Thai agents report strong numbers in 2023 amidst rising cost concerns for students

The conference took place from the 14th to the 16th of February at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel and brought together 48 educators, 71 agents, two associations and nine service providers.

During the event, spirits were high and agents from Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia were happy to be back promoting international education offerings and breaking into new markets. Thai students are showing enthusiasm for travel once more and many agents reported that numbers of outbound students were back to pre-pandemic levels.

The number of students travelling abroad from Thailand has bounced back after the pandemic, with, for example, 32,000 outbound higher education students in 2022, with 5,405 of these enrolments in the UK (according to UNESCO global student flows, published in a 2023 report by Acumen) – a healthy increase from 28,609 in 2021.

Cost concerns

Despite this bounce-back, however, multiple agents and association representatives at the Alphe Asia conference were feeling less optimistic about the continued growth of the sector over the coming years, due to the rising cost of international education.

Sethaphol Rutrakool , president of  TIECA , said, “I think that since the pandemic, the market in Thailand has recovered, but in 2024 it is not so good. Because of inflation, the costs of everything have gone up – the costs of homestays, tuition fees and everything while the purchasing power of the students and parents is not fully back yet. So, I think it’s kind of a tough situation right now. It’s going low slow down from what I’ve seen for the remainder of this year and maybe next year as well.”

For Pannipa Wongdararassamee from Four Group Company Limited, Bangkok, the cost of studying abroad has been an issue this year, especially with students considering the UK. She explained that the UK has traditionally been one of the most popular markets for Thai students, but since the pandemic, the price has been too high for many families recently.

Popularity of short stays

To curb the issue of increasing costs, shorter stays are still popular and have become a good alternative for Thai families who are concerned about the expense of language exchanges. Because of the option of shorter stays, the UK still holds great appeal, adds Pannipa from Four Group.

She also noted that some Thai universities have pushed back term dates towards September (rather than the usual June start date). Because of this shift, a new opportunity has arisen for agents to offer short “mini gap year” study abroad experiences that Thai students can embark on during this widening window of time between school and university.

The appeal of new markets

Despite major players in the English-speaking language world, such as the UK and the USA, remaining popular for Thai students, the number of agents at Alphe Asia reported an increase in more varied destinations.

For example, Kompit Panasupon , founder of MIECA , Bangkok, said, “The UK has always been my main focus, but since the pandemic, my biggest markets now are Switzerland, followed by Canada – with the number of students I send to Canada growing by around five times since the pandemic.”

According to Kompit, the UK seems to hold less appeal for the younger generation – especially for those considering boarding school abroad, whose families are now looking elsewhere in Europe. He is also beginning to send more students to Austria, Germany, and France.

Shifting accommodation demands

Changing accommodation trends have also been of interest to agents this year, with some reporting a general shift towards demand for residential accommodation over homestay options.

According to Siri Siripanishpong , General Manager at Elite Training Institute (Agency) , Bangkok, this trend comes down to safety concerns from Thai families, along with students increasingly comparing homestay experiences (via social media), rendering it difficult to guarantee the same level of study abroad experience for all students.

Association growth

For the Thai International Education Consultants Association (TIECA), the main focus of the past year has been on growth. In 2023, the association increased its membership numbers from 80 to 88 and is optimistic about continued growth for the remainder of 2024.

A major change for the association this year will be the introduction of a new committee as president Sethaphol is due to step down this year. Speaking on the future of the association, he said “I think what we are planning to do is to grow in number because right now there are so many new faces entering the market and they are scattered. So, I think it’s a good thing for TIECA to recruit them, so we grow the number of members. So that’s the key thing.”

He also discussed plans to keep promoting TIECA’s platinum members scheme, in which members have the opportunity to advertise and promote their services at TIECA fairs and meetings. Last year, the 12 platinum member slots were filled, so this year there are plans to grow the number of platinum members.

Discussing the end of his premiership Sethaphol said, “I have got a lot out of this role and have enjoyed seeing the macro picture of the market in Thailand. I think the work has paid off – I’m glad that all the plans that I set at the beginning have been achieved and was especially glad to win the ST Secondary School Award, Agency Association at the StudyTravel Secondary School Awards last year, after TIECA not winning in a long time.”