South Korea Tops China Outbound Tourism in H1 2026 as Japan Drops 56.4%

In the first half of 2026, the landscape of Chinese outbound tourism underwent a shift. South Korea received 3.21 million Chinese visitors, up 27.38% year-on-year, making it the most popular destination for Chinese travelers. Japan received 2.05 million Chinese visitors, a decline of 56.4%, slipping to fourth place. Thailand received 2.65 million Chinese visitors, up 18%, though still below the historical peak of over 10 million visitors in a single year.

Vietnam received 2.70 million Chinese visitors, of whom 1.92 million entered via land borders, with a significant number being day-trippers from border areas. The U. S. received 750,000 Chinese visitors, down 1%, well below the peak period of 2015 to 2018 when semiannual arrivals were about 1.5 million. European data for the first half of 2026 was based on March and April statistics: France, Italy, and Germany each received about 500,000 visitors, while the U. K. received about 360,000. Russia, which granted 30-day visa-free entry for Chinese tourists at the end of 2025, saw a 25% increase in Chinese visitors in the first half of 2026.

After Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made inappropriate remarks regarding Taiwan in November 2025, the tourism relationship between China and Japan cooled. In early 2025, Thailand experienced the "Wang Xing incident," which caused a 34.1% plunge in Chinese visitor numbers in the first half of 2025; the 2026 recovery was modest and not back to previous levels. Independent travel is replacing group tours. Japan and South Korea are well-suited for independent travel, while Thailand's traditional group tour model has become less attractive. Tightened U. entry visas, persistently high airfares on China-U. routes, and declining economic ties between China and the United States have weighed on Chinese visitation to the U.