Youth Travel represents around 20% of all international arrivals and is one of the tourism industry’s fastest growing sectors. The average expenditure per trip has increased by 40% among young travellers.
70% of young people travel with a purpose – to learn a language, volunteer, work or study abroad. As a result, 80% of them return home more tolerant and respectful of other cultures. These are some of the key findings of a new industry report published by the World Youth, Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation and UNWTO.

‘Youth Travel Matters: Understanding The Global Phenomenon of Youth Travel’ represents a global overview of the youth and student travel industry. This report study reveals the latest trends in youth travel destinations, products and innovations based on in depth studies conducted by WYSE Travel Confederation and UNWTO over the past 5 years.

Global Trends in Language Travel and Working Holidays:

• The value of student travel has prompted many countries to ease visa restrictions on working holidays, particularly Australia and New Zealand – now favourite destinations for GAP Year Students
• Demand from student travellers for a broader range of language travel products – combined with a series of industry mergers and acquisitions – have opened up new locations for the language travel market
• Japan is currently the most important source market for language learning, followed by Spain and Germany. The UK continues to be the strongest language travel destination – with new destinations such as Australia and China opening up

To find out more, visit unwto.org