With the Olympic Games drawing near, Beijing's tourist facilities and services are ready, an official told reporters at the Beijing Olympic Media Center on Tuesday.
"Tourism publicity is in full swing. Hotels, tourist agencies, destinations, reception facilities, including those for the Olympic Village, and different types of accommodation are in place now," said Xiong Yumei, vice-director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Tourism.
To improve services, she said, a total of 13,905 signs at 60 major tourist spots have been standardized, 12,028 square meters of accessible slopes have been built, and a total of 3,183 meters of elevators have been added.
She said Beijing will provide efficient accommodation during the Olympic Games. The city's 5,892 hotels can supply a total of 336,000 rooms with 660,000 beds; of these hotels, 707 have been renovated to meet Olympic reception standards. Beijing's 815 star-rated hotels are offering 130,000 rooms, fulfilling Beijing's pledge to the International Olympic Committee.
At present, 77 percent of five-star hotel rooms have been booked and most Olympic designated hotels are reportedly fully booked.
Some 600 to 1,000 households are expected to be designated for the home-stay program after an organized recruitment procedure is completed in June, said the official.
During the Olympic Games, the number of tourist agencies providing standardized services will reach 30. They will offer services in at least eight languages, and will provide tour itineraries to athletes, officials and journalists according to their needs and interests.
Xiong said hotel-style management and service will be applied to 64 apartments in the Olympic Village, with 12 hotel groups involved in servicing 16,000 Olympic athletes, officials and 7,000 Paralympic athletes.
Western food will dominate the menu in the Olympic Village but Asian and Chinese cuisine will also be available.
