The first group of tourists from Shanghai to the United States will depart on June 17 and more tours will follow after that.

The China National Tourism Administration and the US Department of Commerce announced in Beijing this week that Chinese residents will be able to travel to the US in groups from June 17. It is expected 80 tourists will be in the first group for a 10-day visit costing 19,800 yuan (US$2,829). They will visit New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other scenic spots.

"The United States will be a hot travel destination," said Yu Weihua, general manager of Shanghai China International Travel Service. "The first tour is almost fully booked and bookings for the following tours are going well."

Yu said most applicants were well off and had overseas travel experience.

Tours from Beijing and Guangzhou will also start on June 17 and travelers will meet the Shanghai tourists in Washington on June 19. All tourists will visit Wall Street, spend one day in Hollywood & Universal Studio and have time shopping.

All Shanghai travel agencies can arrange for tour groups to visit the US after June 17.

Travel agencies in Tianjin, Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces are also allowed to organize tours.

Not all the tourists in the first group have applied for the visa yet. Yu said the travel agency is waiting for policy details. A guarantee bond for US travel will be around 100,000 yuan, the highest of any overseas destination for Chinese tourists.

(Shanghai Daily May 17, 2008)