Some study tour groups are not as good as tourist groups. Journalists investigate the chaos in the study tour market: high fees, cutting corners in the industry | study tour | market
Recently, Ms. Zhu, a parent from Beijing, reported to reporters that she has received several promotional calls for her graduate school project, with slogans such as "Let children enter nature, broaden their horizons" and "Learn and grow while traveling" that have made her quite tempted. Summer vacation is approaching, and I want to enroll my child as a graduate student leader, but I am worried that I will spend a lot of money not being able to learn real things, and I am even more afraid of safety issues.
Research based learning is a practical educational approach that allows students to gain a deeper understanding and experience of the knowledge they have learned through visits, surveys, experiments, and other means. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications to achieve the goal of integrating knowledge and action. In recent years, the market for study tours has developed rapidly. According to relevant data, the number of study tours exceeded 6 million in 2022, setting a new historical high.
At the same time, problems such as a mix of good and bad students in research institutions, the formation of research groups into tourist groups, mismatched products, and difficulty in ensuring safety have repeatedly appeared in newspapers. Summer vacation is approaching, and the study tour is also about to enter its peak season. In response to the common concerns of students and parents, the reporter conducted investigations and interviews.
"Moments, short video platforms, elevator lobbies, and more are filled with advertisements for various educational programs. Even the kindergarten downstairs in the community has posted advertisements for educational summer camps... Seeing that the educational market is" filled with atmosphere, and the competition for talent is about to unfold, "Ms. Liu, a parent from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, sneered. Her daughter, who was in junior high school, once participated in educational groups." It's better than a tourist group. She didn't play well or learn well, and even spent a lot of money. ".
In recent years, the popularity of study tours for primary and secondary school students has gradually increased. According to relevant data, as of now, there are over 5000 companies related to "study camps" and "summer camps" in China, and the overall scale of China's research travel market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan in the future.
However, a reporter from the Legal Daily found through investigation that while the graduate market is thriving, various problems have emerged with the involvement of a large number of for-profit institutions, including a lack of unified standards for fees, poor quality of graduate courses, lack of qualifications for graduate institutions, and inability to ensure student safety. Behind the chaos, there are many parents and students who come with enthusiasm but return with disappointment, which also makes many parents of students hesitate.
The research and learning market is gradually heating up
Pricing is arbitrary and charging is not cheap
Desert hiking, exploration of northern Xinjiang, immersive learning of aviation technology simulation helicopters, and wonderful experiences in fairy tale kingdom Denmark... Currently, natural ecology, cultural history, technological innovation, and other topics have become popular topics for study tours, and many study projects have also extended to foreign countries.
The reporter found through contacting multiple research institutions and comparing a large number of research projects that this summer, domestic research projects can be roughly divided into three categories: half day tours around cities and one-day tours, such as outdoor exploration and hiking, and rural life experiences, with the main content of seeking nature and exercising children's practical skills; Cross provincial and city single week tours mainly focus on exploring astronomy and geography, understanding Chinese culture, and visiting universities for education; Camping type research and learning summer camps have relatively complete outdoor activity facilities, classrooms, and food and accommodation conditions inside the campsite.
In the investigation, the reporter noticed that these study groups are expensive, and there is a huge price difference for similar study activities organized by different institutions. The prices of research and learning projects, mainly consisting of one-day and half day tours, range from hundreds to thousands of yuan. For multi day domestic cross provincial and city research and learning projects, the prices range from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan.
"There is no unified standard in the industry, and pricing is very arbitrary." Mr. Chen, a practitioner in Wuhan, Hubei, gave an example. His research institution launched a research and learning team to explore rural areas, and soon other institutions replicated this research and learning model. They went to similar rural areas and had similar activities, adding an additional project for children to grow vegetables, which directly increased the price by several hundred yuan.
Overseas research groups are also popular and priced higher. The reporter saw on multiple social media platforms that overseas research and learning information released by some institutions has become a popular post. Below, there are a large number of parents leaving messages asking, "Want to let children go out and broaden their horizons" has become the wish of many parents. Once contacted by the organization for inquiries, most people will receive the following response: "The group is about to be full, with only the last two spots left."
