Category: Education

The volume of international tourism recovered almost completely in 2024 from the massive downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism.

Globally, 1.4 billion international arrivals were recorded last year, only 1% off arrivals in 2019, and up 11% on 2023. This marks a tremendous recovery from what UN Tourism calls “the worst crisis in the sector’s history.”

Along with arrivals, revenues were also up: Receipts reached US$1.6 trillion in 2024 (+4% over 2019) and total exports from tourism increased by 3% to $1.9 trillion in 2024. Average spending per arrival was an estimated US$1,100 in 2024.

A strong 2024 in most regions

Many destinations – both established and emerging – welcomed even more tourists last year than before the pandemic. Regionally, the Middle East recorded the highest growth rate, with arrivals up 32% compared with 2019, while Africa posted growth of 7%. Europe – the world’s largest destination with 747 million international arrivals in 2024 – was up 1% since the pandemic but 5% over 2023, largely due to strong demand among Europeans for travel within their region.

The Americas rebounded to about the same level as in 2019, and arrivals in the Caribbean and Central America strengthened by 7%. Asia-Pacific came back to 87% of 2019 volumes and there was robust growth from 2023-24 (33%).

Countries where arrivals picked up significantly include:

• Albania
• Andorra
• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Ethiopia
• Guatemala
• Malta
• Morocco
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Serbia

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said:

“In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrivals and specially earnings are already higher than in 2019. Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations. This recalls our immense responsibility as a sector to accelerate transformation, placing people and planet at the center of the development of tourism.”

Top tourism hotspots

Four of the five most visited countries by tourists are the UK, Spain, France, and Italy. All posted gains from tourism since 2019 – especially the UK (+40%) and Spain (+36%).

The countries in which tourists greatly exceeded their pre-pandemic spending last year include Germany (+36%), the UK (+36%), the US (+34%), Italy (+25%), and France (+11%). Indians spent on average 81% more when travelling abroad on vacation than in 2019.

Looking forward

In many parts of the world, 2024 was a challenging year, not least because of the war in Ukraine. This year looks as though it will have its share of volatility and upheaval – yet the UN Tourism report shows how much pent-up demand there was among travellers who refused to be deterred in their tourism plans.

UN Tourism expects international tourism arrivals to grow 3-5% compared with 2024, as long as “global economic conditions remain favourable, inflation continues to recede, and geopolitical conflicts do not escalate.”

Almost two-thirds of UN Tourism Panel experts expect “better” or “much better” prospects for 2025 compared to 2024, but they also note that economic and geopolitical headwinds pose significant risk. High transport and accommodation costs and volatile oil prices may also exert downward pressure on tourism volumes.

The Panel foresees tourists continuing to look for value for money, lesser-known destinations, and sustainable practices. The same trends are evident in the priorities international students now have for study abroad.

Last week, we looked at mobility patterns in East Africa noted the growing emphasis on arrangements and frameworks that are beneficial for both sending and receiving countries. This week, we provide a little more context for understanding opportunities and challenges in Rwanda – and they are quite different than what they would be in other established outbound markets.

Fast facts

Population: Over 13.2 million, with 1.8 million in the capital city of Kigali.

Youth: Three-quarters of the population is under 35, and the median age is 19.

Geography: Rwanda is in central/eastern Africa, bordered Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Unemployment: The youth unemployment rate was 18% in 2023.

Languages: The Conversation notes that “99% of Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda – a Bantu language and the country’s mother-tongue – and Rwanda has three other official languages: French, English and Swahili.” Rwandans used to favour French over English, but after the genocide of Tutsis in the late-90s and a popular perception that France did not do enough to stop it, there was a quick transition to English.

English: The EF Proficiency Index ranks Rwanda 22nd of 24 countries in Africa for English proficiency. The language of instruction is English and improving English-language proficiency is a priority for the government.

Religion: Christianity dominates, and the Muslim population makes up only 1% of the total.

Outbound: UNESCO counted 6,900 students from Rwanda abroad for tertiary education in 2022. That is a relatively small number, but it is growing, albeit relatively slowly. In 2023/24, the US hosted 1,310 Rwandan students, down 4.5% from the previous year. Canada hosted 2,785 – a doubling over the previous year. Smaller numbers of Rwandan students are in India, France, DRC, Uganda, and South Africa.

Inbound: 9,000 students in 2024, up from 1,400 in 2017.

Rwanda is one of the most interesting countries in Africa – in general, but also in terms of education. Increasing the enrolment rate at all school levels, improving quality, moving towards sustainability, and digitisation have been goals of the government for years. President Paul Kagame, who has been in power since 2000, has had a longtime aim of making Rwanda a knowledge economy and an education hub in Africa. Since 2017, the country has moved from attracting 1,400 international students to 9,000 in 2024.

The government has articulated key goals in its official strategic plan to improve the access, quality, and relevance of education. That plan intends to transform Rwanda from a “predominantly agrarian-based, low-income economy to an industrial upper middle-income nation by 2035.”

The strategy prioritises improvements in the secondary system (especially literacy and numeracy) and vocational training sector (TVET). At the higher education level, it pinpoints STEM fields, manufacturing, construction, health, and education. Across all levels, there is an emphasis on digital delivery models and digital competency.

Challenges in the country’s higher education system include a lack of qualified teachers, a lack of instructors with advanced degrees – affecting the ability of the country to conduct and collaborate internationally on research – and weak links with priority industries and employers. In addition, more than half of higher education institutions are private and not all of them are delivering high quality or relevant education. Private institutions have helped to increase capacity and access, but the government rightly states in its strategy that this is not enough to help the country meet its development goals.

