Posted by Adele Youngs
08 September 2017
The Top 10 International Destinations for Student Groups
The Student and Youth Travel Association (SYTA)'s recent Research Digest has demonstrated how important international travel is for young people, as quoted in this recent Inc.com article ("Science Says the Most Successful Kids have Parents who do these Nine Things" - see point 8).
The same research goes on to show that Europe accounts for seven of the top 10 international student destinations for trips lead by US teachers.
In order of popularity, the top 10 destinations announced are:
1) France
2) Spain
3) Italy
4) Costa Rica
5) UK
6) Germany
7) Austria
8) Canada
9) China
10) Switzerland
It is interesting that the allure of Europe's history and culture continues to dominate the travel plans of educators despite recent events and potential travel fears. This list broadly matches our own experience of the European destinations we are receiving enquiries for but, if we were to make one change, we would also add Ireland to this list as its popularity has been particularly strong for several years now, especially given its budget-friendly pricing.
All these countries are tried and tested destinations for student groups, offering a huge range of activities, accommodations and experiences to enhance their learning. The SYTA research goes on to show that teachers want their trips to include visits to historical monuments, landmarks, theme parks and museums. Again, this closely matches our experiences with our groups, with two major exceptions. Given that many of our groups are performing groups, venues are a key part of any trip request. In addition, we hardly ever get requests for groups to visit theme parks, with the rare exception of Disneyland Paris. This may be because, with so many amazing theme parks at home, North American students want to see something else in Europe (or, at least, their teachers do!).
As our very own Global Business Development Manager, Shannan Carter, was SYTA President at the time this research was commissioned, we asked her for some thoughts on it. She said:
"Travel to European destinations is not only important for historical and cultural reasons which can be directly linked to the curriculum; but travel to Europe teaches us tolerance, appreciation and understanding for diversity between peoples, languages and cultures. Besides, it's fun, there's great food and sights to explore!"
You can read the full information on SYTA's website here, or click on the image below.
Image courtesy of the SYTA Research Digest
Live Travel and Tours is a proud member of SYTA.