Group tour packages ride wave

When the United States first allowed tour groups from the Chinese mainland in 2008, cautious travel agents limited their packages to important sites on the East and West coasts and Hawaii - all in about two weeks.

Breathless, see-everything-famous trips were well suited for Chinese who might visit the US only once. Now, agencies are offering wider selections of travel options in light of planned improvements to the US visa application process in China and the expected leap in Chinese visitors to the US.

China International Travel Service, one of the largest agencies in Beijing, has begun selling more focused tours. They include shopping trips to both luxury stores in Beverly Hills and large outlets on the East Coast, and themed tours, such as one to national memorials and parks including Mount Rushmore.

Online travel service Ctrip.com says it will work to develop more US-bound group offerings this year. It plans to introduce new tours to Seattle and Florida.

However, Fei Lina from Shanghai Jinjiang International Travel says January and February are a low season for US trips, so it is not a good time to test US President Barack Obama's promise of a shortened and simplified visa procedure.

"Some say we need to wait until the second half of this year to see the real impact of the policy, and I think we need to wait until 2013 at least," she says.

Some agencies worry that expensive US-bound airfare and the lack of local tour guides could make tours to Europe or to islands such as Bali and Maldives during off-seasons appear more cost-effective.

Ge Jingwen, who works at SAL Tour in Shanghai, says, "It's never an easy thing to grab cheap US tickets. For example, you can get a 3,000 yuan ($475) flight to Europe when there's a discount, but any destination in the US costs you at least 5,000 to 6,000 yuan."

Li Meng with China International says that if the number of China-US flights does not increase, the prices of tickets will rise with demand. That would push up the prices of US-bound tour packages as well.

China Daily