Hotel occupancy in the Olympic host city Beijing was up slightly since the Game's Aug. 8 opening, the Beijing Times reported on Friday.

Beijing Statistics Bureau (BSB) figures revealed the city's star-rated hotels received about 78,000 guests on Aug. 12, half from the Chinese mainland and the rest from overseas.

The figures were about 5 percent higher, or 4,000 guests, more than Aug. 8.

Occupancy for the capital's five-star hotels on Aug. 12 was about 80.3 percent on average, 0.3 percent higher than Aug. 8.

The rate for three-star hotels and lower on Aug. 12 ranged between 30 and 40 percent, 2 to 4 percent higher than on Aug. 8, the BSB figures showed.

Prices for three-star hotels and higher were down slightly on Aug. 12 in comparison with Aug. 8. Prices for below three star went up slightly on Aug. 12.

The occupancy on Aug. 12 for about 120 hotels that had signed contracts with the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee (BOCOG) stood at 78.5 percent on average, up 0.7 percent from the Aug. 8 figure. Prices at these hotels averaged at 2,691 yuan (about 392 U.S. dollars) per room on Aug. 12, down 8.6 percent from Aug. 8.

The BSB also said Beijing's scenic sites attracted a total of 358,000 domestic and overseas tourists on Aug. 12, about 16,000 more than on Aug. 8.

The total volume on Aug. 12 included 27,000 overseas tourists, about 6,000 more than on Aug. 8.

Among the scenic spots, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven were among the most favored places.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)