Wendy Wu Tours expects heightened interest in Great Wall of China trips as the attraction marks 30 years as a Unesco world Heritage Site and stars in a Hollywood blockbuster.
The destination specialist has carried out research which found that 60% of Brits have iconic sites like the Great Wall on their bucket lists of must-see destinations.
In February a new film starring Matt Damon called The Great Wall is due for cinema release in the UK.
The fantasy action adventure is a first US-China Hollywood collaboration directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
This month Wendy Wu is offering a free one-way business-class upgrade with Air China for customers who book a China tour. The offer expires on January 31, but new upgrade flight for tours bookings in February are due to be announced.
Wendy Wu says only 10% of Brits have ever visited the Great Wall. At the weekend it was busy promoting the country in the UK during Chinese year of the rooster New Year celebrations.
Laurence Hicks, managing director of Wendy Wu Tours, said: “Seeing the Great Wall is a magnificent spectacle, and a life experience not to be missed.
“With Wendy Wu Tours your clients have the opportunity to visit the Great Wall on the majority of our tours, plus on our new Discovery Tours you’ll access more remote sections bringing out your inner adventurer.”
Feng Jing, chief of Asia and the Pacific Unit at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, said: “There is no better time than now to see the Great Wall, especially since the UN has declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
“The Great Wall is a perfect example of architecture integrated into the landscape and was one of the greatest defence systems on earth.
“As with many other wonders of the world, the Great Wall is vulnerable to erosion and climate conditions and is no longer a single unbroken structure. Some sections of the more than 20,000 km Great Wall have disappeared over time.
“The Chinese Government has placed the Wall under protection and it is subjected to national conservation regulations, but some sections are almost completely intact, others have been reduced to rubble.”
Wendy Wu’s Great Wall trips include trekking the Gubeikou to Jhinshanling section in a China Explorer tour priced from £3,190 per person, Enchanting China and Land of the Dragon tours for the Huanghuacheng section priced from £2,990 and £3,290 respectively and China and Spiritual Tibet on which guest scan sip champagne on the wall from £5,490.
Wendy Wu says it is 33% up for 2017 with China, Vietnam and Japan all seeing strong growth.