Book early for Beijing 2008 Olympics travellers warned

Holidaymakers who want to travel to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics are being warned to book "book well in advance" by a travel specialist.

Flight Centre explained summer's Olympic Games, which run from August 8th to 24th 2008, will see hotels increasing their prices from April next year. It reports some hotels are insisting on a 20-night minimum stay for £500 per night.

"China has been growing in popularity over the past few years due to more tour operators featuring the destination and increased publicity from the Beijing Olympics, however many of our suppliers are finding it difficult to negotiate decent prices for hotel rooms for next year," commented Brent Novak, of Flight Centre.

"We are finding that it is not only Beijing that will be affected with price hikes but also other major tourist cities that want to cash in on the Olympic Games such as Shanghai, Xi'an and Nanjing and would advise people to plan well ahead if they want to visit next year.

"We believe that bookings to China may suffer due to this, particularly during the peak summer travel period as travellers are put off by the high hotel prices, although we anticipate that post Olympics and 2009 will see a big boost in travellers to the destination."

For more information on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games see the official website at en.beijing2008.cn