In April 2018, three Chinese organisations produced reports on the country's short-term study abroad market, reporting very strong growth over the last few years. These three organisations included two agents (EIC and New Oriental) as well as travel agent CTrip. Important findings from these three reports is presented below. 

Regarding the scale of Chinese short-term overseas study, the reports are in agreement that the number of Chinese people going overseas to study is increasing extremely rapidly. New Oriental estimates that 870,000 Chinese students participated in short-term study abroad in 2017, up 48 per cent over 2016. CTrip's report puts the number of short-term overseas students at around one million and the annual growth at 50 per cent.

The three reports also discuss the typical amount of money spent on short-term overseas programmes. CTrip estimates an average programme price of around 29,000 RMB (about £3,300), while New Oriental's figure is around 25,500 RMB (£2,900). EIC's estimate is somewhat higher, saying that 41 per cent of parents would tolerate prices in the 40,000 to 60,000 RMB range (£4,600 to £6,900)

When discussing factors that affect short-term study decisions, CTrip's report, which was based on a parent survey which included many parents of primary-age students, concluded that the most important factor was safety. This was followed closely by the proportion of travel and study involved in the programme. These two factors were much more important than teacher quality, which was the third-ranked factor above the child's interests and the quality of accommodation and food provided.

Parents surveyed for the other two reports also saw safety as the most important factor. Two thirds of parents responding to New Oriental's survey cited it as one of the most important factors when choosing a programme, well above other important points such as the course structure or destination country, while in EIC's research safety was slightly ahead of the proportion of study and activities and well ahead of the quality of programme leadership. However, New Oriental's student research put safety in fourth place behind location, course arrangements and price.

Looking at the type of course, New Oriental's research included a comparison of the type of programmes students and parents said they would prefer compared to those which participants had actually enrolled on. Language-focused and culture-focused programmes were ranked first and second respectively in both groups, but courses planned around a particular area of interest such as art or robotics scored almost as highly in terms of students expressing interest. Over 40 per cent of potential students said that they would be interested in such a programme, compared to less than 18 per cent of past participants who had actually attended such a programme. This might suggest a strong unmet market demand. Other programme types with large gaps between stated demand and past participation included volunteering and courses aimed at preparing students for overseas study. 

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services

China's summer school market is growing at a very rapid rate, creating strong opportunities for UK language providers and other organisations such as universities who wish to offer these programmes. In addition to the estimates of market size and growth discussed above, the publication of three reports from different organisations in the space of a month is also a strong indicator of interest in this sector. Growth is being driven largely by increasing awareness of overseas study, with some Chinese commentators criticising the trend as being a status symbol for wealthy Chinese parents.

Parents' responses to surveys in all three of these reports illustrate that it is important for UK summer school providers to work with their Chinese agents to provide evidence of their safety. At the same time, the gap between students / parents expressing interest in courses with a particular theme and the relatively small number of students who have participated in such a course might suggest unmet market demand. 

UK Summer Programmes China Roadshow

The British Council is organising a UK Summer Programmes China Roadshow in November 2018, in order to help UK summer school operators meet education consultancies, travel agents and local educational institutions who are actively engaged in this fast-growing sector. Schools who are interested in participating in this roadshow can find further information here and register before 31 August 2018.  

Sources

New Oriental report (in Chinese): http://goabroad.xdf.cn/201804/10776442.html (announcement and brief summary), http://edu.china.com.cn/2018-04/16/content_50889703.htm (charts from the report)

EIC report (in Chinese): http://studytour.eic.org.cn/news/detail/355.html

CTrip report: http://travel.fjsen.com/2018-04/13/content_20932213.htm

China Daily article (in English, from 2017): http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2017-08/01/content_30312503.htm