More than 200 mainland tourists were left stranded at a statue commemorating Hong Kong's handover to China in 1997, after a dispute over money between local and mainland tour agencies, police and an industry group said Wednesday.

The tourists called the police for help late Tuesday when their tour guides went missing after bringing the visitors to the statue of bauhinia, Hong Kong's official flower, in the Wan Chai district, spokeswoman Carrie So said.

Joseph Tung, executive director of Hong Kong's Travel Industry Council, told reporters that the mainland Chinese company that arranged the tour failed to pay HK$80,000 (US$10,200) in fees owed to its Hong Kong partner.

Tung said the dispute was eventually settled, and the tourists were provided with accommodation.

The South China Morning Post said the tourists were from Kunming, capital of China's southern Yunnan province.

Police spokeswoman So said no arrests were made.

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