Beijing will have enough hotel rooms to provide for tourists in 2008 when the Olympic Games are held in the capital, said an official in Beijing on Thursday.

According to Zhang Mao, vice-mayor of the city, Beijing has about 10,000 hotel rooms and 24 hotels under construction. That will bring the number of hotels and hotel rooms to 637 and 110,000, excluding guesthouses that will be upgraded before 2008.

"The capacity of these hotels can by and large meet the demand of peak period in 2008," Zhang said.

The occupancy rate in three-star and above hotels is now 65 percent, and in one-star hotels it is 45 percent.

Zhang warned that investors should avoid irrational investing in hotels that will cause resource waste after the Olympics.

To prevent any waste of resources, the Beijing Tourism Bureau will carry out a thorough check of restaurants in the city and release information to guide the market. Relevant departments will revamp and upgrade the existing accommodation facilities.

The tourism bureau also said that the government will develop courtyard hotels, family hotels and youth hostels.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2005)