Keys to Promoting a Successful Student Trip
49952
Travel & Leisure
Oct 16, 2007
chiron99
Keys to Promoting a Successful Student Trip
Once you have decided to embark on a student travel experience a well-designed promotional program for parents and students is the key step in making it a reality. All too frequently a trip is cancelled due to lack of interest and low enrollment. Not only will a well-promoted trip increase participation and keep the cost low for everyone, it will also ensure you meet your projected participant counts. This article examines the key components to a successful promotional program. Plan, Plan, Plan: Much the same way that detailed lesson planning results in a quality learning experience, advance planning and attention to detail are not only keys to successful promotion, but can also ensure success in future years. Once you have a successful travel experience, the groundwork has been laid for it to become an annual tradition with enthusiastic support throughout the community. Although teachers have historically used posters, handouts and parent meetings to promote their trips, keeping excitement and interest high for an extended period of time requires additional strategies. I suggest creating visual aides such as classroom and/or hallway displays devoted to the destination, writing an article for the school newsletter, district newsletter and the school website, and sending frequent email announcements to parents and students. Communication: Students are generally enthusiastic about school travel, but we all know that their parents make the decisions. I strongly recommend that all of the trip information be mailed home. I also recommend you hold an informational meeting for parents to kick start the enrollment period and a final meeting just prior to departure. By giving parents every opportunity to become comfortable with the details of the trip and the focus on education and safety, you increase interest and participation. Established student tour providers like Travel Adventures have a Parent Guide that can be used at a parent meeting or sent home with other trip information. The trip details are equally important! Parents and students need written documentation to reinforce what gets said about the trip during class meetings. Important information such as participant eligibility guidelines and rules, fundraising guidelines, the itinerary, payment schedules, and dates for important meetings should all be written for distribution. In addition, health forms, travel insurance information, transportation details, birth certificates/visas (for international travel and border crossings), and participant registration information must be printed and distributed to students and parents. Parents expect their kids to return safely; they will participate when they know the school is taking precautions to ensure their safety. Student tour providers like Travel Adventures have prepared forms that can be photocopied for distribution. Allow Plenty of Lead Time: Students and parents need as much time as possible to plan for the trip. Scheduling your trip a minimum of 8-10 months in advance will not only allow for an extended enrollment period, but will spread out the payments and allow time for a fundraiser. In this day and age, it has become increasingly important to provide at least one major opportunity for students to earn money toward their own trip cost. I recommend getting your PTO or similar parents' group involved in fundraising to broaden the interest base. It's also a common practice for music and theater groups to put on a dinner show or special performance to help raise money for the trip. Promote to Include all Students: Many schools try to have nearly every student in the grade or classroom go on the trip; while others take only a target group like the band or chorus. Regardless of the group size, think of the trip as a class or whole group activity. When everyone is included there is greater interest and higher enrollment. Do Your Trip Right: As you plan your trip, be sure that you are getting the best value. Using the cheapest motorcoaches, hotels, and meals may appear to save you money, but you get what you pay for. Families understand value. Student tour providers like Travel Adventures focus on quality and price, providing the best value for your travel dollars. When deciding whether to include student travel in the curriculum, parents, teachers and administrators rate student safety as their number one concern. I recommend selecting a student tour provider that makes safety their top priority. Health and accident insurance, liability insurance, and safety features like name tags with a 24-hour emergency hotline and nighttime security at the hotel will ensure the safety of all trip participants. Finally, I recommend preparing a travel itinerary that mixes fun with learning. When young people are learning new information, they retain it best in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Including entertainment like a Broadway show, dinner theater, or a visit to an amusement park will help draw students into the learning experiences that are the focal part of the trip. As you can see, with the proper organization, planning, and communication, promoting your student trip will eliminate the risk of low enrollment and produce an educational travel experience that will be the highlight of the school year.
Travel Adventures is staffed by educators who understand the needs of teachers. We've been creating unique and educational student travel experiences since 1987. We provide hassle-free travel arrangements while empowering teachers to create change by expanding the classroom to the world. Our experienced team of travel professionals is dedicated to exceeding your student travel expectations. Visit Travel Adventures
send email to chiron99
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links owned by this user
Internal quality systems and external customer demands require metal forming companies to wash every component they stamp, cut, hydro-form, turn, shear, or otherwise produce in their facility. This washing process is essential for each company to turn out
Category:
Not only can cardio kickboxing pack a knockout punch for your fitness goals, but judging by the expressions on the faces of its participants, the activity is also a knee-slapping good time.
