Terms and Conditions

Booking Conditions - Wendy Wu Tours

These are the terms and conditions which apply to your holiday. Please read them and the information pages carefully as you will be bound by them.

1 - Security

Your contract is with Wendy Wu Tours Ltd. We hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority under number 6639. In the unlikely event of our insolvency the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. We are members of the Association of British Travel Agents, tour operator class ABTA W7994.

2 - Your Contact with Us

When you book a holiday or flight with us the contract between us comes into effect when you or your chosen agent asks us to confirm your booking. We then become responsible to provide you with the holiday or flight you have booked and you become responsible to pay for it, in each case subject to these terms and conditions. It is important you check the written confirmation when you receive it, or if booking late that all details are as you require them. If you wish to change or cancel any arrangements later you may have to pay an amendment or cancellation charge and additional costs (see below) which may be as much as the whole of the original price of your arrangements. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions and accept responsibility for making all payments to us for all members of the party. We will send all documents and other information to you or your chosen agent and you will be responsible for ensuring that all other members of the party are kept fully informed. No verbal amendments may be made by either party to these written booking conditions. If you book your holiday through an agent all communication must be through that agent. All money which you pay to the agent before we have sent you the confirmation of your booking will be held by the travel agent on our behalf.

3 - Payment

Once you have asked us to confirm your booking the total price of the arrangements you have booked is due and is payable as follows:

• If you book more than 8 weeks before your scheduled departure date, a non-refundable deposit of £250.00 per person is payable at the time of booking and the full remaining balance payable 8 weeks before your scheduled departure date.
• If you book less than 8 weeks before your scheduled departure date the full price is payable when you book.

Our preferred method of deposit payment is by bank debit card or credit card. Balance payment may be made by cash, bank debit card, credit card or cheque (providing there is time to clear it to meet the payment schedule shown above – you should allow 5 working days for clearance from the time we receive it).

Credit Card Charges

No charge will be made for deposits paid by Credit or Debit Card/Switch/Delta and no charge will be made for balances paid by Debit Card/Switch/Delta. However, in line with most major operators, we will make a charge of 2% for balances paid by credit card. Please note that your booking may be cancelled if you do not make payment on time (we do not send reminders) and cancellation charges as set out under “If You Cancel” (see below) will be payable by you.

4 - Prices

All prices shown in this brochure are in pounds sterling and are per person unless otherwise stated. We reserve the right to change any of the prices quoted in this brochure at any time before you book. If we do you will be notified of any such change before you commit yourself. We reserve the right to increase or decrease prices in line with any change in VAT, local and UK taxes, currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges, security charges or any fees chargeable for the services included in the cost of your holiday. Should it be necessary to make any surcharges, we will notify you of the relevant adjustments by issuing a new invoice. In any event we will absorb all such increases where they form less than 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding any cancellation or amendment charges). However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure. Only amounts in excess of 2% will be invoiced to you. In the event that any surcharge means you paying in excess of 10% more on the original cost of your holiday, you will be entitled to cancel your trip with a full refund of all monies paid (except amendment fees). Should you wish to cancel under these circumstances you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the date of the invoice we send you showing the increase.

5 - Compulsory Tipping

Tipping is an expected element in the tourism industry today and the countries we visit are no exception. On group tours, in order to relieve customers of the expectation to tip individual guides and service providers in
each destination we state an amount to be given to the National Guide on arrival to cover the duration of the tour. You will be advised of the amount payable in your final documentation prior to departure.

6 - Travel Documents & Visas

A Passport with a minimum of six months validity from the intended date of Travel is required for travel for all countries in our programme. Visa fees, where required, are included for UK passport holders in all fully inclusive group packages with the exception of visas for Laos. Non UK passport holders will incur Visa fees. Failure to forward passports to Wendy Wu Tours by a specified date may incur Fees to cover “urgent’’ Visa processing. Unless otherwise requested your passport will be returned approximately 4 weeks after receipt by us. A charge will be made for faster processing. Responsibility for documentation accuracy, passport validity and dispatch of documents rests with you. Wendy Wu Tours accepts no responsibility in this regard. It is the responsibility of each passenger to ensure that you meet the necessary visa application criteria laid down by the country you are visiting and your responsibility to ensure the visa we issue you is correct. Whilst we include the cost of the standard visa application service in your tour price (for UK passport holders), we will pass on any additional charges incurred. Should your visa application be refused for any reason, you will be liable for the full loss of the booking deposit.

