China Travel Outbound has carried out a new piece of research on Chinese students’ desire to study in the UK based on the impact of the global pandemic. The research was conducted at 12 different universities across the UK and provides insights into current sentiments, reactions to current learning conditions, and students’ feelings around future learning and being in the UK.
International students make a substantial contribution to the UK’s economy – around £22.6 billion each year. As the biggest international student cohort in almost every major market, Chinese students are a vital demographic for the UK tourism industry.
The research set out to gain insight on the experience of virtual studying and how this could impact students’ learning and the university experience. Of the sample, 67% of the students interviewed were based in the UK, 23% in China and 10% in other overseas destinations. Of those participants currently studying, 39% were undergraduates and 54% were post-graduates.
61% of students rated their experience of studying at a UK university throughout the pandemic as ‘bad’, and 100% of those that are studying online only in the UK expressed having a worse university experience compared to pre-COVID. Those studying online expressed that a pre-recording of a lecture was a particular dislike rather than a live online lecture.
When asked ‘how does COVID-19 affect your plans to study abroad?’, 80% of participants replied that the pandemic has not affected their plans to travel abroad in the future. The majority of students that are currently learning virtually in China will visit their UK university as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted. Those who do not wish to travel any time soon will wait until they are vaccinated or will look to postpone their studies.
A July 2020 study by New Oriental Education, one of China’s largest educational firms, also found that 47% of Chinese students would choose the UK to study abroad, with 37% choosing the US. For the very first time, the UK has overtaken the US as the top destination for Chinese students in this survey.
China has also identified international students as one of the priority segments to receive vaccinations, which will enable them to return to their international universities in September 2021.
Helena Beard, Managing Director of China Travel Outbound said, “Alongside the positive sentiment recorded through our own research we also know that growing tensions between the US and China, coupled with British improvements to visa options for international students, are helping to catapult the UK into the number one hot spot for study. And Chinese students love explore. The UK and European tourism industry needs to gear up for September to tap into this affluent market and maximise on its vast potential.”
With China being the single largest country of origin for international students worldwide, with over 600,000 Chinese studying overseas in 2018, the prospects for UK tourism to benefit from the patronage of Chinese students over the next few years has never been brighter.
To find out more about the study, please visit China Travel Outbound’s website.
