Celebrating our 21st Birthday! 2015 marks 21 years since running my first group tour to China. During this time we have sent thousands of customers to all parts of China, Indochina and India to discover the many unique travel experiences on offer, all in — W E N DY W U the reassuring hands of our expert guides.
1994 Wendy Wu sends her first group of intrepid travellers to China. 1998 Wendy Wu Tours opens its first office in Sydney, Australia. 2001 Our first tour of Vietnam departs. 2004 Our India programme commences and our London office opens. 2010 New York office opens. 2012 Our Japan tours commence. 2014 Appointed to operate Singapore Airlines Holidays in Australia. 2015 First departures of our Deluxe Holidays range and our Auckland office opens.
Humble Beginnings China wasn’t on many people’s bucket list 20 years ago. Only a lucky few had wandered around the beautiful Forbidden City in Beijing or stared open-mouthed in wonder when confronted with the Terracotta Warriors in Xian. Wendy Wu was one of the pioneers of group travel to China. Wendy was so passionate about her home country, she wanted everyone to experience it for themselves and give them an insight into her own fascinating culture. Wendy took her first group of intrepid travellers to China in 1994, on the very first ‘China Highlights’ tour. In fact, the tour was so popular, this itinerary still runs today (see page 8 of enclosed Epic Journeys supplement). Many of those customers that embarked on that first tour to China still travel with Wendy Wu Tours today, some of them having travelled with Wendy Wu Tours seven times or more.
Specialist Knowledge and Expertise From those early days, these personal touches and local expertise have been maintained. It is those unique insights and attention to detail that can turn a good holiday into a great one. 6
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What do you like most about your job? I get the best opportunities to learn and to put what I have learnt into practice every day.
The first ever Wendy Wu Tours group to China
Wendy Wu Tours receives hundreds of letters and emails each year congratulating the Local Guides and National Escorts that accompany each and every tour on their professionalism, patience, humour and above all, their ability to offer the personal touch.
Q&A with Wendy Wu! When and why did you join the industry? In 1993 while I was studying full time at Macquarie University. I was planning a holiday to China with my boyfriend at the time and at the last minute he couldn’t go. So I placed an advertisement in the paper to see if others would come with me and I would be their guide/ interpreter. That was the beginning of my travel career and since that day I haven’t looked back!
What’s one of the biggest achievements of your career so far? Setting up Wendy Wu Tours Australia, UK and US have been my biggest achievements, as well as receiving a number of prestigious UK travel industry awards, all recognising the hard work put in by both our teams in the UK and in our destinations to deliver the best product and service to our customers. What are three things you always take with you when travelling? A backpack, a Lonely Planet guide and cash for unplanned activities. Name someone famous you’d like to travel with and a destination you’d like to go with them. Jack Ma of Alibaba for his inspiring speech; Bill Gates of Microsoft for his impact on computers; and David Attenborough of BBC for his amazing documentaries. Anywhere in this world would be good enough for me if I was to go with one of them!