Why Employ a Professional Travel Planner for Student Trips

Carylann Assante, CAE, CEO SYTA and the SYTA Youth Foundation, talks shop about student travel safety and utilizing a professional travel planner for your field trips

Carylann Assante, CAE serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Student & Youth Travel Association, SYTA

The student travel sector has grown rapidly over the past decade, with millions of middle and high school students traveling to hundreds of destinations in the United States and worldwide. The focus on health and safety also changed during this period and is a key focus in the planning and approval process for today’s student tour.

Many school administrators now require group travel planners to have a formal and tested plan for managing students on the road. We see this globally as educators and administrators respond to parents’ concerns globally. This has led to a trend for group travel companies and suppliers to meet standards or have recognized certifications. Schools have also increased the amount and types of general liability and travel insurance carried by the group tour operator.

Discover safety tips, sample trips, and planning tools inside the Student Travel Planning Guide.

Have a Backup Plan

While times have changed, the foundation for a professional and safe student travel experience has not. Plans still should include expectations for students, destination information, insurance options, hotels and dining facilities, transportation, and the location of medical facilities, just to mention a few. What is often overlooked is having a plan B when plan A doesn’t work out. It is equally important to account for the unexpected. This is essential advice for all travelers and even more important when traveling internationally.

A backup plan addresses what to do when things go wrong. Have conversations with your travel organizer before your trip. You each need to know what support to expect and what each organization’s responsibility is. Having a strategy for every scenario is impossible but understanding how you will work with your tour organizer if something unexpected arises is critical.

Addressing Key Concerns

Since the pandemic, we have seen an increase in health and safety plans that address the mental health of students on tour. This may include reducing the number of stops in a day, allowing more “down time” for rest, guided conversations for student reflections and concerns that may develop based on their individual perspective, race and ethnicity. We have seen increased requests that address transgender students and their needs and perspectives while on tour. These are essential items that should be a part of the planning process discussions and included in the crisis management plan.

In today’s challenging environment, it is imperative that students continue to travel. Traveling outside one’s own immediate environment can expand a person’s understanding of people who differ from them and increase empathy for others.

As the leading advocate for student group travel, SYTA has a fundamental responsibility and commitment to provide the highest standards of safety for student travel providers to ensure that every student and young traveler enjoys the safest travel experience possible.

Carylann Assante, CAE, CEO SYTA and the SYTA Youth Foundation

A seasoned tourism and association executive, Carylann Assante, CAE serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Student & Youth Travel Association, SYTA, the international association that promotes student and youth group travel worldwide. www.syta.org