Terms and Conditions

These Terms & Conditions and all information contained in this website form the basis of the contractual relationship between World Trade Travel Pty Ltd t/a Helen Wong’s Tours (HWT Holidays) and all its clients. HWT Holidays is a registered business name owned by World Trade Travel Pty Ltd. It is extremely important that you, the client, accept and understand the Terms & Conditions as well as all website content before you make your tour booking. By making a booking with us, you will have agreed to accept the Terms & Conditions of this website.

Reservation and Deposit
The Booking Form must be completed and signed by you or your travel agent on your behalf. Your Booking Form should be accompanied by the deposit to enable HWT Holidays to confirm your booking.

Tour Packages - deposit of $440.00 per person
China Encounters - deposit of $440.00 per person
Hotel Stopovers - deposit of $220.00 per person
All reservations are subject to availability at the time of booking.

Any verbal quotation given is an estimate only and is subject to the written confirmation/invoice from HWT Holidays of the requested services and price. Reservations will only be confirmed after HWT Holidays receives written confirmation of your booking from the tour operator. Should the deposit not be received within 7 days of receipt of your Booking Form, any reservations already made in respect of the holiday will be automatically cancelled.

Balance Payment
The balance of payment for your holiday is due 50 days prior to departure. If, for any reason, the balance payment is not received by HWT Holidays by the due date, we reserve the right to treat such failure to pay the balance as a cancellation and to apply the appropriate cancellation charges. HWT Holidays accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever in respect of any payment made by you to your travel agent. The balance payment is only made when it is actually received by HWT Holidays.

Cancellation or Refund
The following cancellation fees or refunds shall apply if, for any reason, the client cancels a holiday. All cancellation terms are specified on a per person basis.

Tour Packages/China Encounters/Hotel Stopovers
Up to 60 days prior to departure, forfeiture of $220.00 of the deposit
Between 36-59 days prior to departure, forfeiture of the total deposit
Between 8-35 days prior to departure, 50% of the total cost
Between 0-7 days prior to departure, no refund will be made
In addition to the above, the following will also apply:

International Air Portion
Cancellation fees imposed will be subject to airline Tariff Regulations for the international air portion of any flight.

China Entry/Exit Transportation
Cancellation of confirmed charter flight bookings or train/boat bookings will incur a cancellation fee of 100% of the applicable fare.

No refunds are available after the holiday has commenced or in respect of lost or unused tickets, hotel coupons, meals or any other services not utilised.

Amendment of Confirmed Reservations
Up to 50 days prior to departure, any amendment made to a confirmed reservation will incur a fee of $50.00 per change/per file, in addition to any charges levied by ground operators, airlines, hotels or other service provider. Within 50 days prior to departure, any amendment to confirmed travel arrangements will incur a fee of $100.00 per change. Once documents have been despatched, any amendment will incur a fee of $150.00. Both these fees are in addition to any charges levied by ground operators, airlines, hotels, or other service provider. In the case of a transfer to another tour, the applicable cancellation fees will apply.

Late Bookings
Reservations made within 14-8 days prior to departure from port of origin will incur a non-refundable Late Booking Fee of $55.00 per file whether the reservation can be confirmed or not. Full payment for the holiday together with the Late Booking Fee must be received by HWT Holidays within 48 hours of the booking. No reservation will be processed until the applicable payment is received by HWT Holidays. Failure to comply with these terms of payment will result in the automatic cancellation of the reservation request.

In the event that the reservation cannot be confirmed, the Late Booking Fee of $55.00 will be retained by HWT Holidays but the balance of monies will be refunded.

No reservations will be accepted within 7 days prior to departure.

Tour Prices
Prices are based on tariffs and rates of exchange current as at 01 November 2006 and are quoted in Australian Dollars. Prices are subject to change without notice. In the event of fluctuations in currency exchange rates, service providers’ tariffs, fuel prices, accommodation rates and other holiday service components, HWT Holidays reserves the right to adjust prices at any time up to and including the date of departure, even after receipt of the balance payment from the client. Acceptance of this arrangement is an express condition of making a reservation. Any alteration to advertised prices will be brought to the attention of your travel agent; however HWT Holidays does not accept responsibility in the event that this information is not passed on to the client by the travel agent. It is recommended that the client checks regularly with the travel agent for any changes.