7 - Insurance

It is a condition of booking with us that you take out suitable travel insurance covering at least circumstances leading to the cancellation of your booking and providing sufficient medical cover for illness or injury and repatriation while overseas. You must provide us with the name of your insurers and their 24 hour emergency contact number when you book with us or as soon as possible thereafter. Wendy Wu Tours will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

8 - If You Wish To Make Changes After Booking

If after receiving our confirmation you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, such as change of departure date or accommodation, we will do our best to make the changes but it may not be possible. Please contact us in writing as soon as possible if you do wish to make changes. Requests for changes must be made by the person who made the booking or by your Agent. You will be asked to pay an administration charge for the cost we incur in making this alteration as well as any additional costs of the new arrangements. The administration costs per person are as follows:

• Minor amendments to the tour booked - £20
• Minor amendments made within 30 days of departure - £30
• Transferring between tours or changing departure date - £50
• Transferring between tours or changing departure date within 60 days of departure is not permitted and cancellation fees will apply
• Reissue of airline tickets - £50 plus any non refundable costs of the cancelled ticket and any additional costs of the new ticket

Once a booking is confirmed no name transfers are permitted and this will be regarded as a cancellation and cancellation fees apply. It is important to note that certain arrangements such as FIT Air Tickets cannot be changed after a booking has been made as they are sold as part of your fixed package and any change will incur a 100% cancellation charge. Any change by you to your confirmed arrangements after departure is in all cases subject to availability and any extra costs must be paid by you.

9 - If You Cancel

Because we start to incur costs in relation to your arrangements from the time we confirm your booking, if you cancel we have to make a charge and the nearer to your departure date you cancel, the higher the charge will be. If you wish to cancel a confirmed booking you must do so by writing to our head office. We recommend ‘Guaranteed Special Delivery’. Cancellation takes effect from the day we receive your letter. Cancellation charges will be as shown in the table below (which also applies if we cancel because you have failed to make payments on time – see “Payment” section) together with the cost of any airfare for which we have had to pay at the time of the booking and will be payable immediately on cancellation. When the cancellation letter is received by us before departure Charges as a % of the total holiday cost are:

60 or more days	Retention of deposit
59 – 42 days	30% including deposit
41 – 30 days	60% including deposit
29 – 14 days	90% including deposit
Less than 14 days	100% including deposit

If you have to cancel for a reason that is covered by your insurance, you should follow the procedure laid down by your insurers as you may be able to reclaim the cancellation charges.

10 - If We Make Changes

As this brochure is published before the start of the arrangements shown in it we reserve the right to change any of the details and correct any errors at any time. If any such changes are made before you have made your booking we will advise you before we confirm your booking. The right is also reserved to change airline, aircraft types and vessels scheduled for any specific departure. Even after we have confirmed your booking we may have to make alterations to confirmed arrangements. Most such alterations will be minor and of little effect on your overall arrangements and while we will do our best to notify you of any such minor change before your departure, we will have no other liability to you. Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements.

Significant changes include the following:

• Change of UK departure airport. (A change from one London airport to another is not considered a major change. London airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City)
• Change of your time of departure or return by more than 12 hours
• Change of resort
• Change of holiday accommodation to accommodation of a lower official rating.

If we have to make a significant change, we will notify you as quickly as possible and you may then either:

• a. accept the change and the contract between us will then be varied to incorporate the change; or

• b. take alternative arrangements altogether (subject to availability). If the alternative arrangements selected are a lower price than those originally confirmed, the difference will (if already paid) be refunded to you. If the alternative is more expensive, then you will have to pay the difference; or

• c. withdraw from the booking completely in which case we will as soon as possible, refund all money paid to us.

In addition, if you choose (a) or (b) above, you will receive as compensation a credit towards the cost of your arrangements, or any alternative selected, of the amount shown in Scale A below. If you choose (c) we will pay you compensation of the amount shown in Scale B below. In cases we will have no liability for any other or greater compensation, or for expenses or losses incurred as a result of any change.

Period before departure date notification given by us		Credit/Compensation per fare paying passenger (excluding children)*
	Scale A	Scale B
0 – 7 days	£50	£25
8 – 14 days	£40	£20
15 – 28 days	£30	£15
29 – 42 days	£20	£10
43 – 56 days	£10	£5
More than 56 days	£5	Nil

*The compensation scales shown above apply to full fare paying adults only. Children or others travelling at concessionary rates will receive compensation pro rata based on the concessionary price against the full adult price as shown on the confirmation. N.B. The above does not apply when we are forced to make changes which cause you to withdraw, or to cancel your arrangements by reason of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and which we could not have avoided by the exercise of all due care and our only liability will be to refund, as soon as possible, all money paid to us by you. A flight delay does not constitute a change to holiday arrangements. We are unable to accept liability or pay compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligation is prevented or affected by reason of circumstance amounting to "force majeure"i.e. any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) could not, even with due care foresee or avoid. Such events may include, but are not limited to, war, threat of war, or civil strife, riots, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire, flood, drought, government action, airport and port regulations and closures, technical transportation problems, maintenance to vessels, scheduling of transport and similar events outside our control. If you, or your agent, have made independent travel arrangements you accept responsibility for joining our tour or arrangements in good time, regardless of any change to the time or date, or to the itinerary. We are not able to refund monies paid to us, or any third party acting on our or your behalf, or make compensation or other payments where, for whatever reason, you fail to join our tour or any arrangements made by us.

