Hosted “Japan Educational Tours Seminar” in Brisbane, Australia

In Australia, second language education is actively pursued, and there are estimated to be approximately 410,000 Japanese language learners in the country, mainly in primary and secondary education. In terms of the number of Japanese language learners in the world, Australia ranks fourth after China, Indonesia, and South Korea, but in terms of the number of learners per 100,000 people, one out of every 62 people is studying Japanese, which is the highest rate in the world*. This is one of the reasons why the Australian market is characterized by its active promotion of educational travel to Japan.

Event Details

• Event name: Japan Educational Tours Seminar
• Organizer: JNTO Sydney Office, Saizen Tours
• Date and time: Thursday, October 27, 2022
• Format: In-person (No online session)
• Local participant criteria: Teachers and school officials who are considering (or may consider) organizing educational tours to Japan

On October 27, JNTO Sydney Office, in collaboration with Saizen Tours (“Saizen”), a travel agency specializing in educational travel to Japan, hosted a seminar in Brisbane, inviting approximately 50 school teachers who are considering organizing an educational tour to Japan.

The seminar was attended by representatives from three Japanese local governments, an accommodation facility, and Jetstar, an airline operating flights between Japan and Australia. The representatives introduced highlights of their respective areas as well as their programs and services for educational travel. The participating teachers listened to the presentations with great interest, sharing their own experiences of visiting Japan and asking many questions about the implementation of educational travel, making for a lively atmosphere with much input from all.

According to Saizen, the co-organizer of the event, a large number of reservations for educational travel to Japan have already been received, and the number of applicants has doubled compared to pre-pandemic, indicating a significant recovery.

The participant questionnaire (44 responses) showed that 91% of the participants are considering an educational tour to Japan in 2023-2024, and 59% of them are planning to visit Japan during 2023. As for other items, as shown in the graph below, the most common frequency of educational travel abroad is once every two years. Of these, the most common length of stay in educational travel in Japan is 12-13 days, and the most common season is September. In addition to pop culture, school exchanges, shopping, and theme parks, the most popular experiences that participants expressed interest in were those where they can experience aspects related to the lifestyle and culture unique to Japan, such as homestays, opportunities to speak Japanese, and traditional crafts, ryokan (traditional Japanese inns), and cultural experiences.

Frequency of educational travel abroad

Length of educational travel in Japan

Season of educational travel to Japan

Experiences of interest(Multiple answers allowed)

Educational travel to Japan is highly anticipated as a valuable experience for children, and the market is expected to see return visits by families and individuals after visiting Japan on an educational tour, with travel agencies and airlines already receiving many inquiries and reservations from school officials.

JNTO Sydney Office will continue to host seminars on educational travel to Japan and will work with Japanese language educators in cooperation with The Japan Foundation, Sydney.

*Source: The Japan Foundation, SURVEY REPORT ON JAPANESE-LANGUAGE EDUCATION ABROAD