Pessimistic Outlook

The youth and student travel community’s outlook on business prospects is pessimistic following the United Kingdom’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union, according to the results of the WYSE Brexit Survey.

In that survey, 45% of those responding said that they believe business prospects will be worse. Furthermore, youth and student travel specialists expect decreases in business volume between 12% and 19% over the next year.

The WYSE Brexit Survey found that au pair and work experience businesses – those dealing with visas – are expecting the biggest decreases in business volume.

These concerns are with good reason as the UK is an important source market of youth and student travellers. Travellers from the UK aged 25 or younger made 10.4 million trips abroad in 2015 and Europe is one of the most important destinations for them, receiving over 60% of the market.

WYSE Travel Confederation’s New Horizons III research has indicated that holidays account for more than half of these trips, although study, work experience and language learning are also significant travel segments.

The survey notes that there is a bright side – the transport sector expects an upturn and some believe that stricter visa regulations could increase the value of agent services.

Many also see the potential for other EFL destinations to become attractive alternatives to the UK.
For more, go to https://www.wysetc.org/2016/07/05/brexit-business-outlook-is-pessimistic-for-youth-travel-industry/ .