Where the becomes the world classroom
A letter from our General Manager
Dear Educators,
Year after year, I’ve been continually reminded to stop and appreciate where I am and what I’m experiencing. It’s helped me identify both details about myself and my surroundings. A tour with WorldStrides Canada is a fantastic way to utilize this practice. When you take your students’ learning beyond the classroom walls, they will not only discover new destinations but also broaden their horizons, expand their perspectives, and grow as individuals. While you watch them learn and take your lessons to new heights in incredible unfamiliar places, you’ll be sure to find life-changing moments of your own along the way.
We strive to make educational travel easy, fun, and safe for students and teachers alike. We go above and beyond in making safety our top priority with highly trained staff who are there for you 24/7 and are prepared to handle anything. By providing unmatched safety protocols, high-quality programs, and peace of mind for all our travellers, we ensure each day you’re on tour with us holds new opportunities to learn, grow, and invigorate.
Between all our lines of business, we have hundreds of destinations for you to choose from both domestically and internationally; from sports and performing arts trips to history tours, and more. Now with so many options and itineraries to customize, we help you find the perfect trip to meet your students’ goals and needs. No matter which destination you choose to visit, you’ll have the support of a tenured global network and over 55 years of experience behind you every step of your journey.
I hope this inspires you to consider what your students could benefit from most and that you find the perfect place to start. If not, feel free to reach out to our team. We’re happy to discuss the best ways you can create transformative memories for your students as they learn more about the world.
Cordially,
David Conklin General Manager, CPA, CA WorldStrides Canada
Life-changing moments
happen here
At WorldStrides Canada, we’re passionate about life-long learning and personal growth. We see each day as an opportunity to take learning beyond the classroom and help students discover new cultures while honing their critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving skills with every new adventure.
Our goal is to make educational travel possible for more students and make lifechanging moments come to life. We harness the power of experiential learning through travel experiences that are easy, fun, and safe for both students and teachers. Turning new possibilities into realities is what we strive for as we encourage students and teachers alike to see the world—and themselves—in new ways.
The experience is everything
QUALITY IN EVERY DETAIL
You’ll feel the quality in everything you and your students do: Where you stay. What you eat. How you get around. And—most importantly—how you interact with and experience your destination like the locals. Plus, you have options to customize, extend, or upgrade your experiences on many of our programs. We make it possible; you make it your own—ask us how!
• Hotels: Central locations so you have more time to see what you came for! With clean and secure rooms and private bathrooms, you’ll rest comfortably after each day’s adventures.
• Daily breakfast and dinner: Fuel up with hearty breakfasts and recoup from your epic days’ journeys with authentic dinners as you sample local cuisine and discover the best places for lunches and snacks along the way.
• Quick and easy transportation: All transportation between cities and itinerary activities is taken care of!
• Excursions and sightseeing: Let our guides, who know each place on your trip like the back of their hands, take the lead as you see, learn, do, and explore all that your newest destination has to offer. From little-known fun facts to hidden local gems, our experts will make your experience fun and memorable.
Unbeatable on-tour support
OUR PEOPLE MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Our team is a huge part of what makes us unique. We’re seasoned specialists and troubleshooters with years of experience in keeping programs on track. We’ve got the staff and partnerships to pivot on a dime and make any realtime program adjustments necessary, so you can feel confident and covered, throughout your trip. We’re by your side every step of the way to provide guidance and assistance.
Our Tour Directors turn information into inspiration
Our Tour Directors are experts in fun and are equipped with educational content and interactive games that keep your students engaged. Extensively trained and masters in logistics, they deal with all the details to ensure a stress-free trip!
Skilled leaders
From coordinating behind the scenes to getting you fully immersed in your new surroundings to effortlessly leading the pack to adventure, our Tour Directors raise the bar on our professional training.
Enthusiastic inspirers
They lead journeys off the beaten path and set the action-packed pace for each day while sharing new perspectives that help students get even more out of their experience.
Inclusive friends and coaches
They know that bringing students along with them instead of lecturing at them is the key to making things fun and memorable.
Proud locals who love to share
They’re all savvy natives and exceptionally knowledgeable about our destinations, making them the most qualified to give you exclusive details that only locals would know.
Innovators and creators
They share our philosophy; educational activities that are embedded in adventure culminate in a more enriching way to learn and grow.
Looking out for you 24/7
Our professional Tour Directors provide support for our travellers around the clock, accompanying them every step of the way from arrival to departure. Every WorldStrides Canada Tour Director is thoroughly trained in safety procedures and how to handle any situation that may arise.