Tour Operation
Although HWT Holidays will endeavour to ensure that holidays are available as advertised, an express condition of making a reservation is the acceptance by the client that tour itineraries and schedules, advertised accommodation, sightseeing programmes and modes of transportation as outlined in this website and/or supplied in pre-departure information are subject to change without prior notice. Air travel, coach journeys and other forms of transport and hotel accommodation are provided by independent operators and all bookings through HWT Holidays are subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of carriers, hoteliers and other service providers.

If your booking needs to be altered due to circumstances beyond our control, we reserve the right to vary your itinerary and inform you of the subsequent changes. If the varied itinerary is only available at a higher cost, the client will bear the increased price. Should such changes result in an itinerary which is materially different from your requested programme and we have accepted your deposit or balance payment, you reserve the right to withdraw from the tour programme and all monies received by HWT Holidays will be refunded in full. HWT Holidays recommends that all clients ascertain from its office or their own travel agent if any change has occurred from the date of confirmation up to and including the date of departure.

If for any reason, HWT Holidays is forced to cancel a tour programme, clients will be offered an alternative tour of a similar standard and arrangement. Should the alternative be unsuitable to the client, all monies paid to HWT Holidays in respect of the original tour programme will be refunded in full.

An alternative itinerary or a refund of monies offered or paid in the event of a tour change or cancellation is in full satisfaction of any claim for loss of enjoyment resulting from the change or cancellation.

Unforeseeable circumstances such as force majeure, adverse weather conditions, airline flight rescheduling, hotel overbooking, technical faults with transportation and road conditions may also have a consequential effect on the content and schedule of the tour after commencement. Any decision made in respect of tour services provided by independent operators to reroute or amend the itinerary due to any of the above, or similar, circumstances is at the discretion of the tour service provider. HWT Holidays shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever arising from such events which affect the schedule and the content of the tour.

Group Departures
Quoted holiday prices are based on a minimum number of 10 people travelling together unless specified and staying in twin share accommodation as stated in each tour. Should the minimum number of persons not be attained, HWT Holidays reserves the right to cancel, amend or recost the tour programme. If such an event occurs, we shall endeavour to provide the choice of an alternative tour or the client may continue the tour as amended or cancel participation of the tour altogether in which case a full refund of the tour cost will be made.

Single Travellers
Single travellers who are willing to share accommodation with another tour member must advise HWT Holidays at the time of reservation. HWT Holidays will endeavour to match the client with a suitable person for the duration of the selected tour. If HWT Holidays is unable to allocate a suitable person to share accommodation, the single supplement cost as specified is to be paid by the client at the time of balance payment. For clients who choose to have a sole occupancy of a room throughout the tour, the specified single supplement cost will be payable at the time of balance payment.

Items not Included in Your Tour Cost
The tour costs quoted exclude items not specifically referred to in the tour description including, but not limited to, pre-travel documentation, travel insurance, airport departure taxes, road and airport construction taxes, excess baggage charges, porterage in China, gratuities, meals (unless specified) and interstate/intrastate travel arrangements to and from home town and departure city, items of a personal nature such as laundry, dry cleaning, beverages, personal accident and medical expenses, incidental expenses, taxis where not part of a regular transfer, telephone and telecommunication charges.

Travel Documents
All clients must be in possession of a valid passport and necessary visas at the time of commencement of travel. All such documentation is the sole responsibility of the client. Your travel agent may assist, on request, in organising the necessary travel documentation. HWT Holidays accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the failure of clients to obtain appropriate documentation.

Travel Insurance
It is highly recommended that clients purchase travel insurance at the time of reservation to cover against various contingencies such as loss of deposit and/ or fare through cancellation, loss or damage to baggage, loss of money and/or travel documents, medical expenses, curtailment charges, personal accident and personal liability.

