Despite good weather, the number of visitors staying on P.E.I. continued to decline in July, as compared to the same month last year.

Operators sold 4.5 per cent fewer room nights in July than the same time last year, according to tourism statistics released by the province Friday.

The trend in fewer room nights sold goes back to February.

The nice weather didn't entice people to go camping last month either. Campground stays were down 1.2 per cent.

There were fewer visitors from New Brunswick and Ontario, with numbers down almost 7 and 10 per cent, respectively.

"It's difficult to speculate as to why these important markets are showing a decline," Tourism Minister Rob Henderson said in a news release. "But the competitiveness of the industry, new rules for duty-free purchases in the United States and economic uncertainty are all likely factors.

"Regardless, we remain confident that August and September will show improvements in overall visitiation," the minister said.

Tourism numbers for July show that traffic on the Confederation Bridge is also down 4.4 per cent compared to the same month last year.

But air traffic is up 2.6 per cent.

More golfers took to the courses in P.E.I. last month. The number of rounds sold is up 7.8 per cent.

And more people visited P.E.I.'s National Park with a nearly 11 per cent increase. Province House took a hit, however, with a decrease in visits of nearly 25 per cent.