Protection for every adventure is at the forefront Safety and security
We have taken all precautions to protect our travellers, and we have policies in place to protect the school, school board, teachers, and participants involved with our tours.
We proudly offer the following, included with every tour:
24/7 Emergency Support
Global Presence
Doctors on Call Program
For any problems that may occur, our dedicated WorldAssist Team is always ready to provide assistance.
With more than 70 offices around the world, you can rest assured that we’re always nearby and ready to help when needed.
Our exclusive relationship with The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates (GWMFA) provides 24/7 access to medical care for all travelling participants. Through telehealth consultation, medical professionals are available to evaluate healthrelated concerns and make recommendations for treatment. Telehealth consultation with a mental health professional is also available through our relationship with AXA Behavioural Health.
Exlog Global Partnership
An international risk management organization providing premium travel security and crisis response services.
OUR 55+ YEAR TRACK RECORD OF EXCEPTIONAL SAFETY
Our Health and Safety team works behind the scenes to make sure your students are able to squeeze every ounce of learning and excitement out of your trip without worrying. From safety briefings to adjusted itineraries and more, you can rest assured that we’ve thought of it all.
You’ll travel with confidence knowing that you’re backed by a global network of support, industry-leading innovation, and more than half a century of experience keeping travellers safe. We continue to review, revise, and implement procedures to keep our travellers’ safety at the heart of our quality service, no matter where in the world their learning takes them.
We’ve got you covered
For even more peace of mind, we offer the option to include a travel protection plan for unexpected circumstances that may arise. Without adequate protection, you could lose your travel investment. With insurance, students can travel stress-free with enhanced protection.
Travel Guard
Our domestic line of business, Brightspark, offers the opportunity to protect you and your students’ financial investment with Travel Guard. This plan includes full reimbursement in the case of a cancellation due to a school board ruling or other covered cancellation prior to departure; partial reimbursement for trip interruption; complete medical coverage while away; and lost, stolen, or damaged baggage.*
Liability
WorldStrides Canada has an exceptional safety record, but in the unlikely event of injuries or damages, we have industry-leading liability insurance that protects third parties such as the school and school board. For additional information on our liability insurance, or to receive proof of coverage, please contact your Tour Consultant or call 1-888-378-8845.
Travel Protection Plan Plus
WorldStrides Canada’s Travel Protection Plan Plus covers school board cancellations and common mishaps like misplaced tickets or passports, lost luggage, sickness or injury during the tour, and more. Along with providing a range of insured benefits from TuGo, the Travel Protection Plan Plus also includes the WorldStrides exclusive Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) Waiver benefit. This CFAR Waiver allows you to cancel your trip for any reason not otherwise covered by your insurance policy.**
*The policy does have terms and conditions. For more information, please visit brightsparktravel.ca/travelers/registration
Academic credit
amid the adventure
We’re dedicated to ensuring that our participants make realworld connections that enrich their academic pursuits. Just as we believe education should extend beyond the boundaries of a classroom, we believe that learning can push beyond unforgettable travel experiences. That’s why we give Ontario-based travellers the opportunity to earn credits online toward their Ontario Secondary School Diplomas as they explore new subjects, dive deeper into their interests, and broaden their knowledge—all free of charge.
Learn more about our Ministryinspected private school at worldstrides.ca/educational-credit.
your partners in planning Our team,
Our team of industry experts work diligently to ensure students travel safely and seamlessly with unforgettable itineraries. Committed to helping teachers, and students through each step of the travel process, we make life-changing journeys possible.
UNMATCHED PERSONALIZED SUPPORT
Our customer care begins the minute you raise your hand to learn more about student travel and continues throughout the process. With our proven process, we’ve got the perfect trip curation down to a science and we’re committed to helping you at every stage. Here’s how it works:
1. Pick your program: Your Tour Consultant helps you choose or build your perfect program for your students’ needs.
2. Prepare for the journey: Your Account Manager provides posters to help you get the word out about your trip and a dedicated web page for your tour for easy online enrolment. Parent information presentations are also provided to help get your students’ families up to speed on all the details. We also get you plugged into a library of teacher resources to help you connect your travels to your course material as you get ready for the trip ahead.
3. Connect with fellow teachers: You’ll get access to a network of other seasoned Program Leaders whose been-there and done-that experience will give you fieldtested tips and advice before you embark on your journey.
4. Get out there and explore: Your Tour Director(s) will meet and guide your group to your destination while taking care of logistics.
