Quality of study tours to be improved

The development of study tours is being pushed as a priority by the government as it expects to raise the quality of such offerings to the public.

In January, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, released a list of measures to foster new growth points in the culture and tourism sectors and to boost related consumption. Among them, the innovative development of study tours run by travel agencies was highlighted. The central government encouraged various organizations with educational travel resources to provide high-quality experiences and enrich the variety of such tours.

It detailed that a number of high-quality study tour facilities and courses will be established, and efforts will be made to cultivate a group of high-quality study tour enterprises.

In November, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism also issued a notice of detailed instructions to push forward the healthy and orderly development of study tour operations.

It emphasized that focus should be placed on the positive guidance of study tourism that contributes to the development of socialist advanced culture, inherits excellent Chinese traditional culture, showcases the great achievements of the new era, and promotes the comprehensive development of individuals.

The ministry called upon related parties to increase the supply of educational travel resources, and fully leverage the important role of cultural heritage and tourism resources in enhancing the well-rounded development of young people.

The notice said that sectors such as culture, history, art, technology, education, sports and natural resources, as well as industries like manufacturing, agriculture and services, will be encouraged to provide high-quality study tour resources for the public, and efforts will be stepped up to investigate and assess study tourism resources and build a number of high-quality study tour facilities with distinct themes, strong curriculum, and faculty support and comprehensive services.

Public welfare-oriented study tour activities targeted at young people in particular will receive more development support.

The popularity of study tours has grown rapidly in recent years, and has played an increasingly positive role in enhancing the all-around development of young people. However, though many of the tours help to promote China’s traditional culture, some concerning issues have emerged, according to an official with the ministry’s department of science, technology and education.

“Some study tour advertisements are misleading, or the content quality is low, or the prices of products do not match the services provided. Additionally, there are safety risks associated with certain products,” said the official explaining the background behind the notice.

As a significant portion of the participants in study tour activities are young people, including minors, there has been a strong social call for improvements in their management mechanism to enhance industry oversight and improve the overall quality, the official noted.

“The notice actively guides travel agencies to establish the correct orientation in operating study tours, understand the rules, strengthen product content development, regulate business practices and improve product quality, thereby ensuring that the operation of study tours by travel agencies can develop healthily, orderly, safely and sustainably,” the official said.

The notice intends to guide travel agencies to further strengthen their ability to develop and utilize educational travel resources, integrate and supply study tour courses and provide targeted services to youth groups.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with other related departments, has conducted thorough investigations and research, and clarified the division of responsibilities among various departments in managing study tourism.

Culture and tourism authorities are responsible for supervising and managing study tours operated by travel agencies; the education administrations are responsible for supervising and managing study tour activities organized by schools; and the market regulation organs oversee the advertising and contracts of market entities running study tour services.

Based on these responsibilities, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will take the lead in formulating standards for study tour products, services, camps and other aspects, and guiding and promoting the implementation of these standards. The industry’s self-regulation role will be emphasized, encouraging relevant industry organizations to develop quality standards based on the needs of the study tourism market.

This intends to provide consumers with references when selecting study tour products and offer support for government departments in providing categorized guidance and management, according to the ministry.

Gao Jingjing, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Travel Services, said the release of a series of regulatory policies marks the industry’s entry into a new phase of standardization and upgrading.

A more robust regulatory mechanism and higher industry access thresholds mean a better development environment and higher industry standards, Gao said.

“This will not only meet the growing and diversified needs of consumers but also attract more social resources, driving industry upgrades and product innovation,” she said.

Gao noted that study tourism, as an innovative deep integration of education and travel, can not only boost cultural inheritance and cultivate talent but effectively promote the development of related industries such as local dining and accommodation, thus injecting new momentum into regional economic growth.

Wang Yachao, who runs the study tour company Kits, said as the country increasingly focuses on quality education, the study tour market holds immense potential, and the demand will become increasingly diversified.

He said positive policies for study tourism will help give rise to more high-quality experiences, which can better match the needs of students for personal growth.

In its notice, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism vowed to strengthen the safety management of study tourism, such as banning experiences to areas that are not open to the public or lack a guarantee of safety. The ministry said it will also support the development of a training system in vocational schools for study tourism talent.

Institutes of higher learning, research organs and enterprises are encouraged to engage in learning tourism theory and practice studies.

Shi Meishan, a professor at the School of Culture and Tourism at Qingdao Vocational and Technical College of Hotel Management, concurred that higher education institutions must keep pace with market trends. They should cater to the demand for talent in roles related to product development, marketing, planning, management operations, product execution and product sales within the study tour market, especially in the context of digital and intelligent development, he said.

This requires the targeted training of more high-quality and specialized professionals, Shi said, adding that more integration among industry, academia and research is needed.

The ministry also asked operators of study tours to differentiate their products from other activities such as volunteer work, training and competitions when advertising study tour products, in order to fully protect consumers’ right to be informed.