Future Trends in the ELT Industry. Impact of Asian Markets on Language Travel in Malta

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: B, University of Malta, language: English, abstract: This study's main aim is to acquire reliable answers whether China, Japan and South Korea will be considered among the top markets in the coming years for the ELT industry in Malta. Outbound tourism increased in these countries (China in particular) and research will gather views from key people in English language schools and government bodies on what to expect in the coming years from the industry, vis-à-vis this growth. Presently, there are no studies on this matter. The set objectives will be achieved by analysing recent data on student arrivals in Malta from China, Japan and South Korea (hereafter collectively referred to as - Asian Markets), examining current issues with language travel across the globe, investigating how these issues should be dealt with, and finally deciphering which markets will be a priority for local English language schools in the coming years. The next chapter will look into the related literature, where an overview of language travel trends, destination marketing, and various models on education travel are explained and summarised. Chapter Three will then give a description of the research strategy, the rationale of sample selection, data analysis tools and research limitations. Chapter Four will deal with results and discussion emerging from the research, looking into the schools' future marketing plans and the views from government bodies and students. It will also give recommendations for stakeholders in this industry. In conclusion, Chapter Five will focus on the main results, knowledge contribution to the industry and will give recommendations for future research.