The number of foreign study tours by Chinese students is likely to hit one million this year, involving 30 billion yuan (USD 4.5 billion) in expenditure, China's biggest online travel agency, Ctrip, reports. Domestic study tours are expected to hit nine million.
Those choosing tours abroad grew by 50% during the 2017 summer and the 2018 winter vacations year-on-year. The tours on average cost about 29,000 yuan each. Those opting for domestic study tours grew by 120%, with costs pegged at about 4,200 yuan.
The United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and France are among the most popular destinations among Ctrip users.
International classes, camping, university visits, outdoor challenges, culture and charity experiences are the most popular elements on these tours.
The major domestic online travel agency Tuniu has also seen a surge in bookings of study trips abroad for July and August. Most of their customers are teenagers, accounting for 74% of all bookings, with the majority favoring the US, the UK and Australia, Tuniu reports.
About half are open to tours which cost around 20,000-30,000 yuan, and 33% of them choose those priced under 20,000 yuan, according to Tuniu.
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