October foreign visitors jump 30 percent on-year

Aircraft line the tarmac at Incheon International Airport on Thursday. (Yonhap)

Korea welcomed 30.1 percent more foreign visitors this October compared to the same month last year, nearly matching pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

The state-run Korea Tourism Organization reported Friday that 1,690,263 tourists visited Korea in October 2024, reaching 97 percent of the October 2019 figures.

Most markets saw strong growth compared to last year. Chinese visitors led the charge with a 57.2 percent increase, while Taiwan and the Philippines each recorded 35.6 percent growth. Japanese and American arrivals also rose by 26.7 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively.

Thailand was the notable exception, with visitors dropping 13.6 percent, likely as a result of a crackdown on illegal immigration from the country and a nationwide social media campaign to boycott travel to Korea in response. The movement began last December following claims that Korean immigration officials were turning away Thai tourists with valid visas.

Total foreign arrivals for the first 10 months of 2024 reached 2.38 million -- up 54.7 percent from last year and approaching 94 percent of pre-pandemic levels. China topped the list with 4 million visitors, followed by Japan (2.63 million), Taiwan (1.24 million), the US (1.12 million) and Hong Kong (470,000).

Meanwhile, the number of outbound travelers also grew, with 2.38 million Korean nationals heading overseas in October. This represents a 16.6 percent rise from the same period last year and exceeds 2019 figures by 10.6 percent.