Snowdon is among the attractions on the US writers' itinerary

The UK had 3.9m US tourists last year, but numbers have fallen since peaking in 2000, amid the strength of the pound and competition from other countries.

On a four-day tour, the group is seeing such attractions as the Pontcysyllte aqueduct and Snowdonia National Park.

Alex Marr, Visit Wales's New York representative, said the talk was of Wales as "the next hot destination".

The group were in north Wales as Manchester hosted more than 500 delegates at the annual convention of the Society of American Travel Writers.

What I'm seeing already [is] the quaintness of the little towns and how pretty and picturesque they are Tony Todd, Chicago

Among their other destinations are Ruthin, the Clwydian Range, and Llangollen, home to the International Musical Eisteddfod.

There are also visits to Bodelwyddan Castle, Conwy and Llandudno, the National Slate Museum and Portmeirion, the Italianate village where cult '60s TV series The Prisoner was filmed.

Freelance travel writer Lynne Farrin, from San Francisco, said: "We're all looking for good travel stories, very special stories, and we are probably in a little bit of competition with each other.

"So we are trying to keep an eye out for something unusual.

"As soon as we can get up from lunch we are going to go run round, get away from the others and see what we can find."

Tony Todd, from Chicago, admitted he had had very little idea about Wales beforehand: "Well, I knew it was very hilly and that was about as far as I could go," he said.

Pontcysyllte aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal over the Dee

"What I'm seeing already [is] the quaintness of the little towns and how pretty and picturesque they are, and how much history there is: it's going to take us 500 to 1,000 years to catch up with you."

Alex Marr of Visit Wales said: "I first went to the US in 2000 and when I told people I was from Wales no-one really had a clue.

"We met Travel and Leisure, which is one of the biggest travel publications maybe four weeks ago, and they said Wales is the next hot destination.

"So it's really exciting that the work we are doing is being recognised.

"It's off the beaten track and it's almost trendy because it's not well known."