【明報專訊】TOURIST ARRIVALS have in recent years gone up and up in Hong Kong. Hotel room rates have soared because hotel accommodation has not increased as fast as tourist arrivals. Some mainland travel agents have even speculated in hotel rooms here. They would give to others the rooms their customers have booked though they have already paid for them unless they pay additional charges. Clearly, Hong Kong's tourist infrastructure does not keep pace with its tourist industry's development. Hong Kong's tourist industry is not only a pillar of its economy. It plays a very special role. It provides large numbers of unskilled workers with jobs. If hotel rooms remain in short supply, it would be a bottleneck in the industry's development - inhibit the growth in tourist arrivals. Therefore, the government must suitably intervene in the situation. For example, it should pick good sites for hotels and put them up for auction as well as take policy measures to encourage businesses to convert industrial buildings into hotels.