US operator’s vantage

I saw the collection of letters under the heading “Rating Foreign Tour Companies That Customize Tours” (Aug. ’14, pg. 42). As a tour operator here in the US doing customized tours to China and Tibet for the past 25 years, I wanted to provide my perspective and some insight for travelers considering planning private tours with foreign firms rather than those based in the US.

I have traveled to China and Tibet over 55 times since 1989, working with local suppliers and hotels and seeing the sights in each area of the country. I also teach in guide schools there, advising guides on what Western people like to see and do. 

In Asia, the guides often cannot understand why Westerners enjoy countryside markets or villages, which locals often think are uninteresting. So be aware that with some tour operators based in China, Americans would end up seeing far too many temples and historical sites that are meaningful to Asians. 

A good tour operator will do custom tours for Western people quite differently than he would for Asian people, depending on the travelers’ needs and interests. 

There are customized tours and there are customized tours. When considering arranging a customized tour overseas, one needs to know how the industry works. 

Economy itineraries use less-expensive hotels and offer fewer meals (with more of them being buffets with poor food), fewer sights and more stops at shops, the stops masked as cigarette or toilet stops. There is extra free time. These packaged components have all been prepared in advance and then are just put together and called a custom tour, something that actually takes very little time.

Real customized tours are ones for which a tour operator actually takes information from the client and then, with a great knowledge of the country, develops a specialized itinerary at the approval of the traveler.

If you deal with an experienced US tour operator who knows the country well, not only will you have a good tour but you can save money as well. 

I have two Chinese partners with whom I work directly who have contracts with hotels and wholesale sources for transportation, so I have access to their wholesale prices. If I had to work directly with hotels, airlines and other services, not only would my costs be much higher, but paying the various services for each tour would be a nightmare. 

Also, in the US, all tour operators must be licensed in their state, so by working with them you are protected by US courts against fraud, and you have access to the Better Business Bureau. Traveling with a company based in another country, if you are not satisfied with your tour, little can be done about it except to “stick it out.” Hopefully, that will not happen.

A great tour is long remembered, and a poor tour is remembered too!

DAVE BRUELS

Seattle, WA