Summer schools were once designed simply to promote academic success or billed as cram centres, adding an unnecessary burden on students when they were supposed to be enjoying themselves.

But in recent years, they have evolved into enrichment programmes aimed at expanding the horizons of students beyond the four walls of a classroom through study tours.

Increasing demand for summer study tours has prompted a proliferation of programmes, some of which resemble five-star private holiday packages more than academic pursuits, says the Professional Teachers Union president Fung Wai-wah.

"It's a matter of supply and demand. When the market is thriving, we are bound to see people jumping at the opportunity to come up with all kinds of products to attract business. Many of the tours run by non-academic institutions are very commercial and tend to focus on the luxury travel side rather than the academic content," Fung says.

He says a mistake most parents make is placing priority on the destination rather than the content of the programme.

"Many parents have the misconception that going to an English-speaking country will help improve their children's standard of English. That's so wrong. The focus should be about enhancing their personal growth by expanding their horizons. We used to organise these summer study tours and our focus was on helping students to learn a new culture and boost personal interaction with the locals rather than selecting high-end hotels in an advanced Western country," he says.

Writes Luisa Tam for South China Morning Post.