Special Report: School travel reborn

Images supplied by School Travel Collective courtesy of Tour Time

School travel reborn

By Heather Barker Vermeer

Industry Reporter As Aotearoa New Zealand passed the second anniversary of its international border closure in March, light appeared on the horizon for school travel tours.

The reopening of international borders this term brings back the opportunity for school trips beyond our boundary, after a two-year hiatus that saw thousands of dollars lost to COVID-related cancellations.

Families and schools left drastically out of pocket after hefty down payments were lost, resulting in more than 350 Commerce Commission complaints over COVID-related travel cancellations and national media highlighting the plights of some seriously peeved parents and schools. Students at Epsom Girls’ Grammar in Auckland, for example, stumped up $3500 each for a planned school trip deposit to Europe, which was to cost around $10,000 per student. When it was cancelled, due to COVID, families received back only 15 percent of monies paid, prompting a New Zealand Herald investigation and further media coverage. Schools across the country, from Auckland to Invercargill, were negatively impacted by lack of refunds and the issuing of credits instead of cash, which was of no use to Year 13 students, for example. In an attempt to mitigate financial risk to schools and families in the future, competing school tour operators have banded together to herald ‘a new dawn for school travel’, with a pledge to restore confidence in the industry and minimise potential loss. Based on a not-for-profit model, and following a similar UK lead, the School Travel Collective Inc (STC) is on a mission to provide greater safeguards and peace of mind by seeking to address two main questions asked by parents ask when contemplating sending their child on a school trip: Is my child going to be safe? Is my money going to be safe? It is the brainchild of Kiwis, Brent Imrie (Tour Time), Stephen Gillingham (Defining Moments) and Steve Lee (Travel to Learn); all competitors in the school travel tour market, who chose to come together for the common cause of building back a better school travel sector in NZ.

Since its inception, more members – Ashleigh Hamilton (EdventureTours Travel) and Michael Service (Educational Journeys) – have come on board. Each must commit to Qualmark and Worksafe NZ approval and, crucially, the Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) financial bonding scheme.

They are also required to be IATA accredited.

“STC members do not and will not hold clients’ funds as future travel credits,” says Orewa-based travel agent Imrie. “We do not engage in or endorse the practice of holding clients’ funds in the form of travel credit. The only unavoidable credits are those held by a supplier, such as an airline or hotel that does not issue refunds.

“All our members ensure that deposits and payments are put towards the outgoings for that specific tour and not used for operational costs or put towards other tours. That is how so many people lost so much money due to pandemicrelated cancellations; some tour operators who were not TAANZ financially bonded had already spent this money elsewhere. When it came to cancellations, the money had already been spent elsewhere, so could not be refunded. We want to see an end to that practice.”

TAANZ-bonded travel companies are required to ensure client funds are kept separate from working capital and must submit their financial statements for scrutiny by the TAANZ Bonding Authority every six months, as well as providing a cash deposit, or security, in the form of a bond. This good practice ensured St. Peter’s College in Auckland received the majority of its funds back from a STC member company after the school’s planned Classics Tour of Greece and Italy was cancelled due to COVID in 2020.

Teacher-In-Charge of Classics at the integrated boys’ school, Cameron Sitters cannot overstate the gratitude felt by parents, who had already stumped up $3000 per child and were fundraising for the inclusive trip that was scheduled to take a diverse range of students on the once-in-a-lifetime experience. “It’s a huge success story,” said Cam. “We had 34 boys and four staff who had already paid a $500 deposit and three instalments of $1000 each. The STC agent managed to retrieve the vast majority of funds for us, despite this money having rightly been paid to overseas accommodation and transport suppliers. To get back what we did was phenomenal really. I know other schools haven’t had such a positive experience.” STC assisted the Ministry of Education in reframing its Education Outside the Classroom guidelines for postpandemic travel and reminds schools of their needs to follow MoE guidelines. These follow that schools choosing nonfinancially bonded operators must receive approval from each family involved in the tour. “This is a fact that many schools are not aware of or can simply overlook,” said founding STC member, Brent Imrie.

Minister for Tourism, Stuart Nash welcomed the move to better safeguard the school travel sector. He told School News, “I understand that schools’ planning is extensive as it should be when safeguarding the safety and learning of young Kiwis and the financial contributions of their whanau.

“Innovation and first-rate customer service are essential parts of our tourism industry. It is always interesting to hear about new ideas, such as the School Travel Collective, that aim to provide new or better offerings. I will follow the Collective’s progress with interest.” Mr Nash reminded schools of Ministry of Education’s advice when it comes to school travel.

“The Ministry of Education encourages schools to check whether the travel agent is bonded and to consider what level of insurance to choose. Ultimately, it is up to schools and their communities to make decisions about how to plan their school trips.”

Whangarei-based STC member Stephen Gillingham is mindful of the knock the industry has taken and suggests a ‘new normal’ for this new era of school travel. He said: “Our whole industry has had a bit of a shake-up. The days of choosing a company without doing thorough research need to be over. There needs to be more financial rigour involved. “Schools are responsible to their parent communities and their decision making needs to stand up to scrutiny because it’s the parents who carry the greater risk and stand to lose the most.”

Mr Nash shares the collective (and the Collective) feeling around the new dawn of travel possibilities for schools. “I am heartened to hear that schools and their communities are once again thinking about trips abroad. Travel, both domestic and international, is a wonderful learning experience and an exciting opportunity for young Kiwis.” Gillingham added, “Now that we are restarting international travel, it’s a good time to make sure everyone understands the fundamentals and to make sure we move ahead with more confidence, redefining school travel in a post-pandemic world.”