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By James Shillinglaw China remains one of the world’s most intriguing destinations – and one that Americans increasingly want to explore. To get an idea of the wide range of experiences this destination has to offer, we spoke with Nancy Kim and Guy Rubin, the husband-and-wife team who are managing partners of Imperial Tours, a high-end China tour operator based in Beijing but with an office in San Francisco.  » Read more »

In an era of DIY vacations, travelers have more tools—online travel agencies, review sites, booking apps—at their fingertips than ever before. But when it comes to expert advice about a destination and customization, you can’t beat a good agent. “Today’s agents provide insider access, learn and understand your desires and personality, and are there for you 24/7, before, during, and after your trip,” says Kimberly Wilson Wetty, co-president and co-owner of Valerie Wilson Travel.  » Read more »

By George Seli Among the tough decisions that many insurance and financial companies had to make during the height of the recession was to cut back on or eliminate international incentives. The U.S. has plenty of intriguing cities with outstanding meeting facilities, but there’s no denying the adventurous quality of heading to a foreign country and experiencing what is often a very different culture, along with historical venues that date from long before the era of the 13 American Colonies.  » Read more »

Imperial Tours, a luxury tour operator based in China, is expanding its FIT business to seek out meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition business. In a webcast press conference, Guy Rubin, founder and managing partner of Imperial Tours, said the MICE business is growing in China, with the mean number of events leaping by 51 percent from 2009 to 2010. Rubin said Imperial will focus on delivering high-quality, custom-designed itineraries for executive board meetings,  » Read more »