According to Study Travel Magazine published by Hot House Media:
“There were some encouraging growth figures recorded by South Africa’s ELT industry in 2011 3
and future forecasts for 2012 look good.”
The article then goes on to explain itself and quote Directors of schools in the ELT industry.
“It was well documented that those working in the English language teaching industry in South Africa were disappointed with mediocre impact the football World Cup had on business in 2010 (see LTM, March 2011, page 53), and some were still lamenting its effects in 2011. “We really thought it would generate a lot more income in 2011,” says Chris Roberts at EC Cape Town. And he surmises that the dip in the world economy and the high cost of air travel during the footballing event may have deterred price-sensitive students from travelling to the country for study purposes in 2011.
According to the latest Global Market Report the average cost of tuition per month in South Africa was US$628, compared with US$1,674 in the UK (see STM, December 2011, page 24), making it the most competitively priced ELT destination. This, says Cooper, has not gone unnoticed by student clients. “A Russian couple, who recently joined our school, said they’d done Internet research on the cost of language schools in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and selected South Africa as the most cost-effective.”
Johannes Kraus, Director at Kurus English in Cape Town, observes that while the high cost of living in the aftermath of the World Cup had a negative impact on student intake, he is confident of the international event’s more long-term effects. “I still see a lot of potential for South Africa in the upcoming years. The World Cup hasn’t unfolded its full marketing potential yet. I believe this huge marketing effect is still to come in 2013 and 2014,” he observes.
While Wits Language School is planning to develop additional courses in English for academic purposes and Medical English, EF is looking to attract a slightly older demographic, namely those over the age of 25, by offering more exam or business type programmes, explains the school’s Anka Stenten. Kurus English is also making a play for the older language learner. “We launched a special 50 plus course to address this more and more popular age group,” enthuses Kraus. ”
Read the full article at Hot House Media: http://www.hothousemedia.com/ltm/ltmbackissues/feb12web/feb12marketanalysis.htm
