Student Exchange Program and Educational Tours free essay sample

Educational tourism is a rapidly expanding area in the travel and tourism industry. It is also known as career enhancement or self-enrichment programme which comes in various formats namely foreign student exchange programmes and business conventions. However, all forms of educational tours have one point in common, which is to increase the travellers’ knowledge. Therefore, educational tourism should undeniably be used as a form of education as it effectively facilitates learning and greatly benefits the travellers. One of the benefits of joining educational tourism is that the foreign students who involved in the exchange programme will return home as a more independent and self-reliant person. This is because the participants will be able to carry out their daily routines without relying on others. Participants will develop higher level of confidence in making decisions in the future because they are obligated to complete certain tasks on their own. In addition, by participating in educational tours, students can gain more experience such as the lifestyle and culture of other countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Student Exchange Program and Educational Tours or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Students will be able to get in touch with the language of the foreign country and could learn in through practical immersion. It is a much safer way for students to gain knowledge because they will be accompanied by their friends and led by their teachers. When students are travelling in a group, they can exchange information and improve each other’s learning. Students will have an enjoyable experience and parents will feel relieved as their children are in a safe environment. It is argued that educational tourism has been doing more harm than good as it degrades the environmental conditions. It has been indicated that the air, water and wild life’s original state have been disrupted due to the increasing number of educational tourists. However, this argument is invalid because the natural resources are used not only by tourists but also by the locals. Furthermore, tourists are the minority in the area. In addition, they stay there for a much shorter period of time compared to the locals. A good educational tour will educate participants on becoming responsible tourists. Thus, participants of the tour will be aware of the importance of preserving the environment. Educational tours give participants an opportunity to acquire experience that cannot be obtained within the classroom. It also enables participants to be exposed to other social and cultural values. Thus, schools and institutes of higher education should organise and encourage their students to participate in educational tours as it efficiently aids the learning process and greatly broadened students’ perspectives. (421 words) Final editing Educational tourism is a rapidly expanding sector in the travel and tourism industry. It is also known as career enhancement or self-enrichment programme where the educational institutes offer student exchange programmes and educational tours to their students. These educational tours have one common objective, which is to increase the travellers’ knowledge. Therefore, educational tourism should be incorporated in the curriculum syllabus as it facilitates independent learning and provides safer alternatives for students to gain new experiences that could connect with the theories they learned through the overseas tours. One benefit of joining educational tours is that the students who are involved in the exchange programmes will become more independent in their own learning. As they are living overseas for a short period of time, they need to ensure that they manage their time well and complete their course works on time. Although the host institution may assign a mentor to guide these students, they still need to carry out their daily routines without relying on their family and own friends who are not around to help them. This kind of experience will help the students to develop higher level of confidence in making decisions because they are obligated to complete certain tasks on their own. Being able to make decision effectively will contribute to independent learning as the students learn how to decide themselves without being told of what they should do. In addition, educational tourism can be considered as a safer option for young students to gain new experience and knowledge through educational tours and exchange programmes. It will be much safer for students to travel on educational tours as they will be will be accompanied by their friends and led by their teachers. When students are travelling in a group, they can exchange information and check with each other. In other words, they can discover new ideas through group discussion in a new environment. Their teachers or the guides at the host destinations can provide important information to help the students to adapt to the new environment. In this way, students can have an enjoyable learning setting at overseas and experiment with different ways of learning. Through proper guidance and controlled environment, parents can be assured of the safety of their children in a new educational environment. It is argued that educational tourism is doing more harm than good as it worsens the environmental conditions. It is found that the air, water and wild life’s original state have been negatively affected due to the increasing number of educational tourists. However, this argument is invalid because the natural resources are used not only by tourists but also by the locals. Furthermore, tourists are the minority group in the area. In addition, they stay at the area for a much shorter period of time compared to the local community. A good educational tour will usually educate tour participants on becoming responsible tourists. Thus, participants of the tour will be aware of the importance of preserving the environment and will not behave irresponsibly. In conclusion, educational tours allow students to take charge of their own learning and enable them to learn new knowledge in a safer environment with proper planning. Thus, schools and institutes of higher education should consider organising educational tours and encouraging their students to participate in this activity as it can aid the learning process and greatly broadened students’ perspectives on world knowledge. (565 words)