Griffall also said early indications from China are that their travelers will be attracted by Las Vegas' gambling opportunities, and that city could serve as a springboard for visitors from China and India — another growing travel market — to swing through the national parks in southern Utah.

"We have the most incredible scenery in the world and some of the most unique in the world," he said. "We have an opportunity to grow tourism here through both of those markets. We hope be at the forefront of that and hope to make money at it. This all bodes well for Utah."

Von der Esch says the Delta-Northwest airline merger could also help Utah get Chinese visitors, because of Northwest's vast presence in Asia. Northwest operates 200 nonstop flights a week between the United States and Asia.

But Utah's main lure might be something many Chinese seldom see — wide, open spaces.

"What has impressed the Germans and French and others is the expansiveness and a lack of population, if you will," von der Esch said. "The Chinese have the coast and beaches and warm water, but they don't have the vast gorgeousness of our national parks and just the unbelievable splendor and geology we have."

However, Wu believes the East and West coasts of the United States "are the places they think of immediately" and likely would get the first waves of visitors, with Utah and the rest of the interior being part of "the next step."

"When they begin to learn about and know about Utah and the interior parts of the U.S., I'm sure they will be attracted to come," he said. "We have a lot of national parks and Yellowstone that most people know in China. If they come here, they will do research about this area and discover Utah and the other national parks of Utah, and also Salt Lake City is in the minds of most Chinese people because of the Olympics."

Wu learned about the United States and its history while in middle school in China. "The only national parks we knew were Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, because they were in the textbooks," he said.

But "everybody watched the Utah Olympics. Everybody I know knows Salt Lake City," he added.

Western Leisure operates tours throughout the western U.S. and western Canada. Its portfolio includes packages for Japanese travelers that began in 1987, and the company now operates more than 200 tours annually for that market.

Western Leisure's first group trip for Chinese tourists is set for July, to Yellowstone National Park. In addition to group tours, the company also is working on a program that would allow Chinese visitors to drive about 3,500 miles through rural areas for 11 days.