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37
A.V. Dolgikh
student of the 5th corse E.V. Shpak
PhD of pedagogy, associate professor of Voskresensk Institute for Tourism -branch of Russian International Academy for Tourism
TRENDS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL TOURISM
Annotation. Increasingly tourists are seeking learning and educational holidays. The article gives a short survey of modern trends in the development of educational tourism worldwide. The author outlines the main forms of educational tourism. Particular attention is paid to language programmes for different segments of learners in Russia and abroad.
Key words: educational tourism; types of educational tourism; modern trends of educational tourism and it's influence; educational programs; language courses.
The need for adequate research and appropriate management of educational forms of tourism is presented in connection with the development of tourism destinations. Personal learning benefits are partly based on the author's own experience.
Nowadays international tourism plays an increasingly prominent role in the world economy. It is marked not only with the rise of the international tourist traffic, but also the new trends in its development, in particular the development of educational tourism. Educational tourism is a rather new phenomenon. Five years ago this type of tourism was considered by a few people. However, in the light of modern dynamics of universal economy development and international relations, popularity of educational tourism significantly increased.
Why is educational tourism so prevalent? There are several supporting trends influencing the development of educational tourism.
• The exponential growth in educational tourism reveals a demand for alternative travel experiences which include educational and learning elements designed to provide both educational and entertaining experience.
• The growth and prominence of tourism and education as key industries over the past decades have led to growing recognition of these sectors from both an economic and social perspective.
• Developments in tourism industry allied to changes in education, education increasingly facilitates travel mobility, learning has become an important part of the contemporary tourist experience.
• Tourism marketers work hand in hand with language schools in order to target the international market segment by providing a positive image of the destination region and the educational institution.
• Educational trips and training are boosting industries across the world.
• All nations and destinations would like to compete successfully in cross-cultural experiences.
• Educational tourism attracts generally young travellers - school and university students. Adults are not involved in educational tourism much. Students are a powerful long-term investment for destinations.
• Students are likely to spread the news of their positive tourism experience and return for future visits.
Educational tourism offers a wide range of products, services and experiences. But there is limited understanding of the concept of educational tourism, a lack of research in the field of educational tourism segments, consumer needs, travel requirements of educational tourists. Educational tourism is tours related to the education and training. It is defined as a type of tourism, when people come from overseas for the purpose of undertaking an education course or training programme. Such trips include educational tours for adults and students, school excursions, exchange programs. Travels with the purpose of education have practiced for several centuries. As tourism expands the sphere of knowledge, many forms of tourism can be considered as educational. A key reason is the perception that travel broadens the mind. Nevertheless, there is a certain segment of the tourism market, which includes an educational component.
The popularity of educational tourism is growing every year, more and more people would like to get an education in one of the most prestigious educational schools abroad. It is especially important that during such tours you can relax and learn. This is a great advantage of educational tourism. It allows the traveller to solve several problems at once: to improve their knowledge, to have a rest, and to enjoy excursions. The sphere of educational tourism covers all types of training and education. The following types of it became the most popular:
- Educational trips for the purpose of learning a foreign language, general or special education subjects;
- Educational trips to organizations and enterprises;
- Scientific and educational training at the organizations and enterprises;
- Participation in seminars, conferences, congresses, creative workshops and master classes;
- Excursion and educational travel to various cities, natural areas and countries.
The most popular variety of educational tourism is a language course. As a rule, it
is short-term trips (2-4 weeks) with learning of a foreign language. Language-educational tours are divided into different types depending on the purpose of the language study, teaching forms and related components. The main segment of learners is pupils and students. The language programs are divided into: basic programs, intensive programs, business programs, exam preparation, home tuition, preparation for entering the University. Let's identify each of these types.
• Basic programs. This type of learning which is considered to be the most popular, develops all aspects of the language including grammar, reading, listening and speaking, duration is 3-4 hours.
• Intensive programs. They include the same aspects as basic programs but there is difference in duration, this type of course can take 5-8 hours per day.
