Learning from my holiday - How need for 'edutainment' and learning experiences has built upon old notions of 'study tourism'
Despite a lingering reputation for philistinism, Brits on holiday show a high degree of cultural engagement, with six out of ten adults having visited a museum and learnt about the location whilst on holiday in the past three years.
Specialist learning holidays – offering creative, linguistic, sporting or other skills – have also enjoyed strong growth in recent years, as the desire for an ever more varied holiday diet has grown on the back of cheap flights and the taste for more active and novel styles of holiday-making.
Despite a lingering reputation for philistinism, Brits on holiday show a high degree of cultural engagement, with six out of ten adults having visited a museum and learnt about the location whilst on holiday in the past three years.
Specialist learning holidays – offering creative, linguistic, sporting or other skills – have also enjoyed strong growth in recent years, as the desire for an ever more varied holiday diet has grown on the back of cheap flights and the taste for more active and novel styles of holiday-making.
This report provides an overview of trends in ‘learning from my holiday’, investigating the core market factors, strengths and weaknesses, consumer dynamics, and likely future developments.
Key issues
Who are the key consumers for ‘soft’ cultural learning’ and ‘harder’, more skills-based learning on holiday? What motivates people to take learning holidays?
What is the impact of the recession on attitudes towards learning on holiday and specialist providers of learning holidays?
What are the main types of learning holiday, which are growing fastest, what is the scale of current demand for learning on holiday, and what types of learning have the greatest future potential?
What is the supply structure like for learning holidays? What type of products are being developed? How do specialist operators attract their customers? What are the key strengths and weaknesses of this sector?
What is the importance of the singles market and solo travel? What is the likely impact of the ageing of the population?
What kind of marketing messages and what style of language can help to broaden the appeal of learning on holiday?
Britain has emerged from the recession but is faced with a long and lingering period of uncertainty. Consumers remain wary about the future, and this is reflected in spending habits and attitudes about what is 'essential'.
With further cuts ahead, the general mindset is one of caution, with the biggest question of all being 'what next?'
However, there is positivity too - people seemed to have moved away from the fear that pervaded much of the last 12 months.
Who are the key consumers for ‘soft’ cultural learning’ and ‘harder’, more skills-based learning on holiday? What motivates people to take learning holidays?
