Lebanon Valley Chamber plans voyage to China

Staff Writer

Area businesses looking to expand half a world beyond the Lebanon Valley will have a chance to spread their wings next year.

The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with CITSLINC International Inc., is organizing a nine-day trip to China in September.

"We're not marketing it as a travel package," chamber President Larry Bowman said. "It's an opportunity for businesses to make contacts in China."

The trip will include meetings with Chinese private-sector businesses and government officials.

"It's a very comprehensive and attractive travel package," Bowman said. "The whole area of foreign tours is a new one that many chambers are venturing into."

The cost for chamber members is $1,999 per person, double occupancy. Nonmembers would have to pay an additional $150. Bowman said the trip is open to anyone.

On the itinerary are stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou and ancient sites, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square, according to the chamber's bimonthly newsletter.

Included in the nine-day, seven-night tour to run from Sept. 25 to Oct. 3 is transportation to and from JFK International Airport in New York, round-trip airfare, four- and five-star hotels, three meals a day, entrance fees to tourist attractions, entertainment events, in-country transportation and English-speaking tour guides.

Bowman, his wife and son took a trip to China in the summer of


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2008.
"We found it a remarkable experience," he said.

CITSLINC International was selected by a task force of volunteers within the chamber after reviewing four proposals for business mission and tour services.

CITSLINC was founded in Monterrey Park, Calif., in 1995. A second office was opened in Flushing, N.Y., in September 2001, according to its Web site, citslinc.com.

More details about the trip will be released in December, Bowman said. An evening meeting is planned on Jan. 11 to provide information for prospective participants.

For more details, call the chamber at 273-3727.


stevesnyder@ldnews.com; 272-5611, ext. 152

Article Source:ldnews.com