-year increase of 37.7 percent to 540,000, while arrivals from the Americas and Europe grew 17 percent to 690,000.

Arrivals via regional airports surged nearly 50 percent to 850,000, boosting the proportion of foreign tourists visiting local regions to 34.5 percent.

Cruise tourism showed a strong rebound, with 338 vessel calls at major ports, including Jeju, Busan and Incheon, up 52.9 percent from the same period in 2025.

Tourist spending with foreign cards totaled 3.21 trillion won (US$2.18 billion), up 23 percent from a year earlier, while travel satisfaction rose to 90.8 points, up 1.1 points from 89.7 a year ago, in a poll.