AGENT T M
Travel agent updates from Birmingham Airport’s Tom Screen
n BHX new security hall – we’re halfway there
For anyone who has been through BHX recently, you’ll have seen we’re a building site. Cranes, hoardings, diggers, scaffolding – you get the picture. That’s because we’re investing £50m creating a new
security hall with state-of-the-art scanning equipment. This will help us process more people more easily and efficiently as we grow from an airport handling 12m customers a year today to one serving 18m by 2033. This month we hit the halfway mark of this project. We
have a load of work still to do, but it was good to take a brief moment to look back at how far we’ve come. Shafts for our new lifts are now in. Our new roof is on. One set of escalators has been removed, with one to go. Our new scanning equipment arrives early next year ready for installation and switch-on by June 1. In total we’re spending £300m to upgrade BHX over
the coming decade (for more detail, see the timeline). We’re on our way to a better BHX. Speaking of which,
our September customer volumes were 96% of pre-Covid. Strong. Till next time,
NEWS YOU CAN USE OPERATOR
Cycling in Xi’an
On The Go returns to China with 10 Signature tours
Juliet Dennis
On Te Go Tours has reintroduced China to its portfolio with 10 initial tours recommencing next year. The Signature Range guided
tours are between eight and 16 days, starting in Shanghai or Beijing, and have been brought back after a hiatus amid the pandemic. Pre-Covid, the global escorted
tours operator had run fully guided tours in China for almost 20 years. Global sales director Carl Cross
said: “Our tour style lends itself to destinations like China, where language and culture barriers can deter some travellers. “We ensure our passengers
Bigger and better: BHX’s development plans for the next decade
Tom Screen,Aviation Director, Birmingham Airport @BHXtraveltradeteam @bhxtraveltradeteam @BHXtraveltrade
experience the very best of the destination, with four-star accommodation, an English- speaking local tour guide, lots of inclusions and airport transfer on arrival.” Some highlights of the 10
tours are Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, hiking on the Great Wall of China, Chengdu’s Panda Research Centre, and
22 2 NOVEMBER 2023
20Number of years the operator ran China tours pre-Covid
cruising the Yangtze River. The eight-day China Express
itinerary starts in Beijing and finishes in Xi’an. It costs from £1,875 and includes seven nights in four-star hotels on a B&B basis, some other meals and excursions such as Beijing, the Huanghuacheng section of the Great Wall, Luoyang, Xi’an and Shaolin Monastery. Clients can also see performances of shadow puppetry and acrobatics. The operator recently
announced the launch of Thailand as a new destination for its Handpicked Tours range. It has added nine group tours and seven private tours, from cruising the River Kwai to touring northern Thailand. The Thailand tours range from four to 10 days and can be extended with a beach stay.
onthegotours.com
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Phatthanit
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