The reporter consulted 10 overseas research programs, with a minimum age of 6 years and a duration ranging from 7 to 15 days, with prices ranging from 20000 to 60000 yuan. A 15 day itinerary for an overseas research project priced at 60000 yuan, including visits to prestigious schools, enterprises, historical exploration, cultural experiences, and visiting prestigious schools.
"The disparity of the world depends on the disparity of ideas, and parents' perspectives often determine the ceiling of their children's growth. Through in-depth academic exploration and immersive cultural experience, children can experience Cambridge culture..."
By chance, Ms. Chen from Chengdu, Sichuan, was moved by such a study advertisement. After consulting, she was immediately advised to withdraw the price: "The fee is more than 50000 yuan, which is more expensive than traveling with us as a family of three."
In the eyes of education blogger Xiaofeng, some projects are priced at tens of thousands of yuan, and the premium is too high and not worth it. "Some overseas research and learning projects are just ordinary summer camps in a foreign country, which are disguised as" high-end "study tours by some domestic institutions.". He gave an example, for example, at a summer camp in the UK, the local quotation is equivalent to several thousand yuan per week, and it sells for 50-60000 yuan domestically.
Wu Yue, who has been in charge of research travel projects at a well-known educational institution for many years, told reporters that some parents may think that the higher the cost, the more standardized the research institution, the better the service quality, and the more reassuring the child will be when entrusted. However, in fact, it is not necessarily the case. The food, accommodation, and travel costs of students in research tours are lower than those of ordinary tour groups, and the high cost can sometimes be a gimmick.
Cutting corners in travel services
Traveling without learning, not worthy of the name
Compared with the price, what makes parents "roast" is that they spend a lot of money, but some research groups are not worthy of the name, and the actual service is not consistent with the advertising promise.
Ms. Liu from Hangzhou mentioned that her child once participated in a three-day postgraduate study, spending a day and a half in the car. The so-called postgraduate study was similar to tourism and sightseeing, and the "teacher" was not as good as the tour guide in explaining the scenery thoroughly. The key was that there were many students and children of all ages, and there was only one "teacher", making the whole group chaotic.
Multiple respondents reported that the reason why they initially accepted high tuition fees was not only because they hoped their children would receive exercise, but also because they saw the institution's promotion of good travel, accommodation, and safety. But some institutions cut corners, such as promoting accommodation standards as quasi four star hotels, but instead arranging six person dormitories; The agreed upon "luxury buffet" has become "eating boxed meals on the bus.". When studying abroad, some institutions choose low-cost airlines to gain more profits.
"There is a big gap from the original promotion. The child participated in a study tour to the United States, which was advertised as accompanied by local children. As a result, the institution rented a conference room at a local high school, allowing the children to communicate in the conference room. The most anticipated trip to Harvard and Yale universities was just to take the child to visit the school." Shanghai resident Ms. Ma told reporters that she had spent more than 30000 yuan to enroll her child in a study tour to the United States, but was very dissatisfied with the results.
"Traveling is greater than learning" and "Traveling without learning" are not isolated cases. Industry insiders have told reporters that some so-called study tours are highly consistent with the itinerary of tourist groups, with only some summer camp courses interspersed in between. Once the word "study" is added, the cost is often much higher than that of tourist groups. This is particularly evident in research projects at a young age.
"At present, there are some so-called study tour groups on the market that pay high registration fees, but in fact, they are not much different from tourist groups. The children who participate in study tour groups are of different ages, and listening together is not very effective," said Sun Qile, who has been engaged in study tour education for ten years.
In graduate programs, the content of university graduate studies is highly welcomed by parents of students. Parents hope that their children can experience the learning atmosphere of universities and set lofty life goals through graduate studies at prestigious universities.
"But many of them are just superficial observations." Xiao Tao, a Beijing university student who used to work part-time in summer research institutions, told reporters that most summer college students have left school. In an empty university, it is difficult to truly experience the learning atmosphere. More of it is through browsing and visiting, mainly explaining the school's history and culture to children, and occasionally discussing learning methods, but time is limited and the results are unpredictable.
"Some overseas research programs focus on the brand of prestigious schools, claiming to deeply experience the campus culture of prestigious schools, interact and exchange ideas with students and even professors, and the cost increases sharply. However, in reality, many prestigious schools in the United States can be visited by anyone, and institutions rent classrooms on campus to hold social gatherings and take a few photos with foreigners, which is considered a deep exchange," said Wu Yue.
