To wrap up 2025, we asked the WYSE Travel Confederation Study Abroad Sector panellists to reflect on 2025, as well as new opportunities on the horizon and key priority areas for the coming months.
After prolonged covid-caused absence, we see a return to “purposeful student travel” offerings, beyond “cultural tourism”, to experiences focused on future life success, with varying emphases across age groups and geographies. School Integration (overseas students attending UK secondary schools, typically for two weeks) attracts students from middle-income Asian countries. Work experience in Ireland brings government-funded Italians, while “work-like” experiences, like our “Young Entrepreneur” offerings, enable Europeans to visit London, with pure work experience opportunities now limited there. We see these as continuing positive 2026 trends, hopefully boosted by closer UK relationships – hence more liberal youth travel – with Europe.
Overall, for 2026, we foresee continuing global tensions and perceived and/or real insecurity acting as a potential brake on student travel, offset partially by quests for “global talent”. Cost-of-living concerns in many developed economies, exacerbated by severe trade tensions and uncertainties, further amplified by armed conflicts globally and environmental concerns, make consumers and governments more cautious in student travel investments.
AI provides both opportunity and threat. We see participation as imperative for operations and product offerings, most urgently in our domestic business, but no less certain in our international business, which will take concrete offerings to market within calendar year 2026.
Jacqui Fox
Co-founder
Twin Group
Scott Heptonstall
Head of Global Operations
The Learning Adventure
Scott Heptonstall
2025 has been a major growth year for The Learning Adventure, The Dragon Trip and Transforma Travel Group. We were proud to deliver transformative travel experiences to more than 8,000 young people and to continue receiving outstanding on-the-ground feedback from our groups. A particular highlight has been establishing our new Lisbon office and welcoming exceptional local talent, alongside the evolution of our TLA Sports brand into its own dedicated arm of the company. It’s been an energising year of expansion, learning, and of course adventure!
Looking ahead to 2026, a key commitment for us is ensuring that meaningful travel remains accessible as demand grows. We’re investing in better technology and more scalable systems so we can support many more young travellers without compromising on safety, quality or connection. Ultimately, we want to widen participation and ensure that even more young people can benefit from the incredible personal growth that travel can unlock.
2025 has been tough on the study abroad and exchange sectors … dipping enrolments, programmes scaled back, visa challenges, perceptions of not being welcome, and funding collapses. But, in the midst of all these negatives, there is the positive that what we do, the need for what we do, is actually growing. We need to use our services to combat the racism, nationalism and xenophobia that come with radical regimes cropping up around the world.
Over 150 years ago, Mark Twain was quoted as saying, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” He said it was sorely needed at that time, and it still is. As college graduates look for alternate career paths in the absence of traditional opportunities, as Gen Z travellers look for experiences over material objects, we look at 2026 as a time to recommit ourselves to the values that serve as the foundation for what we do. We find ourselves remembering the words of St Augustine, “The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only one page”.
Kevin Morgan
Chairman
Academic Language Solutions – iTEP
Terri Hamilton
David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies
Brigham Young University
This year, BYU Study Abroad recorded significant achievements in promoting international learning and service. Students engaged in impactful experiences across the globe, contributing to local communities through teaching, volunteering, and the sharing of professional and creative competencies. These interactions fostered measurable growth in students’ confidence, adaptability, and global awareness, with many identifying their study abroad as a defining moment in their academic and personal development.
Additionally, Brigham Young University was recognised as the 11th largest study abroad programme in the United States, according to the Open Doors Report.
In 2026, BYU Study Abroad is committed to significantly expanding access to international education by addressing the financial, logistical, and informational barriers that limit student participation. This effort includes increasing need-based and merit-based scholarship funding, as permitted; developing lower-cost programme models; and enhancing advising resources to help students plan effectively around academic, financial, and personal constraints.
We will also strengthen partnerships with colleges and departments to integrate study abroad more seamlessly into degree requirements, ensuring that global learning is not only accessible but also academically strategic. Through these initiatives, BYU Study Abroad aims to provide more students with international experiences that advance the university’s mission of global citizenship, intercultural competence, and lifelong learning.
Jason Nusser
What a year it’s been at Greenheart International! Our 2025 theme, “Building Bridges. Driving Change.”, wasn’t just a slogan – it shaped everything we did. From innovative programming to meaningful community engagement, we embraced connection and progress at every turn.
This year marked a major milestone: the highest number of participants on our programmes since 2019! We also hit the road more than ever, conducting site visits and showing up at key industry conferences like WETM-IAC and WYSTC. And let’s not forget the highlight – celebrating Greenheart’s 40th Anniversary with an unforgettable All-Staff Meeting in Malaga, Spain.
As we look ahead, our mission remains clear: delivering high-quality programmes that prioritise participant health, safety, and well-being. We’re committed to creating experiences that spark learning and growth while continuing to build a talented, passionate team. Growth, quality, and diversity will be key pillars for the year ahead.
Jason Nusser
Vice President of International Business Development & Operations
Greenheart International