No matter where your next epic quest for learning leads, our team is equipped, experienced, and enthusiastic about taking care of your needs from start to finish.
just got easier Fun(d)raising
FUNDRAISING, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND GRANTS
We work to make the intersection of travel and education an opportunity that is available and accessible to all students with fundraising support, scholarships, grants, and more.
A fundraiser for your class is a great way to help students pay for a portion of their tour. We help you kickstart fundraising initiatives with useful resources like a fundraising webinar, led by our experienced Teacher-to-Teacher mentors, and our comprehensive fundraising guide, brimming with resources and strategies to help educators and tour participants reach their fundraising goals. This guide equips you with everything you need to plan your campaign, choose the right fundraising methods, and maximize your online presence. Get your copy by speaking to your Tour Consultant.
For some of our programs, we provide each student their own fundraising web page to help them raise money for their travels. With the ability to efficiently spread the word and share excitement for their upcoming journey, students can easily raise significant funds for their tour using their favourite social channels.
Additional scholarships and grants are offered throughout the year. Talk to your Tour Consultant for more details.
Discover the possibilities
WorldStrides Canada brings learning to life through many incredible educational travel programs that offer students a new perspective on their school lessons, the world, and themselves. From international concert tours across the globe and sports tours that unite players from all over, to paying tribute to the past with commemorative history tours, there’s something for everyone.
Learn more about WorldStrides and how we make life-changing moments possible with each of our programs at worldstrides.ca
North American Tours
Explore Canada and the U.S. with Brightspark—our hands-on North American coach and flight travel programs. Ignite a passion for travel in your students while making important connections to your curriculum. Spark inspiration with each new discovery, like a behind-the-scenes look at the historic nation’s capital and the Canadian parliamentary system in Ottawa, or the empire state of mind and the bustling culture of New York City.
By engaging with new environments, people, local cuisine, different cultures and perspectives, students learn through adventure while making life-long memories with their classmates. Leaving their comfort zones and broadening their minds happens when students are introduced to unfamiliar destinations. Brightspark offers the option to experience many of those awe-inspiring places right here in North America.
Scan the QR code or go to brightsparktravel.ca to learn more about our North American tours with Brightspark.
International Tours
Take your exploration even further with Explorica and give students the opportunity to travel internationally to actively engage with history, cultures, and languages that they’ve studied in the classroom, right in the very places all the action happened. From cultural immersion and language tours that put your students’ studies in perspective to adventure trips and STEM-focused excursions, there’s something for everyone!
Explorica’s unforgettable tours incite curiosity and personal growth while helping students gain a fresh outlook on how the subjects they’re learning connect to the real world. Each life-changing experience empowers travellers to reach a new sense of confidence, build a deeper understanding of other cultures, and make new friendships that will last a lifetime.
Scan the QR code or go to explorica.ca to learn more about our international tours with Explorica.
Camps International Tours
WorldStrides is proud to partner with Camps International to foster ethical learning journeys that deliver real and lasting impact to the global community. With Camps International volunteer trips, we strive to create positive change in the world while committing to responsible tourism throughout our operations. By taking action on the ground level, we not only enrich communities, but we provide fulfilling travel experiences to students volunteering in underserved places. These programs are run and staffed by locals to support rural and indigenous communities in improving their living standards:
• Accessing education, training, and healthcare
• Securing fresh, clean water and shelter for those in need
• Conserving, protecting, and enhancing fragile or critically endangered ecosystems to benefit local wildlife
Students who participate, engage in hands-on service and learn tangible leadership skills while discovering authentic cultural experiences and learning about sustainable development and responsible environmental stewardship.
To learn more about Camps International, scan the QR code above or get in touch with your Tour Consultant.
Sports Tours
WorldStrides believes in helping student athletes understand their games and themselves in new ways through the power of travel. From a friendly game of soccer to a fierce hockey tournament, athletes of all ages create bonds with their teammates, gain a greater appreciation for other players from around the world, and walk away inspired to take their skills to the next level. Sports unites communities and has the unique ability to bring people from all walks of life together toward a common goal. With each sports program, we seek to foster that drive we all share—to win, to learn, or better yet, both.
Visit worldstrides.ca/sports-programs to learn more about taking your team to the next level on a sports program.
Performing Arts Tours
WorldStrides Performing Arts takes great pride in bringing student performers to some of the world’s most incredible places and encouraging their love for the arts through immersive experiences. From taking the stage themselves in iconic destinations to attending festivals, workshops, and competing with other talented performers from around the world, we work with you to put together the perfect tour for your ensemble. Thousands of choir, band, and orchestra groups take another step toward their fullest potential with us each year. Let us put your passionate student performers in the spotlight and bring their dreams of travel and performance abroad to life.
