British ELT centres have see a drop of £590m in revenue since the start of the pandemic. To help them steer a path back to economic recovery, Europe Future Outlook: Europe as a source market for UK ELT in 2021 and beyond, was commissioned jointly by English UK and the British Council. The report was delivered by Bonard, an independent research provider.
The report found that 62% of UK ELT schools consider European-based learners their main source of students and, further, they expect this to continue, despite Brexit. Prior to the pandemic, Europe provided 60% of students and 38% of student weeks for UK ELT providers. Of the 100 study travel agents surveyed, 54% said the UK was the main destination for their ELT students, though 29% expected this to decline due to the cost of visas and health insurance going forward.
Further information to come out of the report suggested that, in the younger age groups, the proportion of 12 to 13-year old students was likely to become larger; the right to work for older students could increase their numbers by as much as 30%, but roughly half of those in the UK ELT industry, including agents, expect the number of European students heading to the country will continue to decline overall.
