The Language Travel sector faces major and ongoing disruption due to Covid-19. This disruption increases the pressure on our industry to effect meaningful change across long-standing issues. Key aspects of debate, such as payment terms, costs and contributions, and overhead business costs now need to be addressed with urgency in order to establish new strategies, ways of working together, and best practice for the future.

It is with a spirit of collaboration and free exchange of information that ALTO has conducted this research. It brings together agencies and agency association leaders, schools and school sales teams and practitioners from within the ALTO membership, and across the wider Education and Language Travel industry. We’ve gathered regional and global data to help inform the strategies of both agents and schools. This research helps identify opportunities to address inefficiencies that cut into the viability of the industry, and ways to mutually mitigate losses.

This survey seeks to build on a long-established debate and is a concerted effort to create meaningful change in a post-Covid industry, so that together we can rebuild a more robust industry within a new economic situation.

“If Agents, Schools and the rest of the industry can work together to answer the concerns of our customers, we can also address the wider issues the industry faces
from a social and environmental perspective. Even for those who believe the industry can recover fast and get back to ‘normal’, there are the long-term challenges which, if addressed now, will lead to a stronger more sustainable business.”

Comment from a LATAM survey participant

Prior to publishing the report, ALTO hosted a series of Regional Panel debates online where Agent and School representative had a chance to discuss the survey results.

Click here request access to the video recording of these sessions.