Tourism exhibitions, such as this one in Shanghai, encourage Chinese tourists to come to the US. [Provided to China Daily]

According to Sun, more Chinese parents are expected to visit the US during May and January to attend their children's graduation, and also use the opportunity to tour the US with their children.

"In the past, Chinese parents would carry instant noodles and tea bags along in order to save money on meals. But now, parents accept all the arrangements made by us on accommodation and food, and they are also willing to pay for better services," he says.

Sun also has some high-end Chinese clients, many of whom spend a week in the US playing golf.

"They stay at luxury hotels and do not do any sightseeing like regular tourists. These kind of high-end consumers are increasing," he says.

Business travelers from China have also been making US trips in recent times to pursue commercial real estate investments, says Liu Chuang, manager of the North American department at the major Chinese online travel agency Byecity.com.

"Most of my clients are business travel groups who are keen on understanding the design and management of shopping malls in the US. Most of them are learning from their American counterparts, while some of them are actually considering purchasing commercial property in the US."

The huge amount of cash spent by Chinese travelers has also given a shot in the arm for tourism-related businesses in the US. The US Commerce Department says 801,000 tourists from the mainland visited the US last year, injecting $5 billion into the US economy.

"Governors of many American states and representatives from famous hotel chains have been making frequent trips to China since last year to hard sell their destinations to Chinese tourists. This has also given us plenty of information to develop new locations for Chinese tourists in the US," Liu says.

Byecity.com successfully conducted a tour for 1,000 people to Los Angeles last year. This year, the mega tour in Los Angeles will include an exclusive fireworks display at the Disneyland Resort in Anahiem and a dragon dance before a special banquet.

Accommodation for the tour group for the upcoming tour has been upgraded to five-star facilities compared with four-star previously.

Chinese tourists are already quite popular in major US cities such as New York. Local tourism organizations in the city are now working actively to attract more Chinese travelers during the holidays.

"Many of the hotels, like Marriott, Hilton and Starwood, are now catering to Chinese tourists and offer special services," says Christopher Heywood, vice-president of communications at NYC & Co, an organization that promotes tourism in New York.

Museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art offer tours in Mandarin, while shops like Tourneau have come out with special watches, Heywood says.

The New York Marriott Marquis in Time Square has deputed its executive chef to Chinatown in lower Manhattan to learn about the appropriate presentation of a Chinese menu. It also offers other services such as Chinese breakfast, which it started five years ago, and Mandarin-speaking guides, along with other items such as slippers and Chinese tea.

"The Chinese leisure traveler, to some extent, still sees a hotel as a place where they can sleep. What we are trying to do is to make the Chinese traveler feel that hotel part of the entire trip is an experience by itself," says Kathleen Duffy, director of public relations at NYC Marriott Hotels.

As one of the landmarks in New York City, the Empire State Building will have a lighting celebration on Jan 20 and has decorated the top of the tower in red, yellow and red colors to commemorate the Chinese New Year. It also coincides with a weeklong exhibition on the history of the Chinese New Year in its lobby.

"Shopping still remains the main attraction for Chinese tourists in New York. There are a range of options, like from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue to SOHO and the Meatpacking District. All these destinations offer opportunities for the Chinese travelers to buy branded goods at competitive rates," she adds.

For the coming Lunar New Year, New York will offer special programs, such as the 20th anniversary of Restaurant Week, Broadway Week, Off Broadway Week, a hotel promotion with a choice of value-added offers, and for luxury hotels, a complimentary third night free after paying for two consecutive nights.