China, Hong Kong and Japan are featured in Virgin Holidays’ new Far East Virgin Territory brochure based on the back of its direct services to all threedestinations.
The 32-page brochure offers a greatly expanded section on China following Virgin Atlantic’s decision to launch a nonstop twice-weekly service from Heathrow-Shanghai in May.
In China, product includes city stays in Shanghai and the capital Beijing; plus tours to Xian, home of the Terracotta Army, and Guilin with its breathtaking rivers and peaks.
Prices are from ú769 per person for seven nights in Shanghai including flights and accommodation. Prebookable half and day tours are also available with prices from ú31 for a half-day city tour which takes in the Yu Yuan Garden and Old Town. Two-day prebookable guided excursions to Guilin lead in at ú419 per person and ú499 for Xian.
Managing directorRon Simms said Shanghai was expected to be the strong seller. “We expect demand to be very good – there is a lot of buzz about Shanghai at the moment. We offer seven-night packages to Shanghai because there is so much to see and do there but we expect people to pair Shanghai three-night city stays with tours of China.
“We also expect that there will be demand for three-centre holidays to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.”
Prices combining the three cities start at ú1,139 for 10 nights.
Meanwhile, Simms said that demand for Japan remained poor. “We have been offering Japan as a destination for years and it has never taken off,” he explained. “We take a few hundred every year to Tokyo. Those who go want to make up their own itinerary when they get there.”
Prices start from ú859 for three nights including accommodation and flights. Extra nights are from ú51.
The innovative brochure contains information on shopping tips and hotspots, as well as properties such as the legendary Peace Hotel in Shanghai, which was built in 1930 and is famous for its jazz performances and as the location where Noel Coward wrote Private Lives.