Tour Operators Bring On the Discounts

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

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If you like tours, this is a good time to get a great deal on one. Tour operators around the world are offering discounts and running promotions to make booking more affordable.

Based on what I’ve seen lately, discounts on tours are the rule, not the exception. Here are some examples to get you dreaming:

Collette Vacations is offering free airfare for one with a double occupancy booking by July 15 on select vacations, including a Yangtze River cruise, an Italy trip, and a Canadian Rockies by rail journey.
Eight Asian tourism boards have jointly created the Discover Asia Now website with tours and packages to destinations including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, and Thailand. Package providers are offering exclusive discounts through the website.
On June 22, Lion World Tours is launching an auction format on its website for travel to Southern and East Africa. Bidders will be able to see the retail price as they bid to keep track of savings.
Uniworld has discounts on many of its 2009 and 2010 European river cruises. I found savings of up to $2,000, two-for-one offers, and a waived single supplement.

Have you seen another tour discount? Share it with other readers below!

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