Category:
Palladium deserves a small chapter in the history of jewelry. Let's take a look at the history of this metal and its role in the world of jewelry. Of the platinum group of metals -- platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium and ruthenium -- palladium
Category:
Greektown, part of downtown Detroit, Michigan, has been a cultural retailing district for more than 140 years. The area began as a pioneer farm, evolved into a German area, and finally became a Greek dominated neighborhood. The neighborhood is still made
Category:
If you want to store some goods or send them to another destination then you may find cardboard boxes to be the best way to do it. In case you are wondering which kind of cardboard box to use here is a brief introduction to the types of cardboard...
Category:
Silver is a precious metal that has been used by humans since the dawn of civilization. In this first part of a two part series we will look at the early history of silver.
Category:
Promotional products are items used to promote a product, service or company program and they include advertising specialties, premiums, incentives, business gifts, awards, prizes, commemoratives and other imprinted or decorated items.
Category:
Humankind has long been fascinated by the beauty of gold and since the earliest days of civilization gold has been used to adorn us in the form of jewelry. Let's take a look at how gold jewelry has been used in the various parts of the world during the la
Category:
Many new trip sponsors take on the responsibility of planning a student excursion without the benefit of a mentor or any previous experience. Although the eventual travel experience can be highly successful there are many obstacles that could just as easi
Category:
Three of the major shippers in the USA are USPS (United States Postal Service), UPS and the global giant, DHL. These shippers play an important role in international business and shipping. Let's take a look at how they do they go about their work ...
Category:
Promotional items are goods given away without charge to the community in an attempt to advertise a business or boost sales or awareness of some particular merchandise or service.
Category:
Chlorinated paraffins are excellent stamping lubricants. They protect the tooling during deep draws and allow the formation of the part to take place without weakening the metal. The problem arises when these waxy lubricants need to be removed from the pa
Category:
Cellular manufacturing has gained widespread acceptance in the manufacturing industry. The concept of breaking the plant floor into smaller, more manageable sub units has offered production supervisors the opportunity to be more flexible in scheduling and
Category:
Gold is a pure metal first found by early man. It is very workable in its naturally occurring pure state and has been used by craftsmen for the past 11,000 years. Revered for millennia gold is now the material of choice of people across the globe as an ex
Category:
The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are popular tourist destinations that attract tens of thousands of visitors annually. They are located near Dearborn, Michigan, and are easily accessible by car, luxury sedan, or public transportation.
Category:
Many middle schools have an annual trip to Washington, D.C. where seventh and eighth graders focus on U.S. history connections to the social studies curriculum. Fifteen years of student travel experience have convinced me that these travel opportunities p
Category:
Students and teachers looking for a distinctive trip would be wise to put the Yucatan on their wish list, its unique combination of archeological, geological and natural biology translating into a rich educational experience, among them the Mayan pyramids
Category:
Once you have decided to embark on a student travel experience a well-designed promotional program for parents and students is the key step in making it a reality. All too frequently a trip is cancelled due to lack of interest and low enrollment. Not only
Category:
The precious metal of gold has fascinated humans for thousands of years. But how do we actually get it out of the ground? Let's take a look at the most common ways to mine gold. There are two main gold mining methods, one is called placer and the other is
Category:
A sexy pair of legs moseys its way down a soft, vacuumed carpet, around a bend, and through a long, narrow aisle. Suddenly, these shapely stems, which are encased in bright spandex, dissolve into a jungle of many others.
Category:
Other links at Travel & Leisure
Explore the capital, Tripoli, with its old walled city a picturesque African jumble of narrow alleyways leading to traditional mosques, houses and khans.
Category:
There are certain preparations that will have to be made before people travel by car. Some of these preparations will involve the automobile itself, and others will involve the travelers. If these preparations are not made, then travel by the car might no
Category:
Iceland is a friendly, clean and safe destination where most people speak good English.
Category:
Booking last minute airline flights is always a very stressful thing to do. Till the time you get the tickets, you will be worried whether they will be available, and how much extra money you will have to dole out because you did not make an advance booki
Category:
Not all cheap hotels have poor facilities. This article shows how you can pick one online.
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68252
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
