Hong Kong welcomed 12 percent more visitors from around the world in July compared with the same period last year, boosted by arrivals from long-haul countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Hong Kong Tourism Board data on Friday showed the city saw 4.39 million arrivals, compared with 3.48 million in June.

The July bump brought the total number of arrivals for the first seven months of the year to 28 million, up 12 percent from a year ago.

While the number of arrivals from short-haul countries and regions rose by 12 percent, the number for long-haul regions saw the biggest spike in about half a year – jumping 21 percent.

France and Germany were among the other countries that contributed to the sharp upturn.

Visitors from the mainland remained the largest source of tourists, contributing some 3.5 million arrivals last month for a 12 percent year-on-year increase.

For the first seven months of the year, arrivals from the mainland stood at 21.3 million, up 10 percent year on year, while those from other parts of the world stood at 6.72 million, a rise of 16 percent.

The Tourism Board said it saw an "ideal" growth in visitors from Japan last month and that arrivals from new markets, including India and the Middle East, advanced by 14 percent.