Anna Zhao

    Anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    LOCAL travel agencies and study tour companies estimate that about 10,000 Shenzhen students have signed up for overseas study tours this summer, a 10-percent increase from last year, and say summer tours abroad are gaining popularity with progressively younger students.

    The trend is in the spotlight after the July 6 Asiana Airlines plane crash in San Francisco, the United States, that led to the deaths of three Chinese students from Zhejiang Province.

    Zhou Suqiong, general manager of the Shenzhen branch of international education service provider EIC Group, said no clients have asked to cancel their overseas tour registration following the crash, though some parents have expressed concerns about safety. She said four countries — the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada — are the top travel destinations for Shenzhen students.

    Xiang Hengjun, spokesperson for Shenzhen New World Cultural Development Co., said the company has seen a 20-percent increase this year in the number of overseas summer camp attendees, compared to last year.

    “Many parents called after the crash to consult about flights and airlines their children were planning to use, but no one asked to retreat from the trip,” Xiang said. “Most parents thought the airline should be blamed for the accident, rather than the summer camp itself.” He said his company chooses to use direct flights with reliable airlines to reduce risks.

    An announcement jointly issued in May 2012 by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Tourism Administration intended to regulate overseas study tours. However, it was unclear about the division of legal responsibilities.

    A spokesperson from a local overseas study agency, unwilling to be identified, said there is no specific law to regulate the market, in which huge demand has been fostering multiple organizations, such as foreign schools and travel agencies, along profit chains. The increasing popularity of overseas study tours goes hand-in-hand with the rising trend of overseas study in recent years.

    A Yantian District parent surnamed Ge said she chose to send her son to an overseas summer camp for several reasons. The experience abroad could improve her son’s English, broaden his horizons and give him access to Western culture, Ge said, so he’ll have an advantage when he applies to a foreign school in the future.

    However, Shatoujiao Middle School Principal Gu Congyu said foreign tours don’t necessarily ensure an advantage when applying to foreign universities in the future, as different universities place different amounts of emphasis in the application process on academic scores and intellectual creativity or extracurriculars.

    Ye Yanwu, principal of Nantou Middle School in Nanshan District, said he supports overseas study tours. He said students should be encouraged to enlarge their vision through travel, citing the saying that traveling 10,000 miles is as important as reading 10,000 books.

    But he cautioned that students should be aware of three things: having a clear aim with their foreign tour, making sure it’s financially affordable for their family, and ensuring their personal security.

    Some people said the plane crash has sent a warning to many parents about sending their children on foreign tours through agencies. Wang Qingguo, president of the College of International Exchange at Shenzhen University, said parents should choose organizations that have good knowledge of foreign education. But Wang said it can be hard to find such an organization in the flooded market that lacks strict supervision and discipline.