MUCH NEW FOR WENDY WU
Wendy Wu Tours has increased its China brochure for 2012/2013 to 100 pages with the introduction of new group departure tours, more flexible fully independent travel programs and the addition of Japan.
New group itineraries include the 19-day Cities of the Orient tour which combines Hong Kong and China. The operator said the popularity of Hong Kong as a stopover destination meant it made sense to package the two together. Meanwhile, the new 17-day China and Tibet Discovery itinerary is designed to allow passengers the option of travelling to Tibet by air. This means that when there are road closures at the border, visitors on this tour will not be affected.
There is also a choice of airline options on selected China group tours to give passengers a wider selection of competitive prices with either China Southern, Qantas or Cathay Pacific.
BIGGER AND BETTER FOR CHINA BESTOURS
China Bestours is planning its new 2012 China brochure which will introduce more tours and departures. For the popular 15-day China Splendid itinerary, the Yangtze River cruise will now be onboard a higher quality vessel, MV Century Sky, which is a five-star vessel. The tour also visits Beijing, Xian, Suzhou and Shanghai.
The operator said it was seeing greater demand from clients to visit areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups, such as Longshen near Guilin. Its 15-day Enchanting Minorities tour, introduced this year, visits locations such as Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces, Longshen Hot Springs and Hauping National Nature Reserve.
UNIWORLD
Seven China itineraries are featured in Uniworld’s recently released 2012 Asia River Cruises and Tours brochure. New for the operator is the 24-day Grand Asia and the Mekong, which stops in at the major destinations in China and visits Vietnam and Cambodia for the first time.
The itinerary begins with taking in the sights of Beijing before heading to Xian to check out the Terracotta Warriors. The next stop is Hangzhou, the location of the beautiful West Lake, and then it’s on to Shanghai with a stop at the ancient water town of Wuzhen en route. From there, clients head to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for a journey along the Mekong onboard the new River Saigon. The same itinerary, without the addition of Vietnam and Cambodia, is also available as the 10-day Classic China.
CHINA SOUTHERN JOINS THE A380 CROWD
China Southern Airlines has become the first Chinese carrier to acquire an Airbus A380, having ordered five aircraft. The first aircraft made its maiden journey for China Southern in mid-October, flying from Beijing to China Southern’s main hub of Guangzhou. The super-jumbo switched to flights between Beijing and Shanghai at the end of October.
China Southern’s general manager Australia and New Zealand, Henry He, said China Southern was the first Chinese airline to acquire the A380. “We’re still deciding which international routes to operate the A380s on,” he said. The new aircraft offers eight private cabins in first class, 70 flatbed seats in business class and 428 seats in economy.