Wendy Wu wows the travel world for 25 years

In 1994, Wendy Wu walked into a travel agent in a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and told the owner she wanted to escort a group of tourists to China.

Back then, China was out of reach for many. Few foreigners had seen for themselves the beauty of the terraced rice paddies of Yuanyang County or witnessed the magnitude of the Terracotta Army in Xian.

Wendy, a petroleum chemistry graduate with a passion for travel, wanted to share the treasures of her home country and set about gathering her group.

From this first tour, she continued to build up her portfolio. In 1996, she added Vietnam to her list of destinations, then set up an office in China to cater for her China Highlights Tour.

In 1998, she established her travel company, Wendy Wu Tours, and her philosophy was simple – to provide popular, well-priced package tours – a value that still remains to this day.

In the new millennium, Wendy hosted the first escorted tour from the western world to Tibet – Tibetan Dreams.

In 2004, her tours expanded across Asia with the incorporation of India. In 2009, she launched the famous Solar Eclipse tour of China, followed by tours to Japan in 2012. After winning two prestigious British Travel Awards in 2013, she introduced the “Exclusive Collection” deluxe touring range as well as tours to South America.

She was inducted into the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame in 2017, launched Solos tours in 2018, tours to central Asia and brand-new deluxe river cruise vessel Victoria Mekong in 2019. In 2021, the company introduced tours to Europe.

A true pioneer of group travel to China, Wendy said: “I am still as excited about the prospect of exploring countries that make up this fascinating region of the world. But our tours would be nowhere near as successful if it wasn’t for our amazing national escorts and local guides – dedicated professionals.”

Wendy Wu Tours now offers tours to more than 40 countries.

wendywutours.co.uk