The U.S. Commerce Department says the agreement will result in about 580,000 Chinese arrivals annually by 2011, up 78 percent from now. Currently, China allows only travelers with a business, government or educational reason to visit the United States.

As a result of the new agreement, the communist government is adding the U.S. to a list of approved destinations for group tours. China has similar agreements in place with other countries including Australia, Malaysia and Canada.

"Today's agreement will open a large and growing market for the U.S. tourism industry," Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a statement.

The agreement, which also permits U.S. tourist destinations to market themselves in China, came on the first day of trade talks involving top Bush administration officials including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

U.S. travel industry officials expect the agreement, when it takes effect in the spring, to be most evident in large cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Orlando and Las Vegas.

"It really opens the door for Chinese to come here," says Roger Dow, CEO of the Travel Industry Association. The group has been lobbying for a tourism agreement for about three years.

Last year, Chinese visitors spent an average of $6,000 each while traveling in the United States, or about twice the next highest overseas visitors group, the Commerce Department says. Spending tends to be high, because the Chinese who visit now generally are among the nation's elite and have money.

The new agreement requires Chinese tourists to obtain visas and specifies that the U.S. may terminate the agreement if "significant numbers" of travelers overstay their approved period.

Some U.S. destinations have been preparing for when the Chinese would visit in greater numbers.

Los Angeles, for instance, has created a Chinese-language Web site to start establishing relationships with tour operators, says Patti MacJennet, a marketing executive at the city's tourism agency, LA Inc. About 110,000 Chinese visited the city last year, she says.

Hotelier Marriott International, which has been lobbying for a travel accord with China, also sees great potential since last year nearly 35 million Chinese ventured out of China, says executive Debbie Harrison.