China emerges as the preferred choice.
In the first half of 2025, South Korea recorded about 14.56 million outbound travelers, a nearly 4% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This indicates a continued recovery, though the overall trend now shows a sign of plateauing, suggesting normalized growth with limited further expansion.
The most notable trend in H1 2025 is a significant increase in travel to China, partially replacing flows that traditionally went to Southeast Asia.
The natural increase was about 540,000 travelers, accounting for 69% of the combined net increase of 740,000 to China and Japan. From another perspective, the net decrease in travel to Thailand and the Philippines was 150,000 and 140,000 respectively, together representing over 60% of the net increase to China (470,000).
This highlights a structural shift in South Koreans’ travel choices: China is becoming an alternative to Southeast Asia, emerging as the preferred short-haul option and reducing the relative appeal of Southeast Asian destinations.
In contrast to the “ceiling effect” in outbound travel, South Korea’s inbound arrivals are on an upward trajectory. In 2024, the country received 16.97 million international visitors, roughly between 2018 and 2019 levels. In H1 2025, arrivals reached 9.15 million, suggesting the full-year total could surpass the 2019 record of 17.5 million.
Mainland China remains the largest source market, with approximately 2.18 million visitors in H1, accounting for 24% of inbound tourists. The annual increase of 297,000 contributed 26% of overall growth, showing China’s rising influence.
Japan ranks second with 1.91 million visitors, growing roughly 17%. Taiwan and Hong Kong showed higher growth rates of 30% and 24% respectively, totaling 1.31 million visitors combined.
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