It might just save your overseas student trip
The teacher has collaborated with me for over a year, planning, designing, quoting, refining, and presenting. The disappointment is palpable. Her’s: Her remaining students. Mine: The incredible overseas tour that was going to give students studying Visual Art a hands-on adventure that they would remember for their lifetime has to be cancelled due to too many students pulling out, and the costs rising as a result.
There’s something cruel about this all too familiar cycle. The teacher comes to me with energy, enthusiasm and optimism. They want a trip to London and Paris that takes in experiences that fuel the student’s knowledge and passion for the subject. They estimate they will have 30 students. Over twelve months later, those expressions of interest trickle down until there is only 15. The price, based on fixed shared costs, balloons and more students must bow out. The tour is on the precipice of failure. Even if it goes ahead, it has to be trimmed back so that it barely resembles the finely crafted tour the teacher and I created. The suppliers have to requote, requote, requote - all for less. What was once a joy and a dream becomes a depressing realisation.
Yet there is no need to be discouraged. There are ways to avoid this heartache. When we first think about an overseas school tour we have lofty dreams, but it literally pays to be practical as well. The following are recommendations based on my recent experience in a high inflationary context.
Higher Numbers = Lower Cost
It’s a simple equation. The higher number of students paying for shared fixed costs, the lower the overall cost per student. Generally, the only exception is if you split a group and do different activities. Start losing students for any reason and the cost moves gradually higher. Families can be quick to submit expressions of interest when they see how exciting an opportunity it is for their child. However, if there are no obligations attached, there is much less hesitation these days in pulling out. And I don’t just mean for financial reasons, which have some validity. Some reasons are truly surprising. My friend isn’t going anymore. I don’t feel like it anymore. To avoid this frustration, ensure it is clear that expressing interest is a commitment or perhaps set up an ongoing payment system to the school so that there are no scary lump sums due and they’ve made a financial commitment. We generally only ask for a 15% first non-refundable deposit, another 15% deposit 8-10 weeks later, while the final payment is 16 weeks prior to departure. But the school can collect this how early they like and pay us at the assigned dates. If too many pull out to make the trip viable before paying the first 15% to us, or the price moves too high, the school can refund any money collected.
Collaboration is King
There’s another way to ensure there is a larger pool of students to draw from. My most enjoyable trips to work on are those where I work with the teacher/s to create something fresh and special. But working with other subjects at your school is the key to making a bigger and therefore more resilient tour.
Instead of separate competing tours for Language, Art, Food Tech, History, STEM, why not consider a collaboration where all students are invited? Cultural Tours like this are common in schools in other countries like Canada, where I’m from. There are activities that suit each subject area and students get meaningful exposure to a variety of “try before you buy” experiences that may lead to their interest in your own subject. A student going to France for Art might in turn be more inspired to learn French. A STEM student going on a Japan tour may fall in love with a cultural cooking class and decide to join a Food Tech class. A History student can, in a combined England/France tour, experience some English Literature experiences too.
It’s win win. Teachers are more likely to have more students to draw on than a single subject and the overseas tour has a better chance. If the numbers are too high, you can limit it to the first to deposit and commit financially. The remainder can be spare students to fill any drop out spots until air tickets are issued.
The Road Not Taken: Celebrate the Unconventional
Those of you who are English Literature teachers might appreciate this one. My favourite poem is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, and while it is deeper than just taking a different path (it actually is more about reinterpreting our past decisions to favour the choice we made), if we hold to an idea that going on a road “less travelled” provides unique opportunities and demonstrates non-conformity it can actually save a trip.
While families and students often want to do bucket list famous locations, the fact that they are so popular has often made those destinations much more expensive and crowded.
Getting out of the big cities can save money. Going to fresher destinations will do the same. And you get the same CSTO certified safety and high level of service from Educating Adventures that we are known for.
For example, Art trips to London, New York and Paris are very popular- and for really good reasons. However, if you don’t have a larger group of students, over tourism and inflation has made these destinations much costlier. Your students will need a healthy budget.
Globally, there are many destinations that can be considered: Spanish Language can be done in Cost Rica. French in New Caledonia or Quebec, Canada. Ecology in Vancouver, Canada.
Often closer to home you can find exciting, fresh and trendy Art opportunities too. For example, our Australian market can visit Korea and Japan, with much lower costs.
If you are a history teacher teaching the Holocaust, you can certainly do Germany. Yet next door in Poland there are relevant teaching opportunities and interesting and exciting experiences but at a lower cost.
Or there’s Vietnam and Cambodia, a budget opportunity to explore the Vietnam War and the genocide of Pol Pot in Cambodia, while exploring the Ancient Khmer Civilisation.
STEM teachers have long visited Space Camp in the United States, but if cost is a factor, then we have excellent opportunities in Japan, Singapore or New Zealand to look at.
If visiting Japan, why not get off the “golden route” of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, which is crowded and more expensive and explore some of the richly cultural and authentic prefectures that would love to host you?
Discuss your possible road with us. It might just save your overseas student trip.
Here are some options for shared cross- curricular cultural trips and some new ideas for subject trips that keep your students engaging with the subject beyond the classroom in exciting ways:
Cross-curricular Cultural Trips:
• Japan History, Art & Culture Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• Singapore Culture Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• China Culture Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• Spain Language & Art Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• France Culture Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
Road Less Travelled Trips:
• Visual Art Korea Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• STEM Japan Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• History Poland Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• Humanities Vietnam/Cambodia Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• French New Caledonia Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• STEM New Zealand Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
• STEM Singapore Tour: VIEW SAMPLE TOUR ITINERARY
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