Holy Dollar
A cheap dollar and full employment have greatly boosted sales of student exchange travel packages, mainly to the U.S. and to Canada. In February, the Student Travel Bureau had already sold all the planned volume for the season, says CEO Santuza Bicalho.

The appreciation of the Real against the Dollar and a healthy labor market boost international travel package sales. 

Exchange programs for teenagers soar up to 76%.
Adriana Meyge
from Sao Paulo

A cheap dollar and a dynamic labor market. The scenario is encouraging for Brazilian interchange companies. Interchanges have increased by around 40% in the first term of 2011 when compared to the one of 2010. Children and teens participate more in holidays programs in July and boosted the sector's revenues in that period. Sales of "teen" travel packages increased up to 76% proportionally.

Package prices range from R$ 5,500 to R$ 9,000 and the main destinations are the United States, Britain and Canada. In 2010, the Student Travel Bureau (STB) charged R$ 9,800 for a three-week trip to Malibu (U.S.), including one and a half days in Disney parks. This year, the same package costs R$ 8,600 - a 13% decrease.

"Parents are too busy with Brazil's growth," says Santuza Bicalho, CEO at STB. According to the executive, this is another important factor that led to the 75% increase in sales of programs aimed at a public between 12 and 17 which combine both language training and traveling during the holidays. In February, the company had sold all the planned volume for the season and had to negotiate with the airlines to obtain more seats.

While the average time children under 18 spend in international exchanges has remained equal - around six months -, the time adults spend traveling has decreased from six to four weeks from the second half of 2010. "Courses got shorter when Brazil began to 'take off' because adults need to get back to work," says Santuza. Since the parents don't have time to travel with the family, they send their children to exchanges at an increasingly younger age.

"In the past, our main concern was 'one trip clients', but today we expect them to do up to five trips," says Celso Garcia, director of CI. He believes that there is a shift in culture: "Exchanges are in fashion." It's become common for people to go on holiday programs as a child and continue to pack over the years, investing in language courses, academic studies, internships and work abroad.

Sales in the "teen" group, which covers an age range from 8 to 17 at CI, have increased 40% in the first term. "Today, exchange programs are part of the planning of any urban middle class family," says Garcia.

According to the Brazilian Educational & Language Travel Association (BELTA), this market segment has grown around 20% per year. "Today, exchanges are affordable. There is a variety of programs and destinations, as well as greater access to information," says Maura Leão, president of the organization.

"The decline of the dollar was this year's decisive growth factor," says Silvia Bizatto, director of Education First (EF) in Brazil. In the first term, the 35% sales increase over the same period in 2010 was also driven by a teen program starting at age 13, which increased 76%.

The "young professionals" segment was the second one that grew above average in the first term. It's aimed at young people between 25 and 30. EF Brasil registered a 59% increase and STB went up 50%. Young adults spend their holidays abroad and learn foreign languages, as well as other subjects of interest, such as photography, cinema and cuisine.

According to Santuza, this group already has its space on the market; this year's euphoria is not expected to repeat in the coming years. "I don't think this sector will grow that much next year, unless the class C gets access to exchange programs." On the other hand, teens are expected to keep exploring the world and increase the time they spend abroad.

Although they are not part of the fastest growing categories, language course exchange programs, especially those aimed at English, are still the flagship of the agencies. "Brazil lacks professionals who speak English and to master that language is a need," say Maura from Belta.