Well, make that about 249 out-of-towners and at least one Canberra resident who managed to secure one of the 500 free holidays being given away by Australian Capital Tourism as part of its Human Brochure campaign.

The first 250 selected tourists will blog, post, tweet and status-update their way through the next three days of specially organised activities, each designated to a particular kind of holiday - soft adventure, family fun, food and wine and arts and culture.

A total of 31,406 people applied for the gig. The next 250 hand-picked visitors arrive in February.

It's hoped their shared experience of Canberra will create an online brochure for the city and encourage their friends, family and followers to also visit the national capital. At least one Canberra person was included because the campaign was open to ''all Australians''.

And some have a lot of followers and a lot to say.

Included in this first batch of tourists is Australia's most prolific Twitter user, Stephanie-Krystle Chin, from Melbourne.

She has racked up more than 204,000 tweets since she started using Twitter in 2007.

Another ''human'' on her way to Canberra, Melbourne online editor and consultant Kellie Anderson, has more than 27,000 followers on Twitter.

Some have already started tweeting in anticipation, including Darwin journalist Clare Rawlinson, who said: ''Hi, everyone coming to Canberra for #humanbrochure. So, erm, I live in the tropics and have no warm clothes. Please give me lots of hugs.''

The local hospitality and tourism industry is certainly looking to embrace ''the humans''.

Australian Capital Tourism director Ian Hill said more than 30 industry members were involved in providing tailored activities and experiences over the three days.

''We have had fantastic support from our tourism industry, who have got behind this world-first with great enthusiasm,'' Mr Hill said.

Among the participating operators are Rubicon restaurant in Griffith and Malamay restaurant in Barton which will be hosting the foodies at special dinners during their visit.

Malamay part-owner and manager Amy Tran said she didn't feel too nervous about her business being exposed to the opinions of the vast social media world. ''Not too much. I feel more excited than anything,'' she said. ''For us, this is what we do and we think it's a great opportunity to show what Canberra and local businesses can do.''

The tourists will be staying at the Diamant Hotel in New Acton, East Hotel in Kingston, Mantra on Northbourne and Clifton Suites on Northbourne.

East Hotel general manager Todd Handy said he, too, was feeling excited about the campaign and believed it was a chance to show Canberra was a ''vibrant and dynamic destination'' that was about more than just the national attractions.

Each group has its own itinerary, with the family visitors doing things such as a trip to the National Zoo and Aquarium and ride around Lake Burley Griffin on a Mr Spokes bike. The arts and culture visitors will take in attractions including the National Museum of Australia, National Gallery of Australia and Canberra Glassworks. The adventurers will be off to places including Stromlo Forest Park and Tidbinbilla. The foodies will visit the Capital Wines Epicurean Centre at Gundaroo, Mount Majura Vineyard and Jeir Creek Winery.

[View the story "First of 500 humans hit Canberra" on Storify]