Hotel occupancy in the Olympic host city Beijing was up slightly since the Game's August 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 August 12, half from the Chinese mainland and the rest from overseas.

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

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

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

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

The occupancy on August 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 August 8 figure. Prices at these hotels averaged at 2,691 yuan (about US$392) per room on August 12, down 8.6 percent from August 8.

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

The total volume on August 12 included 27,000 overseas tourists, about 6,000 more than on August 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)