Tourist figures for August are expected to reach 1.6 million, compared with the average monthly figure of 1.3 million last year.

Speaking on a radio talk show today, Commissioner for Tourism Eva Cheng said over 800,000 tourists visited Hong Kong in August's first two weeks. More than half were Mainlanders. However, she expected the number of long-haul tourists will rise no earlier than the end of the year.

Admitting there has been a slight increase in the number of tourist complaints recently, Ms Cheng said the Government will provide visitors with more information on safe-shopping, speed up the process for handling complaints and Police will step up enforcement in tourist spots.

Speaking on the supply of hotel rooms, Ms Cheng said there are about 45,000 hotel rooms available at the moment. Among them, 15,000 are of lower class.

The Government will offer help to developers who wish to provide hotel services, Ms Cheng said. However, all buildings to be turned into hotels must comply with related safety regulations.

On the pilot project of turning Home Ownership Scheme units into hotel rooms, she stressed that developers will be invited to join the programme through normal tending procedures and the Government will not interfere with the market operation.