CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Pinellas County officials once thought it would take a decade or more to start bringing busloads of Chinese tourists to the beaches — but now it might happen this year.

The Tampa Bay Times reports (http://bit.ly/1pEDOqA) that Pinellas tourism leaders are working with a veteran Chinese tourism operator in South Florida to start selling vacation packages in China that will showcase the beaches, museums and golf resorts in the county.