Youth is the time when responsibilities are less and there are loads of time to explore around. The youth travel market is a fascinating sector and the fastest growing industry. According to a report published by United Nations, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) by the name of “The power of youth travel” estimates 20% of students traveling the world are youths. And this is likely to grow by 2020 by 59%, also the range of youth travelers has increased from 24 years to 30 years.
Young people are influencers and trendsetters who can promote brands and products just by using them.
The industry recognizes the potential and therefore keeps coming with facilities and discounts to unveil the potential in the Youth travelers.
Youth travelers are aged under 12 – 26 or are full-time students as per travel industry norms and they are eligible for student discounts. So, in case you fall into this category then you can avail great discounts and explore the endless possibilities that exist by touring the world.
Many companies offer discounts to students on airfares, accommodations, ground transportation, and tours, here’s a list.
Student Airfare:
Many airlines offer discounts on airfares and even vacation packages to students. If you are enrolled as a college student with American Airlines, you are entitled to discounted vacations. You can check individually with your airline via the airline’s phone reservation line or at their ticket office for available discounts.
Many travel companies offer sweet deals on one-way returns and even round-the-world tickets to exotic locations like London, Paris, Bali inside the US, and other popular destinations.
Major institutions offering Student Discounts:
Companies like InterRail Europe offer a 25% discount for people under the age of 27. Similarly, Greyhound which is the most economical way to travel in the US across most of the cities in the US and provides Student Advantage Cards through which you can get 20% off on any ticket plus 40% off on shipping if you need to send a package. UK’s National Express has a Young Persons Coachcard with which students are entitled to 1/3 off the standard fare. In the UK, 16-25 Railcard is also quite popular and allows for a discount 1/3rd of the standard rate Standard Advanced and First Class Advance fares. Student Oyster card is also quite popular.
City Passes:
If your plans are to explore the city and stay there for a decent amount of time while traveling, City passes are a great help with discounts available on attractions, public transport, and more.
These City cards offer up to 50% off or even free entry to most major attractions and allow you to skip the queues at must-see attractions.
STA Travel:
STA Travel is a copious source of travel deals on flights, hotels, accommodations, rail tickets, tours, and they partners up with favorite retailers to bring exclusive discounts for students.
Student Universe:
Is a website that offers discounted airfare, lodging, train tickets, and more to students. It is quite effective for finding cheap fares within the United States.
Youth Hostel associations (YHA):
YHA offer discounts on Youth Hostels in thousands of locations around the globe and many more discounts through various partnership and memberships. Get in touch with the YHA of your country to find out exciting possibilities for activities, adventure programs and unlock international travel with cheap stay and shopping if you are a student.
ISIC Card:
International Student Identity Card offers discounts to students on transportation, accommodation, tours all over the world, and a range of activities, shopping, and entertainment. Apart from that, ISIC cards will also provide basic sickness and travel insurance while traveling abroad. Overall it is a pretty amazing deal.
The card is valid in more than 100 countries but particularly useful in Europe and the UK.
Discounts on student accommodation:
Youth Hostel Association
Youth Hostels Association (YHA) is a member in conjugation with Hostelling International hostels forms the world’s largest budget accommodation network. They issue Discount cards to students that open doors to more than 4,000 hostels around the world.
If you want cheap accommodation, forget hotels and stick to hostels. Dorm beds are even cheaper and cost as low as 50 cents to a few dollars. +
CouchSurfing
And for spending as little as possible try couch surfing. The term loosely refers to simply staying with hosts when traveling. Over 4 million couch surfers a year turn to websites dedicated to CouchSurfing like couchsurfing.com for a safe way to find hosts who can offer free accommodation in exchange for virtually nothing except some shared expenses, making friends with people from different countries, and maybe practice some English. It can specially cut prices drastically in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea where prices are notoriously high.
When on a tour next follow these simple guidelines and save on precious moolah.
However, beware of the tag Student discount on everything as they may simply turn out to be damp squibs and check for prices alternatively at other travel aggregators. Reconfirm prices with budget airlines personally once as well.