"I'm getting calls already from people saying things like, ‘How do we get to do this?' and ‘How do we attract Chinese tourists to our area?'" Marano told Beijing Review. Marano said she had been waiting for this market to be open for more than five years and that she was so excited now to see it finally happen.

As a show of hospitality, Marano and the visitors' bureau of Fairfax County, Virginia, with which her office has joint partnership, threw a celebration for the long-awaited group of Chinese tourists at the airport. There was a jazz band and greeters holding banners in Chinese that said, "Welcome to the capital and Fairfax County."

"Everybody here is trying to be as hospitable as they can for the Chinese to see the very best of America," Marano said. She noted that Gutierrez was planning to greet the visitors on a grand welcome cruise in Washington on June 19.

One visitor, who identified herself as Ms. Miao from Beijing, was one of the 250 lucky travelers to be included in the inaugural group.

"As soon as I saw the notice of the first leisure group to the United States, I went with my husband to apply for this special tour group," said the professional accountant, who also has traveled to Europe and Japan. "We were so lucky to be chosen from so many applicants. I started to get excited when I stepped out of the airplane."

Miao told reporters that she planned to spend another $4,000 in the United States during the 11-day trip, which costs around $3,500. Besides Washington, other stops include New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii.

According to Charlie Shao, President of the Los Angeles-based Galaxy Tour, which is hosting the initial Chinese tourist groups to the United States, shopping is one of the activities included in the tour package, but it was only scheduled for the tour's last day. But "we can adjust these activities according to the requirements of our tourists," Shao said.

Shao told Beijing Review that he had been waiting for Chinese tourists for many years and that he now expects a large increase of Chinese visitors in the near future. To prepare for this, his agency has recruited and trained more than 130 Chinese-speaking tourist guides.

(Reporting from Washington D.C.)