11 - Our Liability To You

We accept liability for any damage caused to you or any person in your party by the failure to perform, or the improper performance, of the contract made when your booking is confirmed (subject to any changes subsequently agreed between us) unless:

• a. the failures which occur in the performance of the contract are attributable to you or some other person in your party;

• b. such failures in performance are attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and are unforeseeable and unavoidable

• c. or such failures are due to:

• i. unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

• ii. an event which we, or the supplier of the services (if not us) could not foresee or forestall even with all due care.

Our liability, except in cases of death, injury or illness, shall be limited to the lesser of:

• i. the maximum of twice the cost of your travel arrangements.

• ii. the minimum amount payable in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to:

• a. the contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements, which are expressly incorporated into the contract and also form the terms and conditions of separate contracts between you and the carrier.

• b. any relevant international conventions, including the Warsaw Convention 1929, whether as amended by the Hague Protocol 1955 or the Montreal Protocol 1999, or otherwise, or the Montreal Convention 1999. Carriage of passengers and their luggage by water is governed by the Athens Convention 1974 and in respect of carriage by rail by the Berne Convention and in respect of provision of accommodation by the Paris Convention. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these, or any other conventions, including claims for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage.

You may ask for copies of the transport companies' contractual terms or the international conventions from our offices at 6 - 10, Borough High Street, London, SE1 9QQ

12 - Complaint Procedure

If you have a problem during your holiday concerning any service provided as part of the arrangements we have confirmed, you must, inform our National Escourt or local representative (or, if none available, with our local agent or hotel manager) immediately to enable them to try to resolve the matter. If this cannot be achieved it is essential that you notify our head office in writing, quoting the booking reference number, at the earliest opportunity and no later than 28 days after your return to enable any complaint to be investigated. In the unlikely event that any complaint cannot be settled between us you may if you wish be referred to Arbitration. This special scheme devised by arrangement with the Association of British Travel Agents is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. It applies if your claim is for not more than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form and does not involve physical injury or illness. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with limited customer liability on costs. Full details are available on request or from the ABTA Ltd 30, Park Street, London SE1 9EQ or www.abta.com.

13 - Indemnity

When you book arrangements with us you accept responsibility for the proper conduct of yourself and your party. If your actions or omissions cause damage to any property in the provision of the contracted arrangements, or cause delay or diversion to any flight or other means of transportation, you agree to fully indemnify us against any claim (including professional fees and legal costs) made against us by or on behalf of the owner of such property or the operator of the flight or other means of transportation. The Captain of an aircraft or Master of a vessel has authority over the aircraft/vessel and passengers at all times when they are boarding or on board. He/she may prevent you from travelling if, for example, it is considered you are unfit to travel or pose a danger to, or threaten the good order of the aircraft/vessel/other passengers. In these circumstances your holiday will be considered terminated and there will be no liability on our part, or that of any supplier, for any refund, compensation, or costs you may incur. Additionally, we will have the right to recover full costs resulting from the incident from the passenger.

14 - Jurisdiction and Law

The contract arising from any confirmed arrangements is to be interpreted according to and subject to the laws of England and both you and we agree to submit any claim or dispute under or concerning it to any Court having the relevant jurisdiction in England.

15 - Exchange Rates

The following exchange rates have been used in calculating known costs for prices in the brochure, based on forward currency rates available on 29 May 2009 US$1.60.

16 - Data Protection

In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we, Wendy Wu Tours Ltd, need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements etc. We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements such as airlines, ships, hotels, transport companies etc. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Additionally, where your holiday is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will not pass any information to any person not responsible for your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers we cannot provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.) Please note that where information is also held by your chosen agent, this is subject to your agent’s own data protection policy.

Wendy Wu Tours Ltd. may wish to contact you by post, e-mail and/or telephone with news, information and offers on its holidays we may have available and for market research purposes. If you prefer not to be contacted for the purposes set out above then please contact the Consumer Data Controller, Marketing Department, Wendy Wu Tours Ltd, 6 – 10 Borough High Street, London, SE1 9QQ

If you wish to obtain a copy of the personal information held about you, please write to the above address. Wendy Wu Tours Ltd may make a small charge for supplying this information as permitted by law.