La belle France served on a platter

A holiday on a shoestring budget 20 years ago sowed the seeds for a lucrative business.The late French president Charles de Gaulle is said to have once asked about his nation: "How can you possibly govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?"Where some people see problems, others see only opportunities, and Alain Hong is one of the latter when it comes to France. For him the country is much more than a gigantic cheese platter, and l'Hexagone, as the French popularly call metropolitan France, is a gem that has many more than five facets.

The Beijing travel agent sees the country as a smorgasbord of attractions for tourists and is on a mission to serve them up to Chinese according to their tastes.Listening to him enthuse about shopping at Printemps department store in Paris, spending a week in a farmhouse in Bordeaux, wandering through an ancient castle elsewhere or lapping up the sights of Monaco on a luxurious yacht, it is clear he has first-hand knowledge of the country.

"Paris is the most interesting city, with stories in every cafe, every bookshop and on every street corner. Provence is filled with ethnic flavor, and the beauty of the lavender fields is beyond your wildest dreams."Hong's love affair with France began nearly 20 years ago when he spent four months there. He went there alone, something almost unheard of in those days for Chinese traveling to Europe.

Outsourcing Losing Its Allure As China Costs Soar

Frustrated by expensive and slow shipping and wanting more control over the manufacturing process, the 15-year-old company started building factories in Simi Valley, California, and Crystal Lake, Illinois."When we do the numbers we're actually ahead manufacturing here instead of paying for air freight and dealing with the logistical issues that we're having in China," said Raymond Sjolseth, the company's president and co-founder.

With just $11 million in revenue last year, xinjiang travel agenc is a tiny company, but it is one of many manufacturers of all sizes - from Master Lock (FBHS.N) to blue-chips General Electric Co (GE.N) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) - that are expanding production in the United States.After decades roaming the world in search of lower costs, U.S. manufacturers are finding that factories at home can compete with China, India, Mexico and other low-cost countries.

To be sure, labor-intensive industries like clothing and electronics, which are heavily dependent on hand assembly, are seen as unlikely to come back to the United States in a major way.xinjiang travel agency And the trickle of returning jobs is far from a flood.But higher transportation costs and wage inflation in China could drive more production back to the United States.As manufacturers have learned to run factories with fewer workers - whose jobs consist of keeping high-cost, high-speed machines running smoothly, rather than assembling goods by hand - they have found that wages are a less critical issue in choosing a factory site.

Operator penalised for tour delay

A trip to Bangkok to attend the Lions International Convention turned out to be a nightmare for 72-year-old Koshy Philips and 10 others. They were supposed to go on an 11 day package tour to China and to Bangkok but landed in Bangkok three days after the convention.The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Ernakulam, has asked Intersight Toursand Travels to pay Rs15,000 each to all the complainants and a cost of Rs1,000. The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has also upheld the order of the forum and dismissed the appeal of the tour operator.

Philips said he is happy that the court has found out that there was a deficiency in service. He said, “I feel that even the compensation provided is little compared to the mental agony and stress that we had to undergo in another country.’’Philips, a resident of Chengannur, said, “We were supposed to attend the convention in Bang-kok on June 24 and 25, 2008. There were 31 delegates and we approached the tour operator and paid Rs52,000 per head.”

The departure from Kochi to Beijing was scheduled for June 17 and arrival in Bangkok on 22. On June 16 the group was informed that there was an earthquake warning in China and it was not possible to go. The tour operator assured them that the trip could be worked in such a way that they would go to Bangkok directly. Only 11 persons were ready to take this alternate package.

North Korea opens door ajar to rich Chinese tourists

North Korea, ever eager to get foreign currency, is opening up more tourist routes for well-heeled Chinese visitors.North Korean government officials have staged a marketing blitz in China to lure wealthy tourists to the isolated country.Several silk road tour package handle package tours to North Korea.There are now direct flights from Beijing, Shenyang and Harbin to Pyongyang. It is also possible to arrive by train, private car or walk across the border.

Charter flights from Harbin began from April."The response has been good because we receive about 20 to 30 inquiries daily," said a silk road tour package representative in Harbin. "We offer many packages. For example, there is one aimed for business purposes, such as inspecting the investment environment."Last year, North Korea opened up a new tourism route that allows Chinese travelers to take a train from Tumen, Jilin province, and visit scenic spots in North Korea's rugged northeast, such as Chongjin and Mount Chilbosan.

