Don Cudmore, of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I., says it would be expensive to market the Island to China's 1.3 billion people. (CBC)

P.E.I. tourism leaders are looking into what it might mean for the Island now that Canada is on the list of China's preferred tourist destinations.

Canada's new status allows the province to market directly to Chinese consumers, said Don Cudmore, executive director of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I.

'The industry here on Prince Edward Island, as well as the government, is used to working in that Asian market and I do believe it gives us a foothold.'—Don Cudmore, Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I.

"It's a starting point for us," he said.

"The industry here on Prince Edward Island, as well as the government, is used to working in that Asian market and I do believe it gives us a foothold," he said.

"There is a bit of knowledge. I do believe that the Lucy Maud Montgomery phenomenon, or the Anne [of Green Gables] novel [which was recently translated into Chinese] will as well play a part in delivering that market for us."

The deal, announced Thursday during Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit, could be worth $100 million a year for Canada, with tourism from China projected to increase 50 per cent.

Marketing expensive

Right now, the P.E.I. tourism association has no specific marketing plan for China, said Cudmore.

But he expects growth in Chinese tourism to the Island is still a few years away and the industry's limited marketing dollars are best spent closer to home, he said.

It would be very expensive to get the Island's message to even a fraction of China's 1.3 billion people, Cudmore said.

Few Chinese tourists have heard of the province, said Sherry Huang, president of the P.E.I. Chinese Association and CEO of Study Abroad Canada.

But up until now, Chinese people could come to Canada only on business or to go to school, she said. Now, they will have easier access to visas.

"So for our local Chinese community — we have over 1,000 people here — it will be easier for their family to come over for a visit," said Huang.

About 2,200 Chinese visitors came to P.E.I. last year.