Marketing your Student Travel Company
The reality of why it’s so dang hard - and how to nail it
Before I became an external marketing director, I spent 8+ years in the wild, wonderful world of student travel. And when I say “spent,” I mean lived, breathed, and probably sweat enrollment data. I worked across departments: customer service, student enrollment, operations, eventually finding myself (you guessed it) pulled into the marketing departments.
I’ve been “hire number 30,” '“hire number 1,200,” and “hire number 11” at 3 different student travel startups. In the last 5 years, I’ve consulted and worked alongside dozens more. It was actually at an emerging student travel org that I cut my teeth in the marketing sphere. Picture it: visionary execs tossing out ideas like candy, and me with the freedom to actually test them in real-time. It was chaotic. It was the best accidental marketing bootcamp I could’ve asked for.
It also gave me some very specific opinions about how to market a student travel business.
Now, eight years might not sound like a lifetime in other industries; but in student travel? It’s a full-on tour of duty. This field burns fast and bright. Passion fuels everything and blurs everything. Certainty in our numbers? Not so much. Knowing exactly where those students are coming from? Not so much of that either.
The secret: there are no “right answers,” only best guesses and anecdotes. It’s an ideal place to learn, adapt, and innovate … because you kind of have no choice.
And if you’re in the thick of it now - running a student travel company or trying to get one off the ground - you already know it’s hard. Really hard. Marketing in this space isn’t like selling socks or soap or software. It’s personal. Emotional. And (surprise!) you're not just marketing to one audience. Let’s talk about that.
Why Student Travel Marketing is So Uniquely Bonkers
Here’s the truth: you cannot market a student travel company like a “normal” business. You can try. But you’ll end up confused, frustrated, and spending way too much money on a TikTok campaign that your actual audience won’t be swayed by.
So let’s talk about the biggest quirks of student travel marketing - and how to handle them with more clarity and less chaos.
1. Two Audiences. Dozens of Motivations.
You’re not just marketing to students. You’re also marketing to parents. And (spoiler) the person who brings the program to the table might not be the one who signs the check.
Sometimes the student is the excited initiator, and you’ve got to help your marketing and sales team gently win over the cautious, skeptical parents. Other times, it’s the parents who find the program and you’ve got to make it “cool” enough for the student to say yes.
Either way: you’ve got two totally different decision-makers with totally different motivations, desires, fears, and communication preferences. Your messaging has to juggle both and that’s no small task.
2. Seasonality Strikes Again
Your enrollment cycles aren’t year-round. Maybe you run summer programs. Maybe semester-long immersions. Whatever your model, there are clear windows where decisions are made … and if you miss them, it’s like shouting into the void.
That means your marketing strategy has to be backward-planned. No more guessing when to post or launch a campaign or testing randomly. You’ve got to know when your audience is in research mode, decision mode, and commitment mode - and then align accordingly. (We love a good calendarized project management software moment).
3. Gen Z Is Always Changing (and Gen … whatever comes next)
Marketing to under-18s means you’re basically aiming at a moving target while blindfolded… on a rollercoaster. Trends, platforms, content preferences, they shift fast. What worked even two years ago might now get you ghosted.
You need a consistent strategy and the flexibility to evolve your creative, language, and channels. And you need to find ways to tune into what your audience wants before the industry’s group-think results in our assumptions of what teenagers want right now. Think: rooted, grounded foundation as your mission and brand. Marketing is the sidewalk and the trendy sneakers that make it easier and more interesting to walk on.
Common Misconceptions Student Travel Companies Fall For
I love this industry. It’s full of kind, passionate, mission-driven people who want to make the world better through student experiences. But that same passion can sometimes blur the lines between what we think should work and what actually works.
Here are a few misconceptions I’ve seen (and maybe fallen into myself once or twice):
“We Need to Be Everywhere”
You’ve heard the siren call: “You have to be on TikTok!” “You should list on this new platform that reaches 100k students globally!” “We need a Snapchat strategy!”
Hold up.
