Hong Kong  - The number of visitors to Hong Kong has fallen sharply, with more than 12 per cent fewer tourists arriving in July compared to the same month last year, according to government figures Tuesday.

The city of 7 million, which has just emerged from a year-long recession, welcomed 2.38 million people in July, 12.2 per cent fewer than in July 2008, the Hong Kong Tourism Board announced.

The decline included a plunge of 13.7 per cent in visitors from mainland China to 1.4 million. Chinese arrivals account for more than 50 per cent of all visitors to the former British colony.

Hong Kong has now received 4.9 per cent fewer visitors in the first seven months of 2009 than in the same period in 2008, a year which saw a record 30 million visitor arrivals.

A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Tourism Board said, "July's decrease can be largely attributed to the 13.7 per cent drop in arrivals from mainland China.

"That compared to exceptional growth in the corresponding month last year, when many mainland Chinese visitors advanced their trips to Hong Kong before the Olympics."

The spokeswoman said the decline in visitors from other short-haul regions had narrowed as concerns over the swine flu outbreak had eased.

Hong Kong also saw a fall of more than 11 per cent in visitors from Taiwan in July. Direct cross-straits flights between Taiwan and China mean Taiwanese visitors no longer need to transit via Hong Kong. (dpa)