Wendy Wu Tours returns with a fresh focus on cruising adventures – and China

• The once-iconic brand is back, specialising in Asia and China.
• Yangtze river cruises have been joined with new ventures.
• Now Wendy Wu also goes to Galapagos and India.

For decades, Wendy Wu Tours has been synonymous with Asia. A pioneering force in opening up China, Japan and Southeast Asia to Australian travellers, the company built its reputation on deep cultural immersion, expert local guides and a famously all-inclusive approach.

But as Australians increasingly combine cruising with land exploration – Wendy Wu Tours is stepping confidently into a new age.

The veteran tour specialist is re-entering the China travel arena with renewed ambition and an expanded portfolio that now includes Yangtze River cruising, Galápagos expeditions, South America, India, and a growing number of Asia-plus-cruise offerings that blend ocean voyages with the brand’s signature guided touring.

“People want deeper, more meaningful travel,” says Simon Bell, CEO of Wendy Wu Tours. “They don’t just want a bolt-on hotel stay — they want real immersion. That’s what Wendy Wu Tours has always been about.”

“They don’t just want a bolt-on hotel stay — they want real immersion.”
— Simon Bell, CEO, Wendy Wu Tours

Wendy is back

The company’s story begins, fittingly, with Wendy herself. Born in Tibet and raised in China, she moved to Sydney as a student and fell in love with Australia.

When her husband was forced to cancel a long-planned China trip for work, Wendy placed his seat in a newspaper ad. The response was overwhelming. That single advertisement became the accidental start of what is now one of Australia’s best-known specialist tour operators.

Wendy led the charge to introduce Australians to the real China – long before it became fashionable or easy. Today she remains deeply involved in the business.

“Wendy is still incredibly passionate about product and marketing,” Bell says. “She’s been personally involved in spearheading places like Chongqing and pushing our teams to show travellers the China most people have never heard of, let alone visited.”

Why Wendy Wu tours

One of the most interesting trends Wendy Wu Tours has tapped into is the rapid growth of cruise-and-tour travel.

Cruise Passenger’s own research shows that 93% of readers pair their cruise with a small-group tour. Wendy Wu Tours has designed its product specifically around this behaviour.

The company’s original innovation was “sandwich touring”: land exploration, followed by a river cruise in the middle of the itinerary for a slower, scenic interlude, then more in-depth touring. It began on the Yangtze, expanded to the Mekong, and later into India’s Brahmaputra.

Customers loved it. “They really appreciate the change of pace,” says Bell. “That mid-itinerary cruise gives people time to relax while still staying on the journey.”

From there, the company expanded into ocean cruising partnerships with Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Celebrity, NCL, HX Expeditions – and now Princess Cruises.

What makes the Wendy Wu formula unique is the substantial land component.
“There’s a lot of ‘cruise plus hotel’ out there,” Bell says. “But our travellers want immersive land touring — not just an extra night in a city.”

The tours are fully hosted by national escorts – expert locals from the destination country – paired with specialist local guides when needed. On the cruise sectors, guests travel together, then regroup for guided touring on land. It’s a level of cultural depth that few cruise-and-tour packages offer.

New Cruise + Tour Itineraries

Asia & China

• 20-day China by Land & Japan by Sea
  Iconic Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and Shanghai, followed by a 7–8 night Royal Caribbean Japan cruise.
• 13-day Yangtze Explorer
  Classic China highlights combined with a relaxing Yangtze River cruise.
• Sichuan & Zhangjiajie Discovery
  Panda centres, dramatic “Avatar” mountains and spectacular national parks.

India

• Brahmaputra Christmas Cruise & Tour
  A festive river expedition with wildlife encounters and immersive cultural touring.

South America

• 21-day Galápagos Cruise & Machu Picchu
  Eight nights aboard HX Expeditions in the Galápagos, then Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley and Cuzco.

Japan & Beyond

• New Princess Cruises Japan departures paired with Wendy Wu’s escorted touring.
• Expanding tours into destinations such as Saudi Arabia and other “non-core” but fast-growing regions.

China makes a comeback

After a prolonged pandemic closure and years of negative headlines, China’s tourism recovery might surprise some. But Wendy Wu Tours reports that demand is now soaring.

“China is our second-highest booked destination — and in some months it’s actually number one,” Bell says. “Australians are coming back in a big way.”

What’s changed? Quite simply: awareness.

Travel agents recently returned from Chongqing describing a futuristic skyline of synchronised light shows and record-breaking drone displays, backed by world-class museums and temples. They’ve also been blown away by Zhangjiajie, the towering sandstone landscape that inspired Avatar, complete with glass bridges, soaring cable cars and a dramatic national park system.

“People come back amazed at how advanced, clean and safe China feels — and how good the food is.”
— Simon Bell

Then there’s the Yangtze River itself, one of Asia’s most scenic river journeys.
“Guests tell us it’s incredibly relaxing,” Bell says. “You can be as active or as lazy as you like. A lot of people just sit on deck with a coffee and watch the green hills drift by.”

Many travellers arrive expecting grey concrete. They leave talking about lush landscapes, cutting-edge cities and a culture far richer and more complex than they’d imagined.

How Australians Like to Travel Now

Wendy Wu Tours has also released Journeys Ahead, a new report into how Australians prefer to travel post-pandemic. It’s already shaping the company’s strategy.

“We used to think our typical 55-plus customer wasn’t especially interested in sustainability,” Bell admits. “This report told us the opposite.”

Australians, it turns out, want trips that are responsible, purposeful and meaningful.

• Sustainability matters
  Even older travellers want to know operators are doing the right thing.
• Purposeful travel is in demand
  Guests value itineraries that support local communities and social enterprises.
• Immersion over box-ticking
  Travellers want deeper cultural understanding, not just a checklist of sights.
• Cruise + tour is booming
  Australians love combining the comfort of a cruise with small-group touring before or after.

The company has long woven purposeful elements into its tours — such as visiting a Vietnamese workshop run by people with disabilities, where guests learn their stories and can buy handicrafts that directly support them. The difference now is that Wendy Wu Tours plans to talk about these elements more openly and build on them.

“We’ve always done the right thing quietly. Now we know our guests actually want to hear about it.”
— Simon Bell

Value, not budget

Bell is clear about where Wendy Wu Tours sits in the market. “We’re very confident we’re not a budget brand,” he says. “We’re a value brand. If you add up flights, accommodation, sightseeing, visas, entrance fees and every single meal, our all-inclusive price stacks up extremely well.”

Most tours include flights, accommodation, all sightseeing and entrance fees, visas where needed, and three meals a day. That all-in nature, combined with the reassurance of national escorts and local guides, tends to appeal strongly to the 55+ market, with younger travellers joining mostly on multigenerational trips.

Inside the company, destinations like South America and the Middle East are labelled “non-core” — but they’re the fastest-growing part of the business. The challenge is perception.

“People still think of us as ‘the China tour company’,” Bell says. “My message would be: take another look. We’re about bringing Wendy’s passion and hospitality to wherever you want to travel — whether that’s the Yangtze, the Galápagos or Japan by sea.”

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