Hotels in Beijing have witnessed an rising reservation rate over the same period in last year as the host city's tourism is being boosted by a influx of visitors one month out from the Olympics.

Statistics from the Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA) indicated that the city-wide booking rate of guest rooms in March had gradually increased by three percent over the same period, which was an expected result according to the tourist sector.

"By the end of May, 77.6 percent of five-star hotel rooms had been booked, which was a result within our expectation," Xiong Yumei, deputy director of BTA, told journalists at a press conference in Main Press Center (MPC) on Tuesday.

Xiong also said that the Games were expected to attract between 400,000 and 450,000 overseas visitors, in addition to the athletes and home visitors across the country.

Officials of BTA are confident that the accommodation and reception capacity in Beijing could meet the diversified demands during the Games.

According to Xiong, more than 115 top hotels with favorable location advantages will be designated reception sectors for the Olympic related service.

While for visitors and spectators, more modest tourist hotels and some special "Homestay" rooms will be offered.

The namely "Olympic Homestay program", which was launched early this month by the BTA, was referred to the 598 evaluated and selected families who will provide 726 guest rooms and receive more than 1,000 tourists from home and abroad.

"In this way, we hope to let the spectators feel more like at home here and also better know the Chinese culture," said Xiong.

With this program under the way, many foreign visitors have shown their interests. According to BTA, a Japanese travel agency has purchased 200 tickets for the Games and is negotiating about the "Homestay" issues for their clients.

As the Olympic Games are approaching, the tourist sector feels optimistic about the room occupation rate in August.

"We fully believe that the occupied rates will be higher than the reservations next month," said Xiong. "And we are ready to provide the homelike services to foreign friends during the Games."

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2008)