Visit worldstrides.ca/performing-arts-programs to learn more about how put your ensemble in the spotlight on their biggest stage yet—the world—with one of our performing arts programs.
We’re committed to living our values
WALKING THE WALK: SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
WorldStrides is committed to serving communities, bringing worldly perspectives, and demonstrating tangible ways to participate in global citizenship to more students. We do that by making educational travel more accessible and centering our initiatives on social, environmental, and ethical responsibility, thereby setting an example for the next generation of change-makers. By investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability, we act on our mission not only within our programs, but within our organization.
With our incredible partners and passionate team members, we exemplify our values by bringing awareness and change to some of the most critical global issues. We hope to foster sustainable thinking for a brighter future, smaller carbon footprint, and a bigger influence on our travellers to live out these values in big ways.
Carbon offsetting with Choose Earth
We’ve partnered with Carbonzero—a Canadian supplier of greenhouse gas measurement and carbon offsetting solutions—to provide our participants with carbon-neutral travel experiences. The travel portion of all our motorcoach programs are carbon neutral. You can elect to offset the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by your trip through WorldStrides’ Choose Earth program. By investing in clean energy projects on behalf of our travellers with the purchase of high-quality carbon offsets from Carbonzero, we are able to mitigate our carbon footprint and align with our mission to reduce global carbon emissions.
Sustainability starts with education about the impact of our actions, continues with our commitment to minimizing the effects of our carbon emissions, and lives on with our travellers who opt into Choose Earth.
Visit worldstrides.ca/carbonoffset to learn more about the impact we’ve made thus far, pricing, our current and completed projects, and more.
Fill it Forward
We utilize Fill it Forward to encourage waste reduction practices in our offices and on our programs. By scanning our WorldStrides Fill it Forward sticker on your reusable water bottle with every refill, you’re contributing to the completion of a charitable project.
Visit fillitforward.com to learn more.
Travel is for everyone
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
We are committed to the personal development that happens when people who have different perspectives interact with one another. We believe in extending the opportunity to learn through engaging others of all races, ethnicities, creeds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and physical and mental abilities. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have a throughline in everything we do from diverse hiring practices and policies to inclusive itinerary activities, and more.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
In line with WorldStrides Canada’s mission to make experiential travel possible for as many young people as possible, we create inclusive opportunities for individuals to participate in our programs.
From our workplace to our program locations, we create inclusive spaces that promote and value diversity. One of the biggest ways we show our support and continually foster a community of equity is through our Financial Assistance Program, to which we contribute annually to create more inclusive, accessible opportunities.
Elementary and secondary school students are eligible to receive financial assistance through the WorldStrides Canada Financial Assistance Program. Candidates for financial assistance may experience family financial hardships that prevent them from joining their classmates on tour, identify as a member of an underrepresented group (Black/African, Hispanic/ Latinx, Asian, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQIA+), or have a disability. Funds are awarded based on eligibility on a first-come, first-served basis.
To learn more about our mission and initiatives to put these plans into practice, scan the QR code or visit worldstrides.ca/ corporate-social-responsibility
Ready for
START YOUR JOURNEY
Your next big adventure awaits. Get in touch with us to start planning an incredible trip for you and your students. We’ll take care of everything you need to go from exciting ideas to life-changing moments. Scan the QR code, or give us a call at 1-888-378-8845
STAY IN THE LOOP
Keep up with us on social media for inspiration and resources for your adventures ahead! Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/WorldStridesCA and on Instagram at instagram.com/worldstridesca
“WorldStrides offers an excellent way for youth to travel and see other parts of the world. The guides are wonderful and they keep students engaged and busy. The company keeps everyone well informed and is available to answer all questions and provide extra help when needed.
Sharon S, Program Leader
“
Not only does travel get my students to love learning, it also builds their confidence. The whole experience really stays with them. My older students come back to me, from 3 years ago, 5 years ago, and still thank me for our trip. They still love talking about what they saw, what it was like, and what they learned!
Sue, 8th grade teacher
“
While I was managing FC Edmonton in the North American Soccer League, we travelled with WorldStrides Sports on two pre-season trips. WorldStrides Sports was extremely professional and handled all aspects of our trip. I honestly recommend touring with WorldStrides.
Colin Miller, Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame Member and Former Canadian National Team Coach
Wherever your wanderlust calls you, we can’t wait to take you there!