28% of Japanese Overseas Travelers Headed to Korea; 2.28 Million Visited in January-July, a Record High

More than one in four Japanese overseas travelers visited Korea in the first seven months of this year. The share of trips to Korea reached 28%, a record high, making it the most popular overseas destination for Japanese travelers, ahead of the United States, Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Pattani FC, and Vietnam.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 31st that the number of Japanese tourists who visited Korea from January to July this year totaled 2.28 million, up 18.8% from a year earlier. Over the same period, the number of Japanese traveling abroad rose only 4.1% to 8.14 million, indicating a much stronger preference for trips to Korea.
The share of Japanese overseas travelers who visited Korea rose from 24.6% last year to 28.0% this year, up 3.5 percentage points. By comparison, the United States stood at 13.1%, Taiwan Creative Content Agency at 9.4%, Pattani FC at 6.8%, and Vietnam at 6.1%, leaving Korea far ahead.
The total number of foreign tourists visiting Korea also continued to grow. From January to July, 12.8 million foreign visitors came to Korea, up 21.3% from the same period last year, while foreign card spending rose 48.3% to 12.0859 trillion won.
The increase in Japanese visitors is seen as being driven by expanded air capacity between Korea and Japan, as well as the popularity of K-culture in Korea. As airlines reorganized long-haul routes toward shorter routes such as Japan after the surge in fuel prices, weekly air seat capacity between the two countries reached 349,000 as of July, up 2.4% from the end of last year.
As a result, arrivals by Japanese travelers through regional airports also rose sharply. From January to July, the number of Japanese arrivals at Gimhae International Airport reached 269,752, up 52% from a year earlier. Arrivals at Jeju International Airport jumped 60%, while Cheongju International Airport saw a 93% surge.
Growing everyday consumption of K-culture in Japan, including Korean food and cosmetics, also supported demand for trips to Korea. In Japan's imported cosmetics market, the share of Korean products rose from 30.8% last year to 33.5% in the first quarter of this year, keeping Korea in the top spot.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are promoting airfare campaigns, charter flights to regional airports, and local tourism campaigns to expand Japanese travelers' interest in visiting Korea into regional tourism. In October, they plan to hold the 2026 K-Beauty Week in Tokyo to promote Korean cosmetics, medical services, wellness, and more.
[email protected] Jung Soon-min Reporter