Page 39 - StudyTravel Magazine April 2018 Issue

DIRECTION STUDYTRAVEL MAGAZINE APRIL 2018

Latin trends

Quality of life and opportunities for permanent residency, reasonable
cost of living and a transparent visa procedure all influence where
Brazilians and Colombians choose to study, according to GILLIAN EVANS.

There have been considerable shifts in demand for study of trends indicated that their sales had fallen
overseas education courses and destinations from or, at the very best, remain static.
Latin American student provider countries, most Brazil’s economy began to claw its way back in
notably Brazil and Colombia. 2016 and 2017, and as a result the study travel mar-
Over recent years, a gruelling recession has sent ket rallied. Belta’s most recent survey revealed that
HTE!Joufsobujpobm!Tdippm!Cvjusbhp-!Nbesje-! Brazil’s study travel market reeling. In 2015, 64 per this time almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of agencies
HTE!Joufsobujpobm!Tdippm!Cvjusbhp-!Nbesje!jt!bo! Sfevdf!ejtubodft! cent of agencies that took part in the Brazilian Edu- said that they experienced growth in 2016. While
joefqfoefou!fevdbujpobm!jotujuvujpo!tqfdjbmj{fe!jo! up!bdijfwf!
iptujoh!tfdpoebsz!tuvefout!gspn!bmm!pwfs!uif!xpsme! mjnjumftt!hspxui cational and Language Travel Association’s (Belta’s) according to ST Magazine’s latest survey of Brazilian
joufsftufe!up!cf!qbsu!pg!bo!fyqfsjfoujbm!tfnftufs!ps! agencies language placements alone
tdippm!zfbs!qsphsbn-!fjuifs!uispvhi!bo!bddsfejufe!mpdbm! !
dvssjdvmvn!ps!uif!JC!Ejqmpnb/! Xf!hvbsbouff!bo!vogpshfuubcmf!mfbsojoh!fyqfsjfodf-! increased by 25 per cent in 2017.
bt!gpsfjho!tuvefout!tibsf!pvs!dbnqvt’!gsff.ujnf!boe! The last few years have certainly
Uijt!qsphsbn!dbo!cf!dpncjofe!xjui!bo!jnnfstjpo! mfbsojoh!tqbdft!xjui!pvs!Tqbojti!tuvefout-!evsjoh!
Tqbojti!mbohvbhf!boe!dvmuvsf!dpvstf-!cfjoh!!mfwfmfe! dvtupn.eftjhofe!tipsu!tubzt!dfoufsfe!po!mbohvbhf-! had their challenges, as Maura Leão,
boe!dfsujgjfe!cz!uif!Dfswbouft!Jotujuvuf!boe!uif!pggjdjbm! bsu-!tqpsut!ps!mfjtvsf.ujnf!bdujwjujft-!bt!xfmm!bt! CEO of Yazigi Travel www.yazigitravel.
TJFMF!fybnjobujpot/ fyqfsjfodft!mbtujoh!b!gvmm!bdbefnjd!zfbs/
! com.br recounts, “2016 was a very
Beejujpobmmz-!pvs!dbnqvt!xjmm!hjwf!joufsobujpobm! Jo!beejujpo!up!uijt-!HTE!Joufsobujpobm!Tdippm!Cvjusbhp! bad year in terms of politics and eco-
tuvefout!uif!qpttjcjmjuz!up!mjwf!b!ebjmz!fyqfsjfodf!pg! bmtp!pggfst!tuvefout!boe!ufbdifst!uif!dibodf!up!
joufsbdujpo!xjui!Tqbojti!tuvefout!buufoejoh!up!ebz! qbsujdjqbuf!jo!tibsfe!bdujwjujft!xjui!pvs!pxo!tuvefout-!! COLOMBIA’S CHANGING SCENE nomic uncertainty. In 2017, there has
tdippm!jo!hsbeft!2.23!boe!up!qbsujdjqbuf!jo!ijhi!mfwfm! tvdi!bt!uif!Joufsobujpobm!Tvnnfs!Dbnqt!)gppucbmm-! been light at the end of the tunnel and
tqpsut!qsphsbnt!mjlf!txjnnjoh!boe!tpddfs/ dppljoh-!gjmnnbljoh-!fowjsponfoubm-!ebodjoh-! Price, according to Carlos Mario Hurtado at Educaminos www.educaminos.com in this has helped bring back people’s
tjohjoh*-!dbsszjoh!pvu!tfswjdf!qspkfdut!gps!uif!mpdbm! Colombia, plays a major role in destination choice. “Price is a very important criteria for
