PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Hotel rooms in Bentong, Pahang, are being snapped up fast for the Malaysia International Durian Cultural Tourism Festival and start of the school holidays this weekend.

Some hotels even stopped online booking early this month (November) to avoid overbooking, while others are already fully booked.

The fully booked hotels are helping out by sourcing for homestay facilities for visitors who failed to get rooms.

About 50,000 visitors are expected to throng Bentong - famous for the Musang King durian - during the festival on Saturday (Nov 25) and Sunday.

Durian growers and eateries are all geared up to meet the influx.

Ms Koo Teng Yeng of EV Hotel, located at Jalan Loke Yew in Bentong, said that although the hotel's policy is to leave some rooms vacant to cater for walk-in customers, even these rooms have been fully booked.

"With the school holiday season, we have quite a few groups coming. Besides locals and foreign tourists, we also have cyclists coming," she said.

Member of Parliament for Bentong, Mr Liow Tiong Lai, had said that the festival will "elevate Bentong as a charming international eco-tourism spot".