2021 Student Travel Business Barometer Preliminary Report

The 2021 Student Travel Business Barometer Survey is the only market measurement tool dedicated to student tour operators, measuring domestic and international student group travel performance trends.

The Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) and BONARD continue to spearhead initiatives that enable student tour operators to benchmark their performance, receive reliable and consistent data on student travel trends and engage in discussions about how to address common needs and challenges—and that’s exactly what the Business Barometer is for.

With full results coming in April, here’s an early look at key preliminary findings from the barometer.

The 10 most preferred U.S. destinations for U.S. tour operators in 2021 are:

1. New York
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Boston
6. Los Angeles
7. Williamsburg
8. Atlanta
9. San Antonio
10. Philadelphia

For international tour operators, the list is similar but not identical:

1. New York
2. Boston
3. Los Angeles
4. Washington, D.C.
5. San Francisco
6. Miami
7. Chicago
8. Orlando
9. San Diego
10. Philadelphia

DOMESTIC TRAVEL

• For 2021, roughly 300,000 students were expected to travel across student travel operators surveyed. Around 75,000 students ended up actually traveling. For 2022, however, the forecast is more optimistic, with nearly 450,000 students expected to travel.
• Compared to 2020, far fewer groups chose to cancel trips outright in 2021, dropping from 65% to 31%. However, postponements were much more common, jumping from 13% in 2020 to 27% of groups postponing their trips until 2022.
• Around 15% of groups traveled as planned in 2021, with 7% changing their destination.
• Compared to pre-pandemic, trips in 2021 lasted slightly longer with a 6.1 day average versus 5.1 in 2019. But average group sizes shrunk, dropping from 56 students in 2019 to 48 in 2021.
• In 2022, 51% of booked student trips are brand new, while 32% are actually postponements from 2020, and 17% are postponements from 2021.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

• For 2021, roughly 20,000 students were expected to travel internationally across student travel operators surveyed. Around 11,000 students ended up actually traveling. For 2022, however, the forecast is far more optimistic, with nearly 60,000 students expected to travel internationally.
• International trips grew in average duration, with 9.8 days in 2021 versus 8.1 days in 2019. The group size remained the same though, at an average of 33 students.
• In 2022, 56% of booked student trips are brand new, while 25% are postponements from 2020, and 19% are postponements from 2021.

HIRING

• Two thirds of operators surveyed are hiring in 2022. Nearly 40% are looking for both sales and accounting/operations employees, while 26% need tour managers, 20% need group leaders, and a small percentage need tour guides and marketing staff as well.