Westward bound

Chinese tourists and their German friends toast at Oktoberfest in Munich.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"It took one or two months' worth of my salary to travel around the US for almost two weeks, and it's well within my price range," says Zheng Wei.

Employees at Zheng's company are required to take their annual leave, giving him the luxury of more free time.

The US interstate highway system makes taking road trips easy, which attracts many young tourists, according to Wang Zhenyue, marketing deputy director of the travel agency Utour Co.

"The US has a lot to offer Chinese tourists, including exotic natural scenery, such as the Yellowstone National Park, as well as various theme parks, such as Disneyland," says Jiang Yiyi, head of the China Tourism Academy's international tourism development institute.

The number of high-quality shopping venues also brings many foreign tourists to the US, Jiang says.

She said the increasing number of Chinese students studying in the US has also contributed to the growth in the number of Chinese tourists to the US, because some students' relatives go to visit them.

Most Chinese have studied English since primary school, so traveling in the US is easier than in Europe, where people speak multiple languages, says Jiang. "The US government has streamlined some visa application procedures and increased visa officers to make things more efficient and easier for Chinese tourists."

Applying for a visa to some European countries is more difficult because there is more red tape, she adds.