We have the best guides and staff

Yes I said it. I know every tour operator makes this bold claim but based on the feedback from our clients I truly believe this statement as we receive praise weekly.

Here are excerpts from some of our past clients over the past few weeks:

"We have returned from our tours of Beijing and Shanghai, and our cruise, and had a wonderful, very special time. I want to thank you and your company for arranging such fantastic guides for us. I want you to know and pass on our A++ rating and the highest compliments and appreciation for Jane in Beijing."

"Just wanted to drop you a note to say how much I enjoyed my recent 16 day tour to China with ChinaPac. I took my nine year old son for Spring Break and was joined by my brother, his ten year old daughter and older son and we all had an amazing time. My concerns of taking my son on such a trip were soon put to rest after we landed and were greeted by our tour guide..."

"Ni Hao. My husband and I just returned from the most wonderful trip to China with Chinapac. We met our Tour Manager/Guide Frank in Shanghai who was with us for the entire trip plus Kudos to all our city guides at each stop also. All five star hotels were amazing (especially Beijing with the hot toilet)..."

"As you are aware, others have said in their testimonials that Tony is superb, amongst other things. Truly, that is just one perfect adjective to describe him. The level of service provided by Tony throughout our tour can also be described as exceptional. In our opinions, there's simply no area in which Tony could have improved upon his performance."

"... I want to thank you for the way you and your associates managed the trip to China. You thought af every little detail and there were no slipups. Everything went 100%! You should be very proud of the way you and your coworkers were arranging every little detail..."

I am really proud of our guides overseas and our local staff in our Vancouver office. The customer experience begins with the agent in Vancouver seamlessly transitions to our guides when they receive your clients overseas. It is because of our team what we are able to offer some of the best quality Asia tours in the Canadian market.

If you would read more praises and accolades please visit http://www.chinapac.com/04AboutUs/allreviews.asp

And better yet, experience the quality yourself and take one of our world famous FAM!

Go ‘Nucks!

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations

Message from Japan National Tourism Organization: Japan is Open for Safe Travel

The first month after the most major earthquake in the northeastern Japan has been an important recovery time for Japan, despite that international media release floods of extensive coverage on post-catastrophe situation. Thanks to international relief supports and Japan’s resilience and hard-working effort enables the country to recover the infrastructure as well as commercial activities at a surprisingly fast pace.

Following the British and Canadian governments’ ease on travel restrictions to Japan, on April 14, the US Department of State has reduced the travel alert to Japan only within the 50 miles radius of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which excludes major cities such as Tokyo and Yokohama, and Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda airports.

You can view Today's Japan through live cameras and YouTube videos.

As international organizations release clearer figures and assessment, the current situation has reached a reasonable safety level for international travelers, with detailed data as of April 15.

Can We Visit Japan Today? – YES!
The majority of regions in Japan including popular leisure travel destinations, are outside the areas affected by tsunami, earthquake and radiation, and received no disruption to infrastructure. Everything in these areas continues to operate as usual. The greater Tokyo area has already retrieved the usual condition, and there are no more periodical blackouts. The other regions are unharmed, and safe and normal as before.

How is the Radiation Level? – NOT DANGEROUS!
Except for the proximate areas near the nuclear power plants, there is no dangerous level of radiation detected in Japan. Tokyo is not within radiation contamination concern area, located over 200km (124 miles) away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant facilities. The radiation level in Tokyo is similar to that of New York City. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other international organizations confirm that the radiation level in the atmosphere is within a reasonable safety level to human health.

The accident in Fukushima is now categorized as level 7 with the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). However, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) estimates the amount of radiation released to the atmosphere is as a mere 10% of the Chernobyl accident. Since the INES category doesn’t have anything higher than level 7, both incidents fall into the same category in spite of the huge difference in the radiation levels and the size and structure of the accidents. See more details here.

In addition, please see the daily updates on radiation level in major cities in Japan here.

Are Food and Water Safe? – YES!
There is no shortage of food or water, and products distributed to the public are all safe.

Is Public Transportation Working? – YES!
Japan's sophisticated public transportation systems have been recovered to the regular service levels everywhere, except for the tsunami-affected regions.

Daily Updates
Since the 3.11 earthquake, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) continues to release updates on its website, including radiation conditions, transportation, events and other travel-related information.

Daily updates are also available online at JNTO’s North American website.

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations

New Year Celebrations Going Strong

Thailand is enjoying the Songkran Thai New Year celebrations, meaning that we are approaching the half way through April at the peak of the Thai hot season.

But Thailand has been experiencing some strange weather the past few weeks with heavy rains and flooding in parts of the south. Thankfully, this is behind us and the situation at the Samui archipelago has returned to normal with beautiful weather.

And now in Bangkok, they are having some strange weather. With temperatures dropping to 18ºC , the locals have been donning jumpers and scarves in the mornings and evenings. Even foreigners were sighted wearing jeans and fleeces to accommodate the cool weather and winds.

I am confident that the temperature will be nice and warm when I go in June to Bangkok and Koh Samui. If your clients are interested in visiting Thailand over the next year, I highly recommend our 12 Day Beaches, Bangkok and Beijing starting from CAD 2169 featuring 4 and 5 star hotels.

Go Nucks!

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations

Chinapac cruise products on TravelHotNew.com

TravelHotNews.com has recently featured Chinapac's cruise products as one of the unique cruise options popular to Canadian travellers.

CHINAPAC

With agencies booking large river cruise groups with the tour operator this year, Chinapac expects 2011 to be an even stronger cruising year than 2010.

“The numbers coming in already are looking promising,” said Otis Ashby, sales and operations, Chinapac.

Specializing in river cruises along the Yangtze in China, the Mekong in Vietnam and the Ganges in India, Ashby noted that many of the tour operators' Canadian clients have been looking to take an Asia trip for some time and are now scratching it off their bucket list.

For those scratching Asia off that list while experiencing a Chinapac tour for the first time, the company recommends the Yangtze tours. For repeat clients, Ashby said the operator recommends the Mekong River tours.

Victoria Cruises, COTC, Century Cruises, Pandaw Cruises, Star Cruises, Yachts of Seabourn and President Cruises are all available through Chinapac however, Ashby noted that, “If there is a cruise line in South East Asia that your clients want to sail, we will more than likely be able to book it for you.”

New for Chinapac in 2011 is the MS Yangtze 2, the largest five-star ship sailing the Yangtze. The inaugural sailing is set for September and, although the sites and points of interest are similar to that of the other Yangtze River tours, the MS Yangtze 2 is the first of those ships to have a movie theatre, indoor pool and three restaurants to dine at, said Ashby.

For more information, visit chinapac.com or order Chinapac's Asia brochure here.

Happy New Year! Again!

This time we are celebrating in Thailand! The festival is known as the Songkran festival which will last for three consecutive days April 13-15. This festival is observed nationwide and the most famous Songkran celebrations are in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer.

The most common celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People will roam the streets with containers of water or water guns and drench each other and passersby. April is the hottest month in Thailand so the cool water is refreshing.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran may also go to a Buddhist monastery known as a wat to pray and give food to monks. In cities such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats.

If your clients interested in visiting Thailand over the next year, I highly recommend our 12 Day Beaches, Bangkok and Beijing starting from CAD 2169 featuring 4 and 5 star hotels. I will also be returning to Thailand this June so expect more exciting news and specials from Chinapac.

Have a wet and happy Songkran!

Regards,

Otis Ashby
Sales & Operations