Health Requirements
Clients should familiarise themselves with any health requirement applicable to areas they intend to visit. The client is solely responsible for compliance with vaccination and other health requirements of governments in countries visited or transited. The Department of Health or medical practitioners will be able to assist with current health requirements and recommendations.

Baggage Regulations & Allowance
In accordance with the International Airline Regulations, the free baggage allowance for economy class passengers is 20kgs (44lbs) plus limited cabin luggage. Excess baggage charges are the sole responsibility of the client. Regulations within China specify that all suitcases must have a locking device attached. Failure to follow this regulation may result in refusal by airport staff to load suitcases onto the aircraft. The carriage of bottled liquids of any kind (water or alcohol etc) is not permitted in your cabin baggage unless it is purchased after passing through the security area.

Hotel Description
Hotel categories and star ratings are representative of advice received from each specific property listed or from the China National Tourism Administration and are not the decision of Helen Wong’s Tours. While every effort is made to ensure all details are correct at the time of publication, Helen Wong’s Tours takes no responsibility for advice that has been given in good faith and at the discretion of each property.

Procedure for Lodging Complaints/Claims
Should the client feel that a valid complaint or claim should be lodged with HWT Holidays or its service providers, the client hereby agrees to the following procedures and terms:

Should the client feel that a failure in performance of HWT Holidays or its service providers has occurred, the client agrees to immediately inform the local service provider. At this time, the local service provider will endeavour to promptly resolve the matter of complaint and inform HWT Holidays of the specific circumstances. Should the local service provider be unable to assist or be unavailable, the client agrees to contact HWT Holidays, Sydney, by telephone or facsimile.
In the event of a claim for compensation, the client agrees to inform HWT Holidays in writing within 30 days of the date of tour completion. Relevant receipts and substantiating evidence, must be attached to the letter of claim.
HWT Holidays will not be liable for any claims made later than 30 days after the date of tour completion.
Limitation of Liability
Except to the extent that the law imposes a non-excludable liability:

All bookings for holidays listed in this website are accepted subject to the conditions of carriage and other conditions imposed by service providers used in each programme or tour.
In compiling this website HWT Holidays has used information supplied to it by the operators of the relevant services. HWT Holidays has endeavoured to ensure that the information contained in this website is correct at the time of printing. However, HWT Holidays accepts no responsibility or liability in respect of such information. HWT Holidays does not accept any liability for any loss, damage, inconvenience, delay, injury, irregularity, accident, expense or negligence due to inaccuracy or misdescription howsoever caused by or arising out of provision of services or failure to provide services.
HWT Holidays accepts no responsibility for any negligence, loss, damage, omission, accident, detention, diversion or theft in regard to luggage or any personal belongings whatsoever.
HWT Holidays will be exempt from all liability in respect of any event, negligent act, omission, death, accident, injury, sickness, irregularity, loss or damage whatsoever, howsoever and by whomsoever caused.
The client acknowledges and agrees that he or she shall have no claim or cause of action against HWT Holidays should any carrier, hotelier or other service provider provide services which differ in any way from those specified in this website or as outlined in pre-departure information. HWT Holidays accepts no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay in the provision of services by service providers howsoever those delays are caused. Neither does HWT Holidays accept responsibility for changes to or the withdrawal of services by the service providers.
HWT Holidays makes all bookings and travel arrangements on your behalf on the express understanding that accommodation, travel arrangements or tours of China are solely under the control of China tourism bodies authorised by the China National Tourism Administration. HWT Holidays is not liable for any act, omission, or default on the part of the operator, its servants, agents or contractors, or of any authorised body.

Qantas Airways Ltd and Singapore Airlines do not by virtue of their endorsement of this website represent themselves as having any other legal relationship with any air passenger.

Law of Contract
Any contract arising with the client shall be governed by the laws of the state of New South Wales and any legal action arising therefrom shall be litigated only in the appropriate court having jurisdiction in the state.

Website Validity
The tours referred to in this website are valid from April 2007 to June 2008.

Consumer Protection