More Chinese tourists are expected to visit the United States as new travel rules between the two nations are pending, a report said on Sunday.

Southern California is a likely destination for middle- and upper-class visitors with money to spend, said the Los Angeles Times.

Travels agencies are preparing for what they hope could be a boom in new Chinese tourism to the United States that is expected to occur next year.

Both nations are finalizing a deal to ease entry restrictions and lift a ban in China on promoting travel to the US, according to the paper.

The negotiations have been going on for several years, but China's government news agencies and sources at the US Commerce Department said a deal should be completed within the next few weeks, said the paper.

The new travel rules are expected to be a particular boom to Southern California, which already sees more Chinese tourists -- 110,000 in Los Angeles County last year -- than anywhere else in the US. But travel officials expect that number to grow significantly if more members of China's emerging middle and upper classes are able to travel to the region for vacations.

China's travel industry is currently prohibited from marketing the US as a travel destination because of disputes over the strict entry process initiated after 9/11 -- a reality that US officials blame on the need for national security and concerns about visitors overstaying their visas, said the paper.