HONOLULU -- Hawaii tourism officials and politicians greeted the first direct charter flight from China Sunday.

The Chinese jet touched down just before noon at Honolulu Airport. It had departed from Shanghai, and was the first ever direct flight from China to Honolulu. On board were 263 passengers.

They walked out of customs into the warm tropical air, thrilled to be in Hawaii.

"So many Chinese people they want to come to Hawaii, but they have no direct flight," said Galaxy Tour President Charlie Shao.

Tour operators said there is a huge market in China.

"This will be huge. Around a million people come to the United States. Hawaii is very famous in China, lot of Chinese people want to come," Shao said.

With direct flights are available, tourism officials said more and more Chinese will come to the islands.

Hawaii tourism authority officials reported Chinese visitors spend an average of $357 per day in Hawaii.

The tour that landed Sunday came to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hawaii. But the head of the tour agency, on his first trip to the islands, said he couldn't wait to get to the beach.

"The first thing I would like to do is go to my room, take off these clothes and jump into the water," said Chang Li Hun, President of China Youth Travel