Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast for Tuesday the 27th of February.

I'm Simon Calder and one of the great joys of covering the travel industry is the chance to meet energetic, innovative entrepreneurs who have created

great businesses. And one of the best is Wendy Wu, an Australian of Chinese descent,

who has set up a very successful company called Wendy Wu Tours. When we met, she told me about how things have begun

25 years ago. I planned a holiday for myself and my partner then to China. And then,

two weeks before we go, my partner had an opportunity to either become the acting manager

run a big team or we continue to go on holiday and he will lose that opportunity forever.

And he thinks that's fine because he's Australian and easy going.

And then, but for me, no, I'm a Chinese and I'm very ambitious.

So I say, absolutely not.

You are not going. We can go anytime you stay.

I will go.

But then we find out we can't get any money back because everything already paid.

So therefore I put an ad.

We said, I don't want to waste money.

So I put an ad, I said, whoever here is eight ancient cities and 28 days holiday. And this is how much. And you have me as a free guide. That's how we started.

And when I come to the UK, we start because customer travel with us once. Then they say, oh, it's good. I will want to go again and in Australia, because

when they find somewhere really nice, they want to go again to the same place. So we did eight

different itineries for them to go to China. Then he said, we have traveled everywhere in China now,

take us somewhere else. So I expanded into Southeast Asia and Vietnam, Cambodia, then Japan and Korea,

but all just Asia before I come to the UK. And you know, British and Britain just embraced me and so kind to me,

just like Australians. They really love our products and immediately immediately, I come in just do China initially.

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