The China National Tourist Office London (CNTO London) was invited to attend the British Educational Travel Association (BETA)’s 22nd Anniversary Parliamentary Reception at the House of Lords. Assistant Director Pan Hang and Marketing Manager Rebecca of CNTO London joined the event, where they held in-depth discussions with Ms. Emma English, Executive Director of BETA, on strengthening Sino–UK cooperation in education and youth travel.

At the reception, BETA released its 2024 statistics showing that the UK welcomed 13.6 million international youth, student and educational visitors, generating £37.7 billion for the UK economy. These young visitors tend to stay longer, spend more locally and engage in a wide range of activities. BETA noted that they are a key engine of the UK’s long-term economic growth and an important driver of international soft power.

The Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and HM Paymaster General, and BETA Chair Stephen Lowy addressed at the event, emphasised the critical role of international youth exchanges in strengthening cross-border ties and building closer UK–Europe and global connections. In their remarks they called on the UK government to accelerate reforms of youth travel policies – in particular by establishing an ambitious UK–EU Youth Experience Scheme (YES) and overhauling the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) – in order to unlock the sector’s potential of growth.

CNTO London’s representatives and Ms English agreed to continue deepening the cooperation between China and the UK in the educational travel sector. They discussed plans for mutual support of future events, jointly organising UK education travel groups for trial trips to China, and co-hosting industry exchange activities on study and youth travel. Both sides reached a consensus on the importance of “jointly promoting educational travel exchanges between China and the UK.”

The exchange at the Parliamentary Reception was deemed highly productive, laying a solid foundation for future collaboration. Looking ahead, CNTO London will continue to facilitate opportunities for young people from both countries to deepen mutual understanding through education travel, thereby injecting fresh vitality into cultural and people-to-people exchanges.