SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea and Japan are vying to host training camps for foreign athletes before the Beijing Olympics, touting safe food and a clean environment, tourism authorities said Friday.

The two countries, both of whom have hosted the summer Games, also offer geographical proximity and modern facilities, the Korea Tourism Organisation said.

"Many foreign teams want to set up training camps in this country as it is close to the host country, it has good facilities and safe food and a clean environment," its strategic product team leader Joung Jin-Su told AFP.

"The high performance of South Korean athletes in such events as archery, taekwondo, badminton and hockey is also a factor that contributes to the attraction of foreign athletes," he said.

Beijing's air pollution is a major concern before the Games this August.

Hong Kong and Macau are also campaigning hard to attract athletes, offering low-priced accommodation, Joung said.

As of Thursday 15 countries had decided to send a total of 499 people to train in South Korea, including divers from the United States, hockey players from Poland and badminton players from the Netherlands, he said.

Japan has reportedly attracted about 20 foreign Olympic teams, including a British swimming team and 150 Swedish athletes.

The Korea Sports Science Institute said foreign teams overall were expected to spend more than 200 million dollars to train overseas in preparation for the Olympics.

South Korea's goal is to take more than 20 percent of that spending, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.