On August 10, 2023, the Chinese government announced that it would lift a ban on outbound group tours to 78 countries and regions, including the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and most European countries, expanding the scope from 60 to 138 countries and regions. This will be China's third list of countries to receive approvals. The first batch approved in January included 20 countries such as Thailand, Russia, Cuba and Argentina. The second batch in March included 40 countries, among them Nepal, France, Portugal and Brazil.

What this means for the UK sector

The announcement is expected to have a positive impact on the U.K.'s English Language Teaching (ELT) sector by allowing short-term English language groups to return to the U.K.

China has historically been a significant market for short-term English language groups in the U.K. Many Chinese students studying English on short-term courses in the U.K. arrived as part of a tour group, notably on school-organised summer excursions. However, the outbound group travel ban, imposed in 2020 due to COVID, has prevented these groups of students from coming to the U.K. even though individual travel has been allowed.

As such, while the UK’s ELT sector saw a rebound in students from many countries in East Asia in 2022, the number of students from China bucked the trend and recorded a large decline instead. The recent reinstatement of group travel from China will significantly contribute to the recovery of the U.K. ELT sector, and many English language schools can anticipate receiving their first groups of Chinese students in the summer of 2024.

Sources:

https://www.englishuk.com/uploads/assets/intelligence/2023/English_UK_Student_Statistics_Report_2023_Exec_Summary.pdf

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202308/1296026.shtml

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-adds-more-destination-countries-outbound-group-tourism-2023-08-10/