Beijing's hospitality market is expected to reach record revenues and occupancy rates in 2008 thanks to the Olympics.

Industry organizations are making great efforts to improve service quality in the capital's hotels for the event, expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors, said a local government official on Friday.

"Beijing's hospitality industry has experienced rapid growth in the last two years, and the momentum will continue in the lead-up to and even after the Olympics," said Xiong Yumei, deputy-director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism (BMBT).

Beijing's hotels enjoyed good business throughout 2005, with five-star hotels witnessing the highest average daily revenue 1,204 yuan (US$150), with an occupancy rate of 75.3 per cent since 1994. Top-level hotels also had the highest ever revenue per available room 907 yuan (US$113) according to a report released by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, a leading worldwide service provider in the hotel and tourism sector.

"Market growth is positive and encouraging, and as the 2008 Olympics draw near, more and more tourists both from home and abroad will come to Beijing," said Stephen C. T. Hsu, vice-chairman of China Tourism Hotel Association. "Hotel management standards and service quality will also be gradually upgraded over the next two years."

In 2008, Beijing is expected to welcome more than 500,000 overseas and 1 million domestic travellers.

"Those figures are conservative estimates last year more than 1.5 million domestic travelers visited Beijing during the major holiday periods alone," said Xiong.

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