Educational school trips have long been recognized as a valuable tool for enhancing the learning experience of teenagers. These kinds of trips, often referred to as educational tourism, provide students with the opportunity to explore new environments, cultures, and experiences outside the traditional classroom setting.
What is educational travel and what are the benefits?
Educational travel refers to the concept of combining travel and learning experiences to enhance one’s knowledge and understanding of different cultures and environments. It involves school trips that focus on experiential learning outside the traditional classroom setting.
Learning by doing is one of the best ways to learn and retain information. Take swimmers for example. They do not learn simply by watching or listening to their coach describe how to move their bodies. Instead, they learn by swimming laps and practicing through repetition—they learn by doing. The same thing applies to educational travel in that it reinforces what students have learned in the classroom and expands their knowledge.
There’s a certain excitement in applying what one has learned to the real world, especially with languages. If you’re interested, do check out our language immersion school trip to China programs.
Not only do students experience different cultures during their Educational school trips to China, but they may also discover new interests that they would have never thought to try before. In this regard, Educational school trips can act as a motivational tool.
When teenagers are taken out of their comfort zones, valuable learning experiences ensue. It promotes personal development and builds confidence as they gain independence under the guidance of their supervisors. Last but not least, students get to bond with their classmates and teachers during Educational school trips, gaining positive memories all the while.
Overall, educational school trips offer numerous benefits for teenagers. From enhanced learning opportunities to personal growth and cultural understanding, these experiences play a crucial role in shaping well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the challenges of an increasingly interconnected world.
We would also like to point out that the benefits of educational school trips are only as good as the people leading them. That’s why all our Program Leaders are hand-picked and vetted by our team.
What is WildChina Education’s approach to educational school trips?
WildChina Education has been promoting educational tourism since 2000. Our mission is centered around creating life-changing experiences outside of the classroom. We believe that travel and learning go hand in hand. Through our programs, we aim to provide students with unique opportunities to explore China’s rich cultural heritage while achieving specific learning objectives, which are always customizable.
Our team designs educational travel experiences that are tailored to meet the needs of students and educators. Many of our programs incorporate visits to historical sites, interactions with local communities, and hands-on activities related to various subjects.
By combining academic content with real-world experiences, WildChina Education ensures that students gain a deeper understanding of China’s history, culture, geography, and more.
As a member of The International Ecotourism Society and the Global Sustainability Forum, we also strive to create meaningful connections between travelers and locals while promoting sustainable development in the regions we visit.
Global Trends
According to Future Market Insights, the international educational tourism market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2% between 2021 and 2031. Meanwhile, the US educational tourism market is estimated to grow by 11% by 2030.
Countries such as the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, France, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, New Zealand, and many others are implementing educational tourism as a development strategy. This promotes insightful learning experiences for students while creating a positive impact on their host country’s respective economies.
One such step in educational tourism as a development strategy is creating flexible visa laws for tourists. For example, the UAE now allows travelers to legally stay for 60 days instead of the previous 30 days. Laws like these allow traveling students to immerse themselves more fully in the culture, heritage, language, and community of different countries.
As we previously mentioned, Educational school trips to a new country are a great way to immerse students in the language that they are learning. This benefit aligns with the fact that language learning is one of the biggest contributing factors in educational tourism. English-speaking countries have most commonly witnessed this, though Spanish-speaking countries are also seeing a rise.
Local Trends
In 2022, more than 6 million people participated in educational tours, much higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, only 4.8 million joined educational tours in China. Teenagers are one of the main participants in educational tourism.
In China, educational tours, or study travel, began during the Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. During those times, poets would write about their journeys and studies when they traveled.
Compared to other countries, China’s educational tourism industry is relatively new. One of the main challenges of the country’s educational tourism development is linking school trip experiences to the national curriculum. As China’s traditional educational system places emphasis on memory rather than understanding, it will take a while to close the gap.
China is seeking to promote both inbound and outbound tourism now that the borders are open again. Since Chinese has been gaining popularity among language learners, China’s inbound educational tourism sector is seen increased interest. In fact, China and India dominated the educational tourism market in 2022 with a 38% revenue share.
WildChina Education’s Educational School Trips to China
One of our educational programs that combines History & Culture, Outdoor Education, and Service Learning is a 7-day trip called ‘The Art of Shaolin Kungfu.’
Shaolin Temple is regarded as one of the world’s most important Mahayana Buddhist monasteries and the birthplace of Zen (Chan) Buddhism. Since Buddhism was originally Indian, the local Taoist philosophy influenced the way Buddhism adapted to Shaolin.
This local variant of Kungfu was created by Bodhidharma, a Zen (Chan) Buddhist monk in 520 AD, according to a local legend. As a fighting technique, Shaolin Kungfu combines meditation-based breathing with fighting techniques inspired by animals’ movements. It is why the movements, such as Praying Mantis, Tiger, Toad, Bird, Dragon, and Monkey are named after animals.
During this school trip to China, students get to enjoy a Kungfu show and take a Kungfu class taught by Shaolin monks. You’ll also hike Mountain Song, visit Longmen caves, have a vegetarian meal at Yongtai Temple, and experience local cooking at a neighboring vocational school.
Visit the link at the bottom of the page to learn more about this school trip to China or reach out to us if you have any questions!
Sources
https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/educational-tourism-market
https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19981804599
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202303/22/WS641a44f4a31057c47ebb5c15.html
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/educational-tourism-market-to-be-worth-974-7-billion-by-2030-grand-view-research-inc-301730236.html
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/educational-tourism-market-report
https://jwttravel.ie/benefits-of-school-trips-important/
https://www.ipl.org/essay/Advantages-And-Benefits-Of-Educational-Tourism-FJC4MYCKXU
https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/jan/02/china-learns-lessons-by-heart
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230299481_2
http://eng.ctaweb.org.cn/ctaen/research/202208/2e866cd04db047d080967c55a7c58a14.shtml
https://wildchinaeducation.com/tour/the-art-of-shaolin-kungfu/