Another tour allows drivers from Hunchun, Jilin province, to visit Rason, a port city on the northeast coast that is designated as a special economic zone."Although there is only one tour a week, we get close to 100 participants every time. Many are senior citizens," said a Tumen travel agency representative.All the tour packages target the well-off Chinese traveler.The Chinese yuan can be used in North Korea. Some packages include a round of golf in Pyongyang.

Tuniu a winning package

The giants of China's online travel agencies, eLong and Ctrip, have a new challenger in the battle to profit from the country's fast-growing travel business. Tuniu, founded in late 2006, has found a winning niche by already becoming the leading online package and group tour company in China.

Tuniu tripled gross revenue last year and forecasts a further doubling of sales this year, according to chief executive (Donald) Yu Dunde told Asia Times Online. The Nanjing-based company, whose chief operating officer Yan Haifeng is a co-founder, took in revenues of 1.2 billion yuan (US$188 million) in 2011, providing packaged tours, group travel, do-it-yourself tours, and combined air ticket and hotel booking packages. The company covers Chinese domestic and international travel.

"Compared with others in the industry, we concentrate on package and group tours. Some competitors offer package tours, but the bigger ones mostly focus on booking hotels and air tickets. Meanwhile, eLong does not offer package tours at all, instead focusing on hotels and airfares," said Yu, who previously worked for a blogging site then a parenting site.

Chinapac Announces 12 Day Deluxe China Arts & Culture Experience

The Vancouver based Asia tour operator, Chinapac International, reveals an innovative spring tour especially designed to showcase China's rich history, art and culture. Guests will walk the mighty Mutianyu Great Wall;or Xinjiang travel visit art and history museums, palaces and an Art Community.

"This tour begins in Beijing, China's capital with over 3,000 years of history; highlights include the Mutianyu Great Wall, Shanghai, Suzhou, Terra Cotta Warriors Museum, National Museum, wine tasting, an Art Community and visits to a local family, a village and a watertown", says President Jenny Soares. "Chinapac is excited to offer this culturally rich tour. Each participant is sure to appreciate the artist studios, galleries and museums."for China self driving Tours.

While in Beijing, participants visit Tian Men Square, the Forbidden City and a Pearl Factory to learn about pearl farming in China. After a delicious Dim Sum lunch, they visit the classical Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site with the largest imperial garden in the world. The grounds include over 3,000 structures with a variety of pavilions, towers and arched bridges surrounding beautiful Lake Kunming. Guests will enjoy a boat ride on the tranquil water of the Kunming Lake with time to stroll about the famous Wangfujing Street and the night markets after dinner.

China tour operators discover Seychelles

China's top five tour operators are in Seychelles to discover and experience the country's destination and its products.On Monday, June 25, representatives of China International Travel Service, China Youth Travel Service, UTOURS, CAISSA, and China Travel Service met the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, and the Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan, in a private meeting to discuss the development of the Chinese market.

The meeting was also attended by the Chief Executive of Air Seychelles, Cramer Ball; the Chairman of Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, Captain David Savy; the Chief Executive of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, Gilbert Faure; the Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt; and the Principal Secretary of Transport, Terrence Mondon.

As he addressed the tour operators, Minister St.Ange asked them to work with him and the Ministry of Transport to develop Seychelles as the NEW tourism destination for Chinese holiday makers.“We want to work with you to help us open this big potential market you have in China. We want to commit Air Seychelles to fly to China and fully open the market. We can today say that as of January 2013, Seychelles will be operating three initial weekly flights to China, and we need from you a degree of commitment to reassure us that you are prepared to help us develop the Chinese market for Seychelles.”

Taipei seeks to boost S Korea, China tourist levels

With an estimated 300,000 South Korean tourists visiting Taipei this year thanks to the direct flight service which operates between Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Gimpo Airport in Seoul, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism is offering budget tour packages aimed at tourists from the country that include coupons for various retail outlets.

How much would the holiday in Tourism Australia new ad cost?The department said it will provide NT$30,000 of coupons to South Korean visitors while well-known hotels in Taipei, including the W Hotel Taipei and Radium Kagaya, will also offer discounts, it added.Meanwhile, a total of 15 Chinese journalists are to be invited to Taipei today to tour the city. Chinese tourists remain the biggest group of foreign tourists who visit Taiwan.

"Taipei's popularity as a tourist destination is growing among South Korean tourists, especially individual tourists and backpackers. We expect the promotional program to attract more tourists to visit Taipei, boosting tourism in our city," Chao said.The city will arrange for the journalists and travel bloggers to visit major attractions today, including Beitou Hot Spring Museum, Beitou Library and the National Palace Museum, as well as Zhongshan N Street, where many Taiwanese designers have opened shops, the department said.