Affinity Rules by Elana Andersen
The number of young people who participate in youth-based
travel programs is large and growing.
Almost one-third of North Americas population is school age and
according to a National Tour Association study, numbers will
continue to grow to 71 million school age students, grades one
through 16, by 2006. The travel industry had traditionally
folded youth leisure travel characteristics into other market
segment demographics, such as into family travel. Now the number
of young people who participate in youth-based travel programs
is large and growing to a level that permits youth travel to be
recognized on its own.
The largest and most cohesive category in this market is one
that offers curriculum-based activities and themes. Most of
these types of trips are organized by educational institutions
that see the exposure to various destinations, competition and
performance opportunities, and other activities as means of
offering valuable and meaningful learning experiences. And these
experiences cannot be provided in a classroom setting. Teachers
and school administrators fold these travel-educational
experiences into a curriculum plan as part of the regular class
work or as extracurricular activities. Funding for these
programs often requires special fundraising efforts that involve
the students and parent booster clubs. This is particularly seen
with public schools, which by mandate must make approved
curriculum programs available to all class members, regardless
of the individuals financial means.
Elementary school programs are often day field trips, but at
junior high level, multi-day programs come into play. There are
a number of tour companies that specialize in planning and
operating multi-day trips for students. Most offer a variety of
itinerary plans which meet a schools curriculum requirements,
include activities that are age appropriate to the grade(s)
traveling and take steps to insure the safety and security of
the students.
Youth sports are also on the rise. The National Council of Youth
Sports represents thousands of youth sports groups and its most
recently completed membership survey shows a major jump in the
youth sports community, which now numbers more than 52 million
youth participating in organized youth sports programs. Even
adjusting for duplicate athletes, this represents a 20% increase
over the previous study four years earlier. Contact:
772-781-1452, www.ncys.org
New venues are being created for the youth performance market.
The SMART organization has developed a series of new special
events, such as a school choir festival in Nashville, a music
festival in Pigeon Forge and a new parade in Myrtle Beach. More
events are being developed for New Orleans and Louisville.
Details are outlined in a brochure that has been mailed to
20,000 school directors. New destinations are being planned for
the 2007 season. Contact: 815-754-7627, www.funmeevents.com
The Student and Youth Travel Association (SYTA) recently
surveyed its members to determine the most desirable
destinations for student trips. The polling results were ranked
by its most frequently booked destinations, with the top five in
the U.S. being Washington, D.C.; Orlando, New York City, greater
Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago. The top Canadian destinations
are the city pairs of Quebec-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal.
Washington has long been a leading destination for student
travel as the U.S. seat of government. Orlando is the second
most visited destination for youth groups. Special student ed.
programs apply structured lessons in math, science, English,
social studies and history while students enjoy the amusement
activities of the park. One example is the incorporation of a
physics workshop when learning about the workings of various
rides and roller coasters.
New York City has its own long list of attractions but one of
the most popular activities for youth groups is to participate
in theater and performing arts workshops. Los Angeles has many
options for student groups, ranging from grad night programs to
in-depth learning experiences. It is also a popular region for
youth curriculum and sports competitions. Bostons historic role
in the American Revolution is its key draw for student groups
and Chicagos geographic location and diversity of attractions
make it an appealing destination.
This article is sponsored by: www.grouptravelblog.com