• Business programs are usually chosen by businessmen who need the English language for their career, considering the specificity of their profession and company.
• Exam preparation courses are created for students who would like to prepare for passing international exams such as IELTS, TOEFL, KET, PET, FCE, CAE and receive a certificate which confirms their level of English.
• Home tuition is a type of course, when a student lives in a family of his teacher and has an opportunity to use the language 24 hours per day. Such education is the least spread because the price is very high and not so many parents can afford it.
• Preparation for entering the University will train you for entering a foreign university by preparing you for passing an international exam which is needed for a particular university and all preparing nuances of necessary documents.
More than 85% of travellers refuse to call themselves tourists, they don't look for tours with standard tourist entertainments and excursion routes, they would like to have an
opportunity to see the country from within, to feel new social and cultural conditions, as well as to combine the rest with studying or maintenance of existing level of a foreign language. 57% of such travellers are 20-25 years old.
Every year the world market of language courses for foreigners is growing. Effective destination marketing, teaching quality, school's reputation are important choice criteria and have a key influence on where people choose to study. As a widespread language to learn is English, the most popular countries to visit are the English-speaking countries: Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the South African Republic, the Republic of Malta. The indisputable leader in the educational tourism market is, of course, the United Kingdom. But due to the high cost of training, the high rate of the pound sterling and the visa regime the alternative to the British language schools increases.
Experts note that students choose Malta for the opportunity to combine rest in the sea resort and studying. Thus level of educational services is quite high here. Great Britain and Malta attract clients with different price offers, available flights to these countries, than, for example, to the USA or Canada. Among the European countries studying of languages in Spain, France, Germany, the Czech Republic is also demanded. South Africa is estimated by the experts as the most attractive place for studying the English language. The most exotic countries for learning English are Cyprus and Fiji. 40% of educational services consumes prefer to study English in Great Britain, 20% - in Malta, and 10% - in the USA. Only 9% of them combine English studying with the rest in exotic countries and only 3% choose specialized programmes including active sports, development of skills in favourite business.
Studying Russian as a foreign language in Russia is becoming more and more popular, with the language gaining ever-growing prominence in the fields of academia, business and culture. There is a range of Russian courses to suit the needs of students, business professionals, teachers or simply those who are looking for interesting ideas for a vacation. Language programmes are of different lengths, intensities and focuses, starting at varying times throughout the year. Courses of business Russian are specially developed for those who are either planning to work in Russia or who would like a shorter, more intensive period of study to improve their ability to communicate in this expanding sphere.
Winter program "Sochi 2014", planned for the next year, is just one example of the courses provided to those who are interested in Russian culture, history and traditions. Excursions, activities and demonstrations will be interspersed with classes of the Russian language, and are perfect for those who wish to learn Russian while experiencing the rich fabric of everyday Russian life.
I would like to say a few words about my own experience. I studied in London in summer 2010 in Bloomsbury International. It's a famous language school which offers all types of courses I mentioned before. Accommodation is also various: a host family, a flat, a school residence or a hotel. After your course you will write a test which checks your progress and you will be given a certificate confirming a level of the language you have achieved. In Russia there aren't a lot of tourist companies which can offer educational tours, there is even less ones registered in the federal register. Respectively, not so many of them can provide guarantees to the tourists. Nevertheless, educational tourism in Russia promptly grows. According to the experts, annually the number of the Russians going on training abroad, increases on the average by 20-30%, in the current year positive dynamics also has remained.
Educational tourism market contributes to the economic and social development of visitor economies. The power of educational tourism is real. Careful planning, creative partnerships and strategic alliances will help to use the power of educational tourism. Suc-
cess, growth and economic prosperity of the 21st century interdependent countries would depend on a large extend of two industries - education and tourism.
The aim is the researching of the development of educational tourism. The tasks are:
1. To give a short survey of modern trends in educational tourism.
2. To identify the main forms of educational tourism.
3. To explore language-educational tours, its types and destinations.