Uif!tuvefout!cfdpnf!gvmmz!joufhsbufe!bu!uif!tdippm! dpnnvojuz!boe!jo!obuvsbm!bsfbt!pg!uif!sfhjpo-!boe! students seeking study abroad programmes, because the exchange rate of the Colom- hope that they can keep investing in
dpnnvojuz!bt!xf!hvjef!uifn!uispvhi!pvs! fyqmpsjoh!cpui!uif!djuz!pg!Nbesje!boe!puifs!qmbdft!pg! bian peso is low when compared to the British pound, the euro and the US dollar.” themselves or their kids.”
dvtupn.eftjhofe!qsphsbnt-!mbtujoh!gspn!pof!xffl!jo! jnqpsubou!ijtupsjdbm!joufsftu!)Tfhpwjb-!Upmfep-!BmdbmÂ! Jaime Andres Sarmiento at British Unlimited www.britishunlimited.com reports
evsbujpo!up!bo!foujsf!bdbefnjd!zfbs/! ef!Ifobsft*/ that their top destinations are Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and Malta, mostly Flavio Crusoe, Director of BEX
! because of the their comparably favourable costs of living and, in some cases, inclusive Brazilian Exchange – Intercambio
HTE!JT!CV!hvbsboufft!bmm!uif!ofdfttbsz!gbdjmjujft!up! Dmfbsmz-!HTE!Joufsobujpobm!Tdippm!Cvjusbhp!ibt!b! work rights for overseas students. For example, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland allow
sfdfjwf!joejwjevbm!tuvefout!boe!tdippm!hspvqt-!jo!b! vojrvf!npefm!pg!sfbm!joufhsbujpo!jo!uif!bsfb!boe!uif! students who study English to work part time. Felipe Murillo at Global Connection www. Cultural www.bex.tur.br suggests
qfbdfgvm!fowjsponfou-!kvtu!56!njovuft!gspn!uif!djuz!pg! tdippm!dpnnvojuz-!xjui!bmm!uif!dbsf!boe!dmptf! estudieenelexterior.com.co, argues that being able to work whilst studying is a factor that many students who had planned
Nbesje-!jo!uif!nfejfwbm!upxo!pg!Cvjusbhp!ef!Mp{pzb-! buufoujpo!up!efubjm!uibu!dibsbdufsj{f!pvs!fggpsut!up! that can outweigh many others. “Sometimes the opportunities in the country can over-
ofbs!uif!Tjfssb!ef!Hvbebssbnb!npvoubjot!po!uif! bdijfwf!nbyjnvn!tbujtgbdujpo!gps!pvs!tuvefout!boe! come the price. For example, Australia is one of the most expensive country to study but to study abroad during the reces-
opsuixftu!fehf!pg!uif!Nbesje!sfhjpo/ usborvjmjuz!gps!uifjs!gbnjmjft/ because students are allowed to work it is the most popular country.” sion had had to postpone their trips
Although English-speaking destinations remain by far the most popular in the Colom-
bian market, demand has grown in recent years for French and German speaking coun- owing to the economic crisis. But in
tries. Xiomara Hernández at Infi nity Education www.infi nityeducation.net says, “The cost
HTE-!bo!#pqfo!up!uif!xpsme#!jotujuvujpo!xjui!46!zfbst!pg!fyqfsjfodf! of the education [in Germany] makes it more accessible than going to another country.” 2017 they were able to revive their
Jaime confi rms this trend. “Further and higher education in countries like France and
usbotgpsnjoh!uif!xpsme!uispvhi!fevdbujpo/! Germany are really cheap and with good quality,” he says. plans. “The economy is getting bet-
ter, [there are] more jobs and more
Gps!npsf!jogpsnbujpo!qmfbtf!dpoubdu-!xf!xpvme!cf!efmjhiufe!up!botxfs!boz!rvftujpot!
zpv!njhiu!ibwf!bu!hteAnbudiuifqfpqmf/dpn!z!,45!:28!972!458 37