Global travel companies spot a new pot of gold in educational tours as demand for education with travel as students begin to explore the world outside their classrooms and even outside their country of residence, says a new report by market analyst firm, Future Markets Insight.

As various segments of tourism begin to recover from the impact of  Covid-19 pandemic, a new and niche segment of educational tours has opened up, offering a large, profitable and rapidly growing market in the form of educational tourism, says Future Markets Insight in a report.

The global educational tourism market is predicted to reach a value of USD 1,947 billion by 2031, with a robust CAGR of over 17.2 pc, says FMI. Governments all across the globe have contributed to the modernization of the education system by creating smart learning initiatives and aligning education curricula with global teaching standards.

According to the report the growth of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) has led to the adoption of more efficient methods of teaching and in turn delivering an enhanced quality of education. Governments have adopted several initiatives to support the integration of technology into the education system. For example, the UAE has initiated an Innovation Hub by Oracle in Dubai, allowing students to pitch ideas for developing technological changes, says the report, adding that the UAE government has allocated funds towards ICT development and establishment of 122 innovation libraries in schools with Arabic representation in technology in order to encourage and promote education among Arabic-speaking students.

The main objective for integrating new technologies into the educational system is to enable students to adapt to the ever-evolving dynamics of various industries. Moreover, regional governments are focusing on creating an ecosystem led by innovation and a knowledge based economy.

Therefore, the adoption of these technologies into the education system remains a top priority for government authorities, says the report.

It says that the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia are top-visited countries in the world for educational tourism and are becoming education hubs for international students. India, France and Japan among other destinations for educational tourism.

The report says that students are the primary end-users, enabling the global educational tourism market growth and are expected to generate over 39 pc of revenue between now and 2031.  In terms of course type, master degree will be the most preferred type among consumers, contributing over 71 pc of global market share. ‘‘Global travel companies are anticipating high growth in the educational tourism sector. Though nascent in certain areas of the world, many travel companies are conducting educational tours, thereby promoting the importance of education and contributing to the growth of the educational tourism sector,’’ adds the report by Future Markets Insight.

One of the main driving factors behind the growth in the segment is that the concept of informal learning is more appreciated than formal learning and “education with travel” is the new buzzword. Further, the thirst for knowledge has also increased thereby encouraging people to travel across the globe to gain knowledge of different concepts and technologies that they had studied earlier, says the report.

“Given the ever-growing demand for higher education and to bring to the attention of the local authorities to the implementation of the national strategy for international cooperation, international student recruitment has become a priority. Implementation of various policies and measures to help recruitment of a higher number of international students will therefore present highly lucrative growth opportunities for the market,” says a Future Market Insights analyst.

Impact of Covid-19 & 2020 Market Analysis

The report says that educational tourism has been one of the most affected industries from the very beginning of the outbreak of the coronavirus, with airlines on the ground, the suspension of outgoing and incoming flights, nationwide lockdowns, hotels closing down and travel controls enforced. In the year 2020, the pandemic limited the arrival of international visitors to a fraction of what they were one year before as countries all over the world imposed travel restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which broadly affected the overall tourism industry, says the report.

Additionally, The Director-General and CEO of IATA reported that financially, 2020 was the worst year in aviation history. On average, USD 230 million has been added to business losses on each day of this year, contributing to a net loss of USD 84.3 billion.

In 2020, with the extreme effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, in contrast to 2019 estimates, foreign tourism decreased by 22 pc in Q1 and by 65 pc in the first half of 2020, which directly impacted the educational tourism industry.

The winners in educational tourism

Players in educational tourism market adopts a virtual and online approach to connect with potential people. For instance, key players such as GVI Company, EF Educational Tours, and MKH Consultancy Services, among others provides virtual internship programmes and online classes. This approach helps the players to attract more customers.

Other key players in the educational tourism market are Meridean Overseas, Global Volunteers, Capital Tours, Road Scholar, AAI Edutourz, ACIS Educational Tours, GoIreland, Qadri International Education Consultancy, Intelligent Partners, Futures Abroad, ProEd DMCC, Education Resources Network (ERN), Education Zone, Fact, IQ Education Consultants and Stratix Consultants, says the report.