For students, studying is an unending cause that even plays an indispensable role during their holidays. In order to not let the winter holidays slip by idly on computer games and smart phones, parents opt to fill their children’s schedules with cram schools. However, for Mrs. Zhang, an ordinary mother from Zhengzhou, taking overseas study tours has long been a biannual routine to keep her daughter busy during winter and summer holidays.

Coincidentally, with an increasing number of middle school students traveling at home or abroad for the sake of learning during their major holidays, study tours have become a new fad for both the education and tourism industries. But they remain a disputed practice for their lack of surveillance and regulation.

Young as she is, Mrs. Zhang’s daughter has been on overseas study tours since Grade 3 and through them has already visited the U.S., Japan and some European countries. She gained manifold experiences through making pilgrimages to Ivy League schools, auditing classes in universities and tasting local lifestyles in boot camps or with host families, which are prevailing aspects of those study tours. According to a big data analysis from Ctrip, the number of primary and middle school students taking overseas study tours this winter had an increase of 80 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2018.

Providing that the inclusive winter landscapes in North Europe and Oceania appeal greatly to young visitors, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand have also become sought-after destinations during winter holidays, especially for their winter sports events and nature experiences. However, the quotes of the overseas study tours are often twice as much as regular trips sharing the same itineraries. “Australia, the U.S., Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand are among the most popular destinations of study tours. The average quote of those tours is 21,000 yuan (US$3,100) per person, with long-distance trips quoting 35,000 yuan per person, and short trips quoting at 11,000 yuan per person,” said Tian Li, a staffer at Ctrip.

It’s widely reported that the high costs of study tours are not proportional to the value of the actual content provided. A staffer from a travel agency in Zhengzhou said that most of the teachers accompanying study tours are no different from ordinary tour guides, and some of them haven’t even been abroad before. “It is necessary to differentiate between common tour guides and accompanying teachers through professional training and qualifications,” said Guo Yin, a manager in charge of domestic study tours in Shandong SDU Fundamental Education Group.

As overseas study tours were listed in the National Education Bureau’s education plans for primary and middle schools at the end of 2016, regulations should be made to rectify the market order of study tours, and existing cultural resources should be put into full play to highlight the educational value of those tours. “We can combine the trips with cultural facilities such as museums and galleries to create circumstances where students are willing to learn,” said Zhang Jilin, a staffer at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

(Wang Haolan)