According to the recent news, The hotel industry could be bouncing back more quickly than originally expected.

Hotels may start hiking prices as a good sign of tourist arrival in almost all destinations worldwide.

On Tuesday, Smith Travel Research, a hotel-industry research and consulting firm, revised upward its outlook for 2010.

Because hotel occupancy levels currently look better than STR expected in the U.S., “we think the recovery will pick up its pace during the second and third quarters of this year, then it will moderate,” says Mark Lomanno, president of STR.

STR predicts that occupancy will increase 1.9% in 2010 to 55.8%. The company’s previous forecast anticipated occupancy would remain flat year-to-year.