Industry insiders have bluntly pointed out that the rapidly developing research and study travel market has a large number of extensive and poorly experienced products. Due to the vast majority of tourism companies developing research and study products with non education related professional backgrounds, research and study products lack the necessary educational connotations, resulting in an industry chaos where planning is arbitrary and disorganized, and marketing advertisements are exaggerated.
Many of them are outsourced projects
Actual quality varies
Industry insiders have told reporters that there are peak and off peak seasons for graduate studies, and winter and summer are peak seasons. Therefore, some institutions do not equip their own "team leaders", but directly adopt "outsourcing" or cooperative methods. The actual course design and implementation of domestic graduate programs across provinces and cities are not institutions registered by parents.
"In this process, the qualifications, environment, and company strength of local cooperative institutions are very important." Sun Qile said, "If the registration institution sends personnel to different cities to explore, the research and learning project may be more reliable. If the research and learning courses are completely handed over to a third-party docking party, the quality of the project is difficult to say, but parents do not know this information and it is difficult to distinguish.".
"There are some institutions that either hire experienced outdoor institutions to entrust their children after enrollment, or recruit students or freelance students to lead research and study groups through part-time work during the peak season. The cost is calculated on a daily basis and paid in installments." The industry insiders mentioned above explained that these outdoor institutions often lack experience in caring for minors, and the effectiveness of leading groups is not good, which can easily lead to accidents.
And this form of outsourcing is more common and prominent in foreign research projects.
According to industry insiders, many foreign research institutions currently outsource the itinerary of cooperative school activities and tourist attractions to local educational institutions and travel agencies in segments, which also makes it difficult to ensure the content and quality of research.
Because many projects require children to fly alone, parents can only contact domestic research institutions when registering for their children. In practice, some institutions outsource all or part of their overseas research projects, and then have two or even more distinct groups of people responsible for receiving students and communicating with parents.
"Some research institutions are only responsible for two things throughout the entire itinerary. The first is to send students on airplanes in China and then hand them over to local officials from foreign airports; the second is to bring students back to China from foreign airports." Wu Yue said that in the market, there were some tour leaders who did not even have basic language communication skills and led the entire team of students abroad. "As far as I know, there have been situations where the leader arrived at a foreign airport and didn't know where to collect their luggage or how to lead the students out of the airport."
Among the 10 overseas study tour projects investigated by reporters, 5 project staff members stated that the project contracts will clearly indicate that they will be accompanied by teachers from the registration agency 24 hours a day, some will be accompanied by local academic affairs teachers throughout the entire process, and the course teachers will be taught by local school teachers or full-time teachers from official institutions. Some will be led by domestic teachers throughout the entire process, and will be jointly managed by domestic and foreign teachers from the company's resident office at the destination.
One of the research projects going to Denmark was communicated with Professor Xu from the research institution regarding outsourcing issues. After repeated and careful questioning, the other party finally told the reporter that it was not the staff hired by the institution who led the team to tour various places, but rather overseas guides. Regarding the relationship between the two, Teacher Xu's explanation is "cooperative relationship", and as for what kind of "cooperative" method it is, Teacher Xu did not say a reason.
Institutions become "hands off shopkeepers"
Difficulty in ensuring security issues
During a study tour, a 12-year-old boy was hit and killed by a stone lamp in a scenic area in Suqian, Jiangsu; A 16-year-old student participated in a desert exploration and study trip during the summer vacation, but the team teacher failed to detect his abnormal physical condition in time, and eventually died from heatstroke
In recent years, accidents have occurred during study tours that have resulted in student injuries or even fatalities. The safety issues of study tours have also become the top concern for parents.
The investigation by reporters found that few research institutions on the market are equipped with dedicated medical staff. Many institutions only provide post accident protection for participants by purchasing travel accident insurance, and when it comes to safety measures during travel, institutions often introduce them vaguely.
When asked what to do if a child experiences physical discomfort during the study process, a staff member from a research institution replied, "Before starting the study, some daily medication will be provided to solve most minor illnesses. If a child has a major illness, their registration is not accepted."
