Catering Industry to Target Olympics

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games would invest a lot money in China' s catering industry to better service the travellers.

The Beijing Olympics would bring 20 billion yuan (2.7 billion U.S. dollars) in business to China's catering industry, according to a report by the China Cuisine Association (CCA).

"The Olympics would provide an unprecedented opportunity to the catering industry trade in Beijing, which normally stands at 24 billion yuan a year," said Bian Jiang, CCA spokesman.

During the Games next year, China will host 280,000 athletes, referees, journalists and other workers from more than 200 countries and regions,according to the BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad).

The report said these people would enjoy diversified and high-quality catering services. "Oriental food, such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean food, will make up 30 percent of the total dishes, a substantial increase from previous ten to 20 percent," said Bian.

About five million overseas tourists and more than 120 million domestic travelers will visit Beijing in 2008 and seven million spectators will watch the games at the venues, according to official statistics.