The Students & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) recently released their student group travel findings in The First International Data Report for the Student Group Travel Industry report. Student and youth group travel industry was a significant segment of overall travel and growing leaps and bounds prior to 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic changed this for all sectors of the travel industry. Twenty-six countries representing 1.8 million traveling students took part in this industry study which noted that student travel has exploded over the past few years as parents and students alike were eager to invest in travel as a form of education and benefits learned outside the classroom. Cultural awareness, independence, intellectual curiosity, personal development as well as career and education readiness are some of the selling points of group travel.
How does the group student travel industry recover and when will it? There have always been challenges to student travel, with the main obstacle being financial resources. While parents are the main source of payment, 1 out of every 4 students report that their trip costs were covered by fundraising. Ensuring that all students, regardless of income, have the opportunity to experience travel and the benefits. The interest in student travel remains high and groups hoping to travel in 2020 are postponing trips to 2021 with the hope that travel restrictions and health concerns are minimal. Though we don’t have information on when student groups are able to travel again, it is exciting and encouraging to learn how much of an impact group travel has on students and the importance this experience is!
For students and adults eager to travel to exciting destinations, we may have to wait a bit longer. However, continue to check Aurora Sister Cities’ website to learn about upcoming student exchange trips in 2021!