Project Overview
The client commissioned 2Europe to deliver a comprehensive European market study to support the development of South Korea as a destination for educational tourism. While South Korea benefits from strong cultural visibility and growing global interest, its position within European educational travel portfolios remained fragmented, underdeveloped, and uneven across markets.
The objective of the project was to generate robust, evidence-based insight into how educational tourism operates across key European countries, identify where South Korea holds competitive potential, and define clear strategic pathways for market prioritisation, positioning, and partner engagement.
2Europe was tasked with delivering an end-to-end research programme spanning market analysis, competitive mapping, audience segmentation, and strategic recommendations, enabling the client to make informed, confident decisions about future investment and market activation in Europe.
Project Objectives
The overarching aim of the research was to evaluate the attractiveness, feasibility, and strategic fit of South Korea within Europe’s educational tourism ecosystem. Key objectives included:
- Assessing the size, structure, and growth dynamics of educational tourism across priority European markets
- Understanding how South Korea is currently positioned and promoted within educational travel portfolios
- Identifying priority countries, audiences, and programme types with the highest potential for growth
- Mapping competitive intensity, key intermediaries, influencers, and potential partners
- Developing a clear strategic framework to support the client’s medium- and long-term European education tourism strategy
Methodology
2Europe designed and executed a multi-layered research programme, combining macro-level market analysis with detailed competitive and portfolio-level evaluation across four European markets: Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
1. Market and Context Analysis
2Europe analysed economic, demographic, cultural, and regulatory conditions to assess outbound educational travel potential by country. This provided essential context for understanding affordability, travel propensity, and structural barriers to entry.
2. Educational Tourism & Volunteering Landscape
The study evaluated the size, growth trends, and structure of educational tourism, including language learning, cultural immersion, academic mobility, gap years, and volunteering. Particular attention was paid to identifying which formats drive demand and which act as secondary or supporting motivations.
3. Competitive & Portfolio Analysis
2Europe conducted an in-depth audit of educational travel providers in each market, analysing:
- End-user focus (schools, universities, adults, gap year travellers)
- Trip focus (language, culture, volunteering, academic programmes)
- Inclusion and visibility of South Korea within existing portfolios
- Destination concentration (e.g. Seoul vs regional dispersion)
This enabled a clear assessment of where South Korea is over- or under-represented relative to competitor destinations.
4. Partner & Influencer Mapping
Key educational travel operators, institutions, and influencers were identified and scored by market, highlighting the most credible and strategically aligned partners for the client.
5. Strategic Framework & Recommendations
Insights were synthesised into a practical, decision-oriented strategy covering market prioritisation, audience focus, positioning, route to market, and execution principles.
Outcomes
The project delivered the client a clear, evidence-backed roadmap for developing South Korea’s educational tourism proposition in Europe. Key outcomes included:
- A transparent prioritisation of target markets and audiences
- A detailed understanding of competitive gaps and underexploited opportunities
- Identification of high-potential partner organisations in each market
- A structured positioning framework aligning culture, education, and modern innovation
- A scalable operating model for pilot launches and future growth
Benefits to the Client
2Europe’s research provided the client with both strategic clarity and operational confidence, enabling the organisation to move beyond intuition-led planning toward data-driven decision-making.
- Reduced market entry risk through evidence-based prioritisation
- Stronger partner strategy grounded in competitive and portfolio analysis
- Clear positioning guidance tailored to European decision-making styles
- Actionable insights that translate directly into programme design and market activation
- Long-term strategic value, establishing a foundation for future tracking and optimisation
Conclusion
This project demonstrates how 2Europe supports national tourism organisations in navigating complex, competitive international markets. Through rigorous analysis, structured methodology, and close collaboration, 2Europe enabled the client to understand not only where South Korea fits within European educational tourism, but how it can compete, differentiate, and grow sustainably.
By turning complex market dynamics into clear strategic direction, 2Europe helped the client lay the groundwork for South Korea’s evolution from a niche educational destination into a credible, premium learning destination for European audiences.
