(File photo)

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's travel account deficit hit a new record high in July as the number of Chinese travelers visiting South Korea kept falling, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The travel account deficit reached a fresh monthly high of 1.79 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It topped the previous high of 1.65 billion dollars tallied in July 2008.

It was attributable to the falling Chinese visitors to South Korea. The number of foreigners entering South Korea in July was 1.009 million, down 40.8 percent from a year earlier. Among them, the Chinese visitors plunged 69.3 percent to 281,000 in the same period.

The number of South Koreans going abroad reached a new monthly high of 2.389 million in July during the summer vacation season. It was up 14.5 percent from a year ago.

Rising geopolitical risks also hit hard the tourism industry. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested what it called an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) twice in July, raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.