When you try to show up everywhere, you end up showing up nowhere well. Spreading yourself too thin leads to low-quality content, burnout, and platforms that look like digital ghost towns. Instead, identify your top three revenue-driving channels (not types - specific platforms like Instagram, Google Ads, GoOverseas) and commit to nailing those. Quality beats quantity, always.
“Let’s Just Copy What That Other Org Is Doing”
I get it. The competitor down the street is killing it (or so it seems). Their brand is shiny. Their trips look similar to yours. Seems like they’re selling out. Maybe if you just tweaked your copy to sound like theirs or redesigned your website to mimic their brand feel...?
Nope.
Your audience can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. Mimicking someone else rarely converts … because if they loved that brand, they’d just go there.
Instead, dig deep into your differentiators: Is your focus personal growth? Academic rigor? Cultural immersion? Adventure? Service? Be ruthlessly clear and make sure your programs actually reflect it. Then, say it loud and proud in every piece of marketing you create.
“Our Mission Speaks for Itself!”
Here’s a tough love moment. I know you love your programs. I know they’re life-changing. But your audience isn’t automatically onboard just because you know how amazing it is.
If you ever find yourself thinking:
“Why wouldn’t someone want this experience?”
“I don’t get why that program isn’t selling; it’s clearly the best.”
“Do they not see how incredible our X is?”
That’s a sign you’re a little too close to your own mission.
That’s where market research, customer audits, and outside perspectives (hi!) become invaluable. You need to stop thinking like the creator and start thinking like the customer. What are they seeing? What are they comparing? What fears or hesitations do they have?
The mission still matters. But it has to be communicated in a way that translates to your audience’s real-world decision-making.
So, What Do You Do with All This?
If you’re nodding along and thinking “Yep, I’ve definitely done all of these,” welcome to the club. It’s not about perfection; it’s about awareness and strategy.
Student travel marketing doesn’t have to be exhausting, confusing, or based on luck. It just has to be intentional.
Start by:
Clarifying who your audience really is (and what they care about)
Choosing 2–3 core marketing channels and doing them well
Aligning your marketing calendar to your enrollment cycle
Embracing your differentiators and owning them with confidence
Getting honest about where your messaging might need help
If I were looking at your student travel company for the first time tomorrow, here are the questions I’d answer (hint: once answered, the answers are the basis for your marketing plan!):
Decide where to direct your energy:
Where are the current students who are converting (key word - not just those who are in your pipeline) actually coming from? How did they get there? Are there more people there?
Where did the people sitting in your pipeline (but not converting) come from? Why aren’t they converting? Where do they get stuck in the pipeline (use their words here)?
What platforms feel most resonant with our audience? Which platforms help us target both audiences (students and parents)? What are the real data points and market research behind this (not just what you heard or read in a post on Linkedin)?
Then, choose how you’re going to show up on those channels:
What are the students reacting to on those channels? What tone of voice and focus (destination versus mission versus activities versus general hype content versus academic speciality) aligns with what they already watch, see, or do there?
Same question, but for parents?
What are 3 things we want them to know about our programs (only pick three!)?
What are some ways we already embody these 3 things that we can show that we already do?
Then, identify who is going to do what and what actual bandwidth do you have to iterate and optimize:
What ways are we going to have to consistently show up on this channel? How does seasonality play into it? Do we need to engage with the audience here (not just post and ghost)?
Who is going to do this work? Are they best suited for this work?
How are we going to know if it’s working? How much time are we able to dedicate to experiment one? What are some of the things we want to understand from experiment one and how are we incorporating those into this practice?
Need a Marketing Director to just do it for you (Minus the Full-Time Salary)?
If reading this made you want to curl up in a hammock and outsource everything … well, that’s where I come in.
At Aligned Marketing, I work with student travel companies (and law firms, tour companies, design studios, ecommerce brands, you name it!) as an external Marketing Director. That means I help you build smart, customized marketing systems, get out of reactive mode, and finally connect with the students and parents who are ready to say yes.
Whether you’re looking for:
A quarterly strategy sprint to realign your messaging and funnel,
Done-for-you marketing execution so you can focus on what you do best, or
A longer-term retainer partnership where I act as your on-call CMO ….
