Demand for international education, backpacking adventures and cultural exchange has remained high throughout the recession as more young people continue to travel, study and develop new skills until the economy recovers.
Government Campaigns Focus on Youth & Student Travel in Asia
The social benefits of youth and educational travel - combined with its resilience to the financial crisis – have led national tourism boards throughout South East Asia to focus on the youth sector. ASEAN, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is promoting 2010 as the year of ‘Youth Travel’ with global branding and promotional efforts focusing on attracting young travellers from all over the world.
Singapore is another example of Asia’s immense inbound and outbound market opportunities. Eager to build a competitive edge in Asia, the Singapore Government has focused on promoting work and study abroad opportunities to improve the language and cultural skills-set of its students. The Ministry of Education is busy establishing satellite campuses in cities such as Beijing in order to achieve its goal of sending 50% of Singaporean students abroad on educational exchanges.
Singapore Education has also embarked on a new initiative across western markets aimed at attracting foreign students from Europe, North America, and Oceania interested in Asian business and language courses.
In Thailand, a forthcoming Government campaign will promote Thailand as a regional hub for international education by focusing on attracting foreign students. The education sector in Thailand is projected to grow at least 10 per cent annually due to the implementation of the government’s new 'Strong Thailand' campaign (Thai Kem Keng scheme), says Thailand’s export chief.
Tourism Boards Anticipate Huge Growth in Youth Travel
WYSE Travel Confederation, a global not-for-profit association for the youth and student travel industry, works closely with tourism boards and officials from around the world to help capture and incorporate this unique and valuable market into long term national tourism strategies.
Hosting a strategy session last month at the World Youth & Student Travel Conference - the industry’s annual global conference - WYSE Travel Confederation confirmed that 60% of tourism boards view youth travel as vital to the future of their industry and anticipate huge growth in this sector over the next five years.
Over the next year, the Confederation will host a series of high profile events to promote youth and student travel throughout Asia. Beijing has been officially announced as host city for the World Youth & Student Travel Conference in 2010, bringing immense strategic opportunities for China and Asia.
A workshop hosted by the International Au Pair Association will take place in Bangkok this month to help local au pair agencies build relations with the international industry. And in Vietnam, The Association of Language Travel Organisations (ALTO) will host a roadshow in November to introduce language agents from around the world to local language schools.
Visit WYSE Travel Confederation at ITB-Asia Stand Number P38 to find out more about these events, pick up the latest industry research and speak to industry experts about global trends in youth and student travel.
