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Summary of our market study
The French language travel market is valued at 300 million euros.
Although the global language travel market was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with an estimated 80% decline.
English is the main language of interest, fuelling a market largely dominated by the UK, USA, Canada and emerging destinations such as Malta.
The French market generated sales of 300 million euros, mainly in the 10-25 age bracket.
The market remains highly fragmented.
Three-quarters of the market is focused on improving English language skills. Between 300,000 and 350,000 young people take part in language courses, 10-30% of whom are over 30.
These language stays often last from two to four weeks.
Around 80% of professional participants have their language stay financed by their company.
Local authorities and associations also step in to facilitate these educational trips for students, depending on family income.
The trend is increasingly towards last-minute online bookings, which account for between 30% and 40% of total bookings.
Organizations such as the Office national de garantie des séjours et stages linguistiques (ONGSSL) and the Union nationale des organismes de séjours éducatifs et linguistiques et des écoles de langues (UNOSEL) play an essential role in ensuring compliance with strict quality standards.
Market players
- The Go and Live group owns the NACEL and CLC brands.
- Nacel has been around for 50years
- ESL - Séjours linguistiques
- Education First (EF)
- Cap Monde
- PEEP: An association governed by the French law of 1901, PEEP (Association des parents d'élèves) is committed to language learning
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market definition and presentation
Language stays are stays of varying duration undertaken by young people and adults in a foreign country, to learn or improve their language skills.
This market is growing in step with globalization and the need to speak several languages, particularly in the professional world. Language travel offers a fun alternative to language learning, whether you choose to spend a week or a year in a foreign language school, in total immersion with your family, or as part of a vacation camp with daily language lessons.
The global market is dynamic, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% between 2023 and 2032. This significant growth illustrates the high demand for multilingual skills. English is the most widely-learned language in the world, and the top destination for learning it is the UK .
In France, the main players in the market have traditionally been language travel agencies, associations and specialized organizations that own their own language schools. The market is highly fragmented, with a large number of players, but some are larger, such as Go & Live andUNOSEL.
Over the past few years, the offers and formulas on offer have evolved, as have the target audiences. The range of countries on offer has expanded, even if a command of English remains the primary motivation for this type of stay.
The coronavirus crisis in 2020 had a major impact on this market, which, with travel restrictions, fell by around 80% compared to 2019. Nevertheless, during this catastrophic year from an economic point of view, many French people have registered on online platforms and apps to learn languages. This testifies to a growing interest in language learning, and especially English, among the population, making the language travel market all the more promising in the aftermath of the crisis.
1.2 The global market
The size of the global language learning market has been estimated at $** billion in ****, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of **% between **** and ****. The language learning market includes companies offering language courses, language stays and online learning platforms (***).
Evolution of the global language learning market World, ****-****, in billions ...
1.3 A domestic market that has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels
Trend in the number of French participants in language stays France, ****-****, in number of participants Source: ****
The evolution of the number of French participants in language holidays from **** to **** shows a trend strongly influenced by the COVID-** pandemic.
In ****, the sector showed robust participation, with **,*** people going on language stays. ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 The French and learning English
The situation of the French in relation to English France, ****, %, French Source: ****
In ****, the situation of the French in relation to English reveals a varied linguistic landscape, with the vast majority having a partial command of the language.
Only **% claim to understand and speak English fluently, while **% claim to understand it ...
2.2 Experience in language stays for children and teenagers
Breakdown of children/adolescents taking language holidays by age France, ****, % (***) Source: ****
In ****, the breakdown of French children and teenagers having taken part in language stays shows a clear progression with age.
Language stays are very infrequent among the youngest children, with only *% of *-* year -olds having taken part. This proportion ...
2.3 Language stays also popular with adults
Language holidays for **-** year olds :
Breakdown of language holiday participants in the **-** age group France, ****, % (***) Source: ****
In ****, the breakdown of French language-stay participants in the **-** age bracket reveals a predominance of **-year-olds, representing **% of participants. Nineteen-year-olds make up **% of the total, while the **-** age group is the ...
