US wilderness a magnet for Chinese tourists

NEW YORK - About 10 years ago, Jin Chen's parents didn't know much about Alaska, where she was studying. Their neighbors often confused the remote US state with Las Vegas, a city known in China for its casinos.

But Alaska, with its vast wilderness, is now among the hot destinations in the United States for deep-pocketed Chinese tourists.

"Our business has seen an annual increase of over 50 percent in recent years," said Jin Chen, chief executive officer of Alaska Skylar Travel, which caters to Asian markets by coordinating Mandarin-speaking tours to Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.