Yanolja Research forecasts 23.57 million foreign visitors to Korea this year... "K-culture leads the way"

It is projected that the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea this year will reach 23.57 million, marking an all-time high.
In a brief published on the 17th, Yanolja Research revised its forecast for the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea this year to 23,567,000. This represents a 24.5% increase from last year's figure (18,937,000) and is approximately 2.31 million more than the upper end of the forecast (21.26 million) presented in January of this year.
The number of foreign visitors to Korea from January to July this year reached 12,803,000, a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of visitors in July was 2,093,000, marking the highest monthly figure this year. While 70% of the increase came from China, Japan, and Taiwan, the number of visitors increased from 53 out of a total of 59 countries.
The increase in travel to Korea from Japan and Taiwan was particularly notable. From January to July, while the total number of Japanese overseas travelers increased by 4.1%, the number of visitors to Korea rose by 18.8%; for Taiwan, the growth rate of travelers to Korea (34.3%) was also more than double the growth rate of total outbound travelers (16.3%).
Yanolja Research cited the growing interest in K-culture as a major factor. In Japan, searches for Korean-related arts and entertainment increased by 116.0% and food and beverage searches by 198.3% compared to the previous year, while in Taiwan, they increased by 38.7% and 69.8%, respectively.
The number of Chinese visitors to Korea increased by 27.5% to 3,988,000, and the number of Americans also rose by 11.6% to 962,000. It was also found that interest in searches related to K-culture has risen in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries.
However, this forecast is conditional on the assumption that favorable conditions, such as search interest, flight frequency, and exchange rates, will continue until the end of this year. To achieve the forecast, the number of visitors to Korea from August to December must reach 10,764,000, which is 28.5% more than the same period last year.
[email protected] Jeong Sun-min Reporter