2.4 The importance of languages in the professional world
As we saw in the previous section, in some cases, the person behind the language stay was the employer. It is therefore interesting to study what companies expect from their employees in terms of language skills and training.
Training courses most frequently offered by companies France, ****, % of total Source: Language Training ...
2.5 Language holidays to learn French
In addition to language stays to learn foreign languages such as English, Spanish or German, there is also a demand for stays to learn French. Indeed, France is a preferred destination for students and professionals from all over the world wishing to master the language of Molière.
These stays offer ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A highly fragmented market dominated by traditional players
lthough the French market is highly fragmented, with many different players offering a wide variety of products and services, it is dominated by a handful of major players who have been offering language travel for over ** years. These giants include Nacel, ESL, Education First (***), Cap Monde and the Go and Live ...
3.2 A market challenged by the development of online language learning
The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies has profoundly transformed the language learning sector, calling into question traditional methods such as language stays. online learning platforms have proliferated, offering flexible and often more cost-effective solutions for learners of all levels. These platforms, such as Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone and many ...
3.3 Covid has had a major impact on language stays
The COVID-** pandemic has had a significant and multi-faceted impact on the language travel market, causing major disruption and potentially transforming the industry.
From the very first months of the pandemic, numerous travel restrictions were put in place worldwide to limit the spread of the virus. These restrictions have led to ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 A wide range of language stays
When it comes to language stays, the diversity of our offerings is a major feature that testifies to the flexibility and adaptability of the market. Indeed, agencies offer a multitude of options to meet the varied needs and preferences of learners.
The diversity of offers is evident on several levels, particularly ...
4.2 English language training ... in France
When it comes to language stays, the option of immersion in English without leaving France presents itself as an interesting and innovative alternative. Among the offers available, the concept of English language camps, such asAmerican Village, stands out for its unique approach. Created by Nacel ** years ago, these ***% English-language summer camps ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Language stays for minors, "specific stays"
Specific stays
Specific stays, defined by article R.***-* of the French Social Action and Family Code, are stays with accommodation for at least seven minors aged six or over. These stays are organized by legal entities whose main objective is the development of specific activities.
General conditions :
To organize a ...
5.2 Requesting individual training leave, an employee right
Congé Individuel de Formation (***) in France is a right granted to employees, enabling them to take time off work to undertake long-term training, often to acquire a new qualification, develop professionally, or retrain. This leave, which cannot be refused if properly requested, is particularly advantageous for prolonged language stays and mastering ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
*The NF Service mark, obtained through a voluntary process with Afnor, guarantees not only compliance with current standards, but also additional quality criteria tailored to the needs of young people and their families. These criteria cover educational aspects, accommodation, and supervision of school and complementary activities. Afnor conducts annual audits of ...
- CLC (Go & Live Groupe)
- Verdié Voyage
- Nacel
- EF International
- Unosel
- ESL (Kaplan International)
- StudyGlobal
- Langues Vivantes
- Action Séjours
- Cap Monde
- EF Education First
List of charts presented in this market study
- Trends in the global language learning market
- Breakdown of the English language learning market by destination country
- The situation of the French in relation to English
- Breakdown of French people who spent several months in an Anglo-Saxon country
- The importance of learning foreign languages at school (primary, junior high, high school)
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Latest news
Language schools: organizers hope for last-minute catch-up - 11/06/2022
- Go & Live Group, one of France's major market players, with its Nacel, American Village and Club Langues et Civilisations (CLC) brands,
- Consolidated sales of 100 million euros in 2019 and 10 million in 2020
- 50% of sales in the UK
- The industry, essentially made up of SMEs, has not seen any labelled companies liquidate
- Registration figures are still a long way off those for 2019.
- Union nationale des organisations de séjours éducatifs, linguistiques et de formation en langues (Unosel): some 40 members, sales of 97 million euros
- In 2019, 505,000 young people traveled with the help of Unosel-labeled companies, including 55,000 on pure language stays.
- Three years on, registrations with member organizations show an overall drop of 38%, while group stays, with supervised departure from France, are down 48%.
- Effective Linguistique (sales of 1.6 million euros), a reputed upmarket agency
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