We’re at the tail end of the season and halfway through the year. So we sat down with our CEO Tomas Chalupnik to ask a few questions, get his take on the past 6 months and look ahead to see what the future holds for educational travel.

How would you evaluate the past season?

Challenging, as it was for the industry as a whole! But also, very successful. There’s an ever-increasing demand for travel programs as we cross over into the second half of 2022. However, the first quarter of the year was still heavily impacted by Omicron. Universities who would normally travel during spring break or Easter struggled to get the green light from their management, often resulting in the postponement of their trips. This seemed to be an industry-rife problem, but for us, we made about 40% of the quota we would have hit in pre-covid times.

The second quarter was much better, thanks to the loosening of restrictions and the drop in COVID cases. More and more clients opted for international trips, meaning we could hit around 80% of our pre-pandemic numbers. In total, we’re proud to say we organized over 80 international trips for approximately 2000 students in the first half of 2022.

You mentioned it was challenging…

It was, especially from the operational side of things. I’d have to say it was our most challenging period in educational travel to date. The past two years flipped the industry on its head and many of our destination partners were understandably forced to switch careers. Fluctuating restrictions across the globe made it somewhat tricky to organize academic visits and add to this the time operations teams would spend trying to navigate all the additional safety requirements and measures, it was all very demanding.

Having said that, our database allowed us to organize visits as early as January. I’d put this down to the fact that we managed to keep our team together throughout the pandemic, retaining a lot of our organizational expertise built up over the years. I must say, I think we did a fantastic job with the return to travel and that’s reflected in the wonderful feedback we’ve received from students and clients alike.

As for destinations, where have universities been traveling?

Well, clients’ process of destination selection has shifted a bit. I think I can speak for all providers when I say it was not just about maximizing educational impact but rather finding destinations with the least hassle. The year kicked off with just a few open destinations, Spain and Portugal in Europe, Dubai was a popular pick as well as Panama, Costa Rica and Israel.

Of course, recently more countries have opened up, but European spots remain the top choice. A trend then emerged across the industry, clients wanted multi-destination trips. Combinations like Finland/Estonia or Spain/Portugal were frequently requested and became some of our most dynamic programs.

We’re opening destinations monthly now, with Europe pretty much fully operational, some in the Middle East, parts of Latin America and now a few in Africa and Asia, which is exciting! We’re determined to get back to global coverage in 2023 and can then go back to focusing more on the combination of educational goals and the best-suited destination.

With the return of travel, is there still a demand for online programs and projects?

Sure, but there’s been a change in the demand for online programs. Up until now, online mostly worked as a replacement for travel for those who chose not to or could not travel. Naturally, the demand for such courses has dipped. However, there’s a repurposing of what these virtual programs can deliver that travel can’t. I’m talking about Online Consulting Projects or what we call Thematic Online Study Trips.

They allow clients to broaden their educational scope and connect students with a multitude of companies in different locations rather than sticking to destination-focused content. It allows groups to explore hot topics such as ESG, Fintech, Digitalization or Women in Leadership and focus on how these topics are affecting the biggest companies in the world. So, one day you could be rubbing shoulders with a company in Israel, the next day discussing Fintech in Estonia, and finishing the week off with a manufacturing visit in China. Something that’s not possible to do with a travel program and I believe we’ll see an increase in the online projects again in 2023 with this new potential.

What lies ahead for the rest of the year at ISP?

Some well-deserved rest is in order for much of the team! As I mentioned the season was challenging so we’re happy to usher in the summer months to recharge and get set for a busy 2023. Throughout July and August, we are adopting a 4-day working week, something we know will give ISPers the chance to rest and recharge their batteries. After all, we are a seasonal business so the summer will be a little less demanding before it picks up again in September.

We hope to get back to 100% of pre-pandemic travel numbers during the low season and we’d like to see more universities from the Asia-Pacific region traveling as they begin to restart their international trips. In terms of destinations, we’re adding Rwanda, South Africa, Singapore and hopefully Japan to the roster once again.

Do you expect to see any changes in educational travel in 2023?

I think there’ll be an increased demand for truly engaging learning experiences. This started just before the pandemic arrived, unfortunately putting the quality of academic content to one side. We predict that trips in 2023 will be more about educational impact than it has been in the past couple of years. One thing’s for sure at ISP, we’re ready for the challenge and can rely on our methodology and principles to utilize the potential of global learning.

If you’re looking to get set for an international trip in 2022/23 I’d be delighted to have a brief call about where you’d like to take your student group. Book a chat with me via my Calendly or feel free to reach out via email.

Best regards,

The Rundown #6 – Season Recap