Search China Travel News:

The Beijing tourism administration will open an online accommodation booking center before March next year for visitors to the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau's website, www.bjta.gov.cn, will be linked to the official website of the 29th Olympic Games, said Xiong Yumei, deputy director of the bureau on Friday.

The administration plans to recommend at least 1,000 budget hotels on the website, providing about 100,000 beds.

The website will feature pictures of the hotels and introductions in three languages - Chinese, English and French.

"In 2008, these budget hotels will be introduced in eight languages for the convenience of visitors," Xiong said.

The bureau announced the first batch of 253 budget hotels on Friday, which have all passed the service standards for quality.

According to the standards, the hotels must all have service guides, signs, and menus in both Chinese and English. They must also have facilities for visitors to pay by credit card, and have Internet connections in rooms.

All hotels will be issued with a price guide for reference.

The tourism administration also named 134 star hotels in Beijing as "green hotels" on Friday. They have all passed the State standards which require the setting up of eco-friendly managerial systems and facilities, and the adoption of technologies that conserve water, energy and reduce waste.

Beijing is expected to receive about 500,000 visitors from abroad during the 17-day games.

Xiong said she believed Beijing has the capacity to accommodate the visitors.

In the 11 months this year, Beijing has accommodated 3.63 million overseas visitors, an increase of 7.5 percent over the same period last year.

Beijing now has 4,023 non-star hotels and 674 star hotels, which provide a total of 570,000 beds. At least 89 hotels have applied to be graded next year.

By 2008, the number of star hotels in Beijing will reach 800.