This document was produced with the support and sponsorship of the following BETA members: Unlocking the Value OF YOUTH, STUDENT & EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL www.betauk.com Foreword Great Britain has traditionally This report aims to highlight the that the UK unlocks the barriers been viewed as a world class importance and value of this to growth to allow this sector destination for young travellers to sector, to promote the UK as a to flourish at the rate of our study, tour and work. must visit destination for young global competitors, to build travellers as part of our long upon our reputation as a must International travel for the term strategy to connect with visit destination and to grow our younger generation is not a Government and other influencers market share. bucket list wish, it is a high and to call upon them to better priority, it provides powerful life support our industry and the It is BETA’s intention to widely share experiences, cultural awareness businesses operating within it. the contents of this document as and is an education in itself. a tool to drive interest and growth Travel transcends gender, The UK needs to improve its into the market and we would like nationality and age and is proven welcome, review its complicated to thank all of those members to provide young people with a visa policy and remove and stakeholders that have come better future as a global citizen. international students from together to support and sponsor net migration figures, thereby this project. The inbound youth, student enhancing its ability to welcome and educational travel sector is the brightest and best to its shores. currently worth £22.3 billion per Board of Directors annum to the UK economy and The economic and cultural return British Educational Travel these young travellers represent for Britain from this type of travel Association (BETA) 38% of all inbound traffic to the UK. is felt over a lifetime through inward investment, global trade, But our world class industry is employment, tourism and the not growing at the pace that overall competitiveness of Britain it once did. Our competitor in the world. Young people stay destinations are thriving due to in a destination longer than more government support and an average traveller and they a greater understanding of the spend money directly with local importance of youth mobility and businesses, which increases the the lifetime benefits it can deliver. economic impact. It is essential 2 BETA Unlocking the Value of Youth, Student & Educational Travel Introduction Accelerating globalisation, realise the importance of youth study, and work destination for a growing share of world’s travel and its burgeoning status. youth travellers faced with these population with access to new realities. increased financial resources, The UK has traditionally been at and an unceasing appetite to the forefront of the youth and The initiative quickly expanded travel are the three primary student travel. Its rich history, into an extensive exercise that driving forces behind the renowned landmarks, world- assessed the market size and consistent upswing in the class education, as well as the value, mapped out customer number of international travel provision of a variety of career preferences and market trends, arrivals. Over the last decade, opportunities, lure millions of identified opportunities for global tourism has expanded young people to its shores every UK’s future growth as well as at a steady annual rate, year. evaluated the UK’s position outperforming industries such as within an international frame. retail and manufacturing. On a mission to explore the status quo of international youth This combined collaborative In this context, youth travel has and student travel to the UK, effort by these two been a growing phenomenon the British Educational Travel organisations, involved that is increasingly challenging Association (BETA) published exhaustive research: launching to ascribe to a specific age a cross-sector analysis of the a global-scale primary data group. Previous BETA reports benefits of youth, student, and collection initiative and a review focused on the 11-35 age educational travel to the UK of existing secondary sources. bracket, but in line with the economy in their 2011 ‘Britain’s The breadth and depth of current industry standards, BETA Shining Opportunity’ report. this extensive exercise dwelt decided to use a broader age on the new data brought to span to increase compatibility of Much has changed since then. bear, sourcing inputs from 336 their present and future research The UK’s youth, student and organisations and analysing with national and international educational travel sectors have the habits of a minimum of 1.5 research projects. been confronted with a string of million young travellers. internal and external challenges. In monetary terms, youth travel Despite the popularity of the The resulting report answers is currently valued at £161 billion UK, changes to the visa policy, critical questions such as why globally. Notwithstanding, its currency fluctuations, political young people choose the UK, benefits extend far beyond and socio-economic instability what they seek and what is the direct and indirect, and in some important source outlook for the UK. It provides instant and future, economic countries, and increasing British organisations with the connotations. Young travellers promotional efforts by other most recent and detailed cross- contribute to the social fabric destinations have taken their toll sector business intelligence of local communities, embody on the UK’s growth and its ability tool, grounds for lobbying the a great source of talent and to reach its fullest potential. government and policy makers, innovation, and finally, are the and a platform through which to travellers of the future. Prompted by these raise the profile of the industry. developments, BETA Habits and affiliations formed commissioned StudentMarketing, Cognizant of a diverse at an early age are very likely an independent market research readership with varying to impact their future travel specialist and a UNWTO background and knowledge of endeavours, and this human Affiliate Member with individual the industry, this study integrates trait is acknowledged by a memberships in ESOMAR World within it a one-stop guide to number of destinations and Research, to conduct a complex international youth and student local tourism organisations who evaluation of the UK as a travel, travel to the UK. Unlocking the Value of Youth, Student & Educational Travel BETA 3 Methodology This study is the outcome of interviews as well as the launch constitute the cornerstones of a multi-faceted international of a targeted calling to invite Chapters 4 and 5. research project conducted from respondents to engage in the September 2016 to June 2017. exhaustive initiative. Following the deployment of surveys, in-depth interviews were The methodology was greatly Industry mapping initiated carried out with pre-selected influenced by the need to through desktop research, industry stakeholders: inbound compare and align a number with the aim of gathering and UK providers from a wide variety of youth and student travel analysing existing sector-based of sectors, travel and education sectors on an apples-to-apples market intelligence, supported agencies, leadership of global basis. Individual sectors are by StudentMarketing’s internal youth and student travel considerably different in terms resources. Over 170 secondary associations as well as other of their size and specifics, and sources across the global youth industry bodies. subsequently industry recognition and student travel segments and measurement. were reviewed. The number of respondents for individual questions is displayed Therefore, the research The gaps identified during this under each chart described as employed a range of data phase helped design follow-up ‘n’. collection methods to gather primary research. Primary data as much insight as possible, collection was conducted using especially on less documented quantitative as well as qualitative youth, student and educational methods. More specifically, two travel sectors. online surveys were deployed to collect inputs from inbound The project involved a review of UK providers and international secondary sources, deployment organisations sending youth of email campaigns and online and student travellers abroad. surveys, conducting one-to-one The results of these surveys RESEARCH OVERVIEW 3 11 60 336 1.5 million research industry countries responding youth and student methods sectors worldwide organisations travellers 4 BETA Unlocking the Value of Youth, Student & Educational Travel In total, the primary research sending organisations The participating institutions drew conclusions from 336 representing 60 countries represented a minimum of organisations (106 inbound UK − as displayed in the map 1.5 million youth and student providers and 230 international below), and 20 interviews. travellers worldwide per annum. GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE Over 5% 3.1% - 5% 2.1% - 3% 1.1% - 2% Russia 9.1% China 4.8% Mexico 2.9% Canada 1.9% Italy 7.2% UK 4.8% Ukraine 2.9% Argentina 1.4% Turkey 7.2% Brazil 3.4% Germany 2.4% Ecuador 1.4% Spain 6.7% USA 3.4% India 2.4% Kazakhstan 1.4% France 5.3% Pakistan 2.4% Morocco 1.4% Vietnam 2.4% 1% and less Armenia 1.0% Saudi Arabia 1.0% Egypt 0.5% Nigeria 0.5% Colombia 1.0% Switzerland 1.0% Georgia 0.5% Norway 0.5% Czech Republic 1.0% Thailand 1.0% Ghana 0.5% Oman 0.5% Ireland