News from Guangzhou Municipal Tourism Administration and Guangzhou Municipal Hotel Association is that in order to meet the demand for the 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou will add forty 4-star and 5-star hotels next year.

It is estimated that there will be more than 300 star-grade hotels in Guangzhou by 2010, which can receive 300,000 guests per night.

In the past 10 years, Guangzhou's hotel industry has developed slowly and it currently only officially counts seven 5-star hotels.

Because of the coming Asian Games, a great deal of capital has been invested in the top-tier hotel market in Guangzhou. In June and August 2007, the Asia International Hotel and Phoenix City Hotel Guangzhou were upgraded to the 5-star level, respectively, and on December 8, 2006, the Southern Airlines Pearl Hotel, which was built with RMB340 million of investment, was formally awarded a 4-star designation, making it the only 4-star hotel in Panyu District.

Moreover, several old hotels such as Dong Fang Hotel, China Hotel and AiQun Building are being refurbished, and the Shangri-La Hotel near Pazhou Complex is also under construction.

According to hotel planners, the Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe Road and Pazhou area will be the main areas crowded with deluxe hotels in the future.