‘Our first tour in Turkey is scheduled for September this year and is nearly sold out,’ says Dymond. ‘We have 10 departures set for 2024 and we’re getting interest – a couple of brands in New Zealand are selling it already.’

Dymond accepts that the market is competitive here but says Wendy Wu Tours sees a niche for its style of fully inclusive escorted trip.

‘We’re in Turkey for the long term,’ he says.

Dymond notes that Wendy Wu’s central Asia tours are being well received and its Egypt, Jordan and Israel tours have sold out for this year.

‘So Turkey is really a natural progression from that.’

Meantime, Dymond reports that Japan ‘has gone gang busters’, with the Cherry Blossom Festival already selling strongly for 2024.

‘This year has been the biggest Cherry Blossom (season) for Japan yet – bigger than pre-Covid. We’re also offering Cherry Blossom in Korea in 2024 as well as adding an extra date for Korea in September this year.’

The company is also soon to release a seven-day cruising itinerary on its luxury vessel Victoria Mekong, replacing the previous four-day cruise.

‘We’re actually surprised at how quickly everything has bounced back.’