Utah can expect to see a growing number of tourists from East Asian countries in the future because of various demographic and cultural reasons, but a trade representative cautioned Wednesday that other destinations are more likely to benefit first.

Speaking at a Utah Office of Tourism "working lunch," Brett Heimburger, Asia trade representative for the Governor's Office of Economic Development, also said that no one should assume that the Chinese and Japanese markets are similar.

"They're unique in some ways and similar in others," Heimburger said. "They have a fascination with travel and a fascination with tourism. They will never come to Utah first because they will always go to New York or Los Angeles or Chicago first. But their second or third time, they want to travel outdoors."

East Asia represents an important source for tourists because of growth in China and wealth in Japan and Korea, he said, adding that Utah might cash in whenever those visitors come to gamble in Las Vegas and then swing over to Utah's national parks. They also might visit Utah to ski, he added.

China, specifically, has an "incredible long-term potential" because of future growth in the percentage of the population with higher incomes. That segment is small but will grow exponentially, he said.

"(Chinese travel) expenditures are forecast at twice the global average. In fact, the Chinese tourists will be some of the highest spenders, along with the Japanese, in the world. And if all forecasts come true, it will be No. 2 in total travel spending by just 2015. But keep in mind the Chinese outbound travel population is still a very small percentage. You've got 700 million Chinese still living on under a dollar a day. They're not going to be coming to New York or Yosemite, but 2 percent of 1.3 billion is still a lot of people," Heimburger said.

Studies show that Chinese tourism will boom in the next 12 years, with 115 million departures annually by 2020. "China's poised to be the No. 1 outbound tourism provider by 2020. That implies that the incremental number of outbound Chinese tourists is going to triple in the next 12 years. Forty-two percent of those will be first-time travelers," he said.

Among the reasons for a growing number of Chinese travelers are an easing of government regulations on travel and an increase in the wealthy segment of the population. But low income levels, strict passport limitations, a cumbersome visa process and perceptions of a lack of safety in the United States are among the hindrances, he said.

In contrast with China, Japan's population is shrinking although the number of senior citizens there is growing. "This has big implications for tourism, because when Japanese retire ... they travel, and they've got money, and you're seeing that baby boomer population retiring," Heimburger said.

Osamu Hoshino, the Japanese representative for the Office of Tourism, said Japanese travelers have, at times, fallen in love with Hawaii, the West Coast, the East Coast and Las Vegas. Currently, they have a penchant for big cities and theme parks.

But while Japanese interest in U.S. national parks is low overall, seniors in Japan rank nature and scenery at the top of their lists, he said. The added bonus is they are big spenders.

"It is," Hoshino said, "a ripe market."

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