references for tour companies

We are going to China next Spring.  I want to know if anyone has suggestions on how to obtain references for various tour companies or has any specific feedback on tour companies thay have used.

Thanks

Hello ASKadis,

as you are posting this question on the forum of one of the companies whos references you want to check, you have to expect a little biased answers .

But back to the topic: there are some general guidelines how to check a company:

1) You should check their about us pages if they have a tour operator license number. Most operators even offer a link to a government site where you can check the validity of the numbers.

2) Check with which big organisations the tour operator works together (e.g. IATA, PATA, Local Chambers of Commerce)

3) A good sign for a reliable tour operator is if they are able to use Paypal. Paypal has a pretty strict security check before they allow Chinese companies to receive payment.

4) Read testimonials posted on the site. If a page has only very positive testimonials, you can be sure they "made it look better". Most good companies give you furthermore the chance to get into contact with a former customer to get unbiased feedback

5) The last point on my list, has not really to do with the reliability of a company, but the way they make business. As you heard from the media, chinese business growth often costs the society  a high price . I would honestly suggest you to check if the company you wish to travel with has the guts to look behind their profits and give something back to society. One example (as your are already on this site) would be the Helping Hand Charity China Highlights supports (http://www.chinahighlights.com/aboutus/community-participation.htm)

Thats it from me... if you have more questions send me a PM.....

i just took a trip with GXTravel.com. Their customer service was great. My guide had a great understanding of what i needed and wanted and could easily communicate the history and culture of his country. my trip was in guangxi province and the agency were great at handling my onward solo travel to Yunnan and Sichuan. i highly reccomend them.