Industry told to swot up on international students
The backpacker industry is “missing a trick” by failing to capitalize on the growth of the international student market, delegates at the ATEC Backpacker Conference in Darwin were told. Colourful Trips Director Brett Eldershaw said the sector had seen average growth of 15 per cent year on year in the last 10 years and was now Australia’s third largest export industry, worth a massive A$15.5 billion. More than 325,000 students began study in Australia in 2008, bringing the total number of international students to half-a-million last year.
Eldershaw said Australia offers a high-quality education, internationally recognised qualifications, ties to Asia Pacific, cheap study and living costs and the opportunity to work part-time while studying. Students are also attracted by the opportunity to gain permanent residency, which Eldershaw described as a “mini-industry in itself”.
However, he said the biggest growth is among Asian students, for whom travelling is not part of the mindset, and that the challenge for the industry is to educate this group in the travel opportunities available.
He added: “If you want to embrace this market, you need to put the term ‘backpacker’ to one side and come up with a word that is all-encompassing.”
Executive Director of English Australia Sue Blundell said more than 1.5 billion people travelled to an English-speaking country to learn the language in 2007, with 160,000 visiting Australia in 2008. However, she warned the travel industry has been slow to take advantage of the trend, even though 60 per cent of language students say they come to Australia to travel as well as to learn English.
She added: “We don’t do enough to co-ordinate tourism and the English language learning industry. Visit Britian, New Zealand, Ireland and Malta all have a section on their website dedicated to language study, but Tourism Australia doesn’t. As an English-speaking country, we’re missing an opportunity. I would like to see a major shift in the way the tourism industry views international students. We could be leveraging greater tourism business from a captive consumer.”
However, not everyone in the audience agreed. BTAP Chair Peter Burke said: “I don’t see them as the same market, they’re quite different. The Indians and Chinese wouldn’t have a big budget and, if they did, they might have to send it home. The only thing I see as similar is the age group.”
In response, Blundell said: “There is an untapped element that we at least need to look at in detail before we dismiss it.”
By Martin Lane · May 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
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