In-house China specialist Director and member of the board for A&K's Hong Kong office, Gerald Hatherly is in Australia and available for interviewing.

Available to comment on the changing nature of travel / tourism in China and A&K's dedicated China offering, we're currently looking to secure limited interview opportunities between the 25th - 29th June. Please get in contact if of interest as there are limited time slots available. Interviews can be via phone / email or face to face where possible.

With over 30 years work experience with Abercrombie & Kent in China and other regions of Asia Gerald Hatherly has built up an extensive wealth of knowledge on the countries, customs, and tradions of China and the nations of east and southeast Asia. China and Asia have been profound influences on his life.

Born and raised in Canada (Nova Sco a and northern Ontario), Gerald developed an interest in China early in his life beginning in the fourth grade when he studied about the life and adventures of Marco Polo. Carrying this interest with him he studied Chinese geography and language at the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) where he studied for an Honour’s degree. He continued on with his Chinese language studies at the Mandarin Training Institute affiliated with National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei and later at Taiwan National University where he studied contemporary Chinese literature. During his tenure on Taiwan he also worked as a translator for the monthly periodical, Sinorama, translating Chinese articles on culture, literature, and art into English. He also worked as a free-lance writer for different magazines writtng on Chinese business, travel, and lifestyle.

In 1986 Gerald joined Abercrombie & Kent working initially as a China tour leader and then, in 1988, joining the company fulltime working in the Hong Kong office helping to develop new China programs as well as working with clients from North America and Europe on travel to China. Over the years Gerald has developed a network of clients including museums, academic institutions, corporate boards, and individual travellers with whom he works on developing trips and programs in China as well as in East and Southeast Asia. He has continued to write on China both for Abercrombie & Kent and other publications – he also helped author a guidebook on Xi’an (Odyssey Guide- books). He is the recipient of the Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist Award for China for 15 consecutive years (2002 – 2017) and was named one of the world’s Top 50 Guides for the British edition of the magazine.

In recent years Gerald has expanded his work into Japan and Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. He has worked extensively with organizations like the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Society for International Business Fellows, the Asia Society, and the Dunhuang Foundation putting together events and study missions to China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and Indonesia. He has developed a deep interest in the diverse cultures and histories of these countries and feels that they represent new travel frontiers beyond China. He is also a frequent speaker on China both in Hong Kong and abroad.

China – as the Chinese say, “活到老学到老”.