Another staff member from a research institution stated that all product routes have been inspected by staff, safety risk assessments, etc. At the same time, the team leader and assistant will ensure the safety of the children throughout the process. "In order to reassure parents, each team will be equipped with a dedicated photographer who is responsible for taking photos and sharing their daily lives in the parent group every day.".
Huang Min, a mother of a third grade student from Anhui, was once interested in registering her child for a "solo flight camp" for graduate studies. However, after reading the relevant contract, she still gave up: "The contract states that if there is any financial or personal injury, Party B is not responsible. If the responsibility is shifted to parents who are not present, how can they dare to participate?"
The reporter consulted relevant contracts provided by several research institutions and found that in the face of security issues, some institutions do indeed act as "hands off shopkeepers". In the standard contract, it is stipulated that "as the party A who pays fees to participate in research, they need to take full responsibility for their own financial losses and personal injuries."
For overseas research projects that are further away, student safety is the primary concern for parents. After investigating 10 overseas research projects, the reporter found that the measures mentioned by the institution to ensure the safety of minors include: purchasing insurance such as accident insurance for overseas residents, 24-hour security access control, closed accommodation, AirTag locators, and host families passing government assessments, setting up emergency contact staff for each student, and providing online doctor services 24/7.
However, according to industry insiders, due to Chinese students not being able to enjoy medical benefits abroad, some study tour groups will purchase overseas medical insurance for students. Once an accident occurs, the responsibility will be shifted more to individual students or insurance companies, and institutions will evade responsibility.
Lack of professional talents in the industry
You can start working by taking random certifications
In September last year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security added the profession of research travel instructor to the job classification list. This means that the research travel instructor has an officially recognized "ID card".
In the eyes of many industry insiders, the various chaos in the graduate market is closely related to the lack of standardization and professional talent in the entire industry.
Lily, a practitioner at a research institution, told reporters that there is a very lack of professional research travel guides. Most of the people she comes into contact with are scenic area guides. "Some people promote 'research travel guides' to the outside world, but in reality, they do not graduate from tourism or related disciplines. Many people's majors are almost unrelated to research.".
"At present, there is no mandatory requirement for personal qualifications in graduate studies. Most of them only need to have undergone relevant expansion training, or have relevant experience in kindergartens, educational training institutions, and travel agencies. The training certificates for graduate supervisors on the market are in a mixed state, and apart from being able to prove that they have taken such courses, nothing else can prove it," a graduate science popularization anchor told reporters.
On major search engines and social media platforms, reporters have found a lot of advertising information about obtaining the ID of a study tour guide. The specific name of the ID often has subtle differences, and the issuing units are also diverse and different.
According to the advertisement, the reporter contacted a training institution that claimed to be able to assist job seekers in the research and learning industry in obtaining relevant certificates. The other party stated that the postgraduate travel mentor certificate they provided does not require the educational qualifications of applicants, and the exam time is determined by the number of applicants. If there are enough candidates, an exam will be organized. Regarding how to prepare for the exam, the other party stated that self-directed learning is the main focus, and there is no training course or professional teacher guidance besides providing textbooks. "We will send you a question bank before the exam.". At the same time, the merchant stated that there is no need to worry about failing the exam, "as long as you register and pay, you can get the certificate.".
Another training institution told reporters that there is currently no unified standard or examination for the certificate of research travel instructor in the country, and individuals cannot directly apply and must go through the institution or agency. The process of obtaining a certificate generally involves selecting an institution to register, filling in personal information and materials, conducting training and learning, participating in exams, and obtaining a certificate upon achieving a score of 60, becoming a research travel instructor. "The basic objective knowledge in travel, including multiple-choice and true/false questions, is not very difficult overall and has a high pass rate." The staff said that the institution provides a question bank and answers, ensuring that the certificate can be obtained within 15 days.
The qualification issue also involves the leading teachers who have intimate contact with the children.
Regarding this issue, a staff member from a research institution said, "There is currently no relevant professional certificate in this industry, but the tour guide in charge has a tour guide certificate, and the tour guide will undergo assessment and training."
Regarding this, Professor Deng Dezhi from Zhejiang Tourism Vocational College once pointed out that the most important professionals engaged in the research tourism industry are tourism and education majors. However, the problem is that "tourism professionals do not understand education, and education professionals do not understand tourism." In the future, more targeted professional talents need to be trained for the research tourism industry.