Goal: To become “the Singapore of Africa”

Despite its challenges, Rwanda’s higher education system has improved steadily and on par with the country’s aspirations to be “the Singapore of Africa”– i.e., a regional education hub. The aim for the system is to be relevant to local and regional needs yet also globally connected and competitive – and students from other African countries are clearly impressed. Speaking with the New York Times, Somalian student Rahma Ahmed, an IT and entrepreneurship student at Carnegie Mellon University (founded according to an international partnership) said:

“I was thrilled the moment I got an opportunity to come to Rwanda. Because the other international students shared interesting study experiences, the hospitality of the students was also good, and diversity of the nationalities in the institutions was a bonus among others. And then there’s the money issue. Higher education in Rwanda has long been a lot cheaper than it is in most regions that I have checked out. In fact, almost free, for international students and nationals alike.”

Drice Michaella Ingabire, a Burundian former student at Nu-Vision Cambridge School (a high school, and again a Rwanda-foreign country collaboration), said:

“Rwanda is a country that gives everyone an equal chance. That includes the children of farmers from the remotest corners of low-income countries, who couldn’t possibly think of studying at IVY League universities.”

Open to foreign agreements

The government is open to international collaborations to help it achieve its regional hub ambitions. For example, to address Rwanda’s shortage of qualified teachers, INTO and the British Council joined forces with local providers to deliver a virtual 20-week English-language training (ELT) programme in Rwanda. Students took digital tablets home throughout the course to receive the training virtually.

INTO’s Mike Riley said the project was hugely successful and that Rwandan trainer graduates now pass on their learning to Rwandan teachers. He said:

“It has been inspiring working with teachers across the whole of Rwanda and supporting efforts to achieve a sustainable change in the Rwandan education system. We wish the local English teachers the very best as they deliver ongoing training to local secondary teachers in Rwanda, who we know are excited to put their new skills into practice.”

INTO and the British Council have been involved in training thousands of Rwandan teachers in English in the past few years through various partnerships, including with the Mastercard Foundation.

Countries with universities currently working in higher education partnerships with Rwanda include (click on the hyperlinks to read about them):

In all these cases, the goal is to forge mutually beneficial arrangements that meet Rwanda’s labour market and research needs, and to have more PhD graduates in the country (see this Rwandan-Sweden partnership at the master’s and doctoral levels). The Rwandan government is interested in educational exchanges more than pure outbound mobility, as explained by Dr Robert Ibo Hinson in University World News.

In short, Rwanda is following the “smart internationalisation” pathway coined by Professor Damtew Tefera and advocated in Tibelius Amutuhaire’s Internationalization and Student Mobility: Exploring the Mobility of Higher Education Students in East Africa, which we covered last week on ICEF Monitor. Professor Tefera argues that traditional concepts of internationalisation are Eurocentric/Western and do not benefit the Global South because they are not relevant to the economic and cultural contexts in Africa. He proposes that “smart internationalisation strategies make the process locally focused, though with an international flavour.”

Rwanda offers a fascinating example of the future of internationalisation – more balance between inbound and outbound, and heavily geared towards the needs of the sending country.

For additional background, please see:

In keeping with the political landscape in many other Western countries, hot debates about immigration and international students have characterised politics in the Netherlands over the past couple of years. The needle seems to be moving slightly, however, as the consequences of fewer international students choosing to study and stay in the Netherlands are beginning to manifest – especially in regions such as Limburg, which face demographic declines and that rely on attracting foreign students for innovation.

Government remains committed to reducing international student numbers

Both the previous government and the new government of the Party for Freedom (PVV) remain committed to the goal of reducing the number of new international students, not least because of a housing shortage. However, the PVV has been under pressure from those in some southern regions and business sectors because of the negative effects of declining foreign student numbers and low levels of international graduates staying on to work in the country. In Limburg, the population is expected to decrease by 16% in the span of less than 20 years.

Declining numbers of undergraduate foreign students

The country’s higher education peak body, Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), reports that its 14 member universities recorded a 6% year-over-year decline in international undergraduate students in 2024/25. The 17,410 students enrolled is the lowest number since the pandemic, when global student mobility plummeted.

Steeper declines have happened in international commencements in artificial intelligence (-13%) and language and culture programmes (-17%).

The UNL’s universities have said that fewer international students, slashed funding, and the government’s emphasis on reducing English-language programmes are threatening the continued offering of some programmes.

UNL chair, Caspar van den Berg, said:

“For the time being, the government wants to drastically reduce the number of English-language programmes with rigorous legislation. As a result, many programmes are in danger of disappearing and the labour market is missing out on highly qualified talent.”

Mr Casper cited a mix of interrelated factors depressing demand for study in the Netherlands, from reduced overseas recruiting to reputational damage caused by the Netherlands’ less welcoming positioning.

He told Times Higher Education:

“Anyone who follows developments in the world sees that keeping out international talent is outdated. In turbulent times in which the Netherlands desperately needs all the knowledge to remain safe and prosperous, we are closing the door on international talent. That is inexplicable. Countries such as Belgium, Germany and France understand very well that there is a global battle for talent, so it is high time that the Netherlands also gets its head out of the sand.”

New focus on international student retention

Under pressure from business stakeholders in regions with pronounced skills shortages, parties across the political spectrum have agreed that international student retention needs to be encouraged in some regions of the Netherlands.

According to University World News, a motion passed in parliament in February 2025 notes “that the Netherlands ‘is not a leader in attracting and retaining knowledge migrants compared to other countries’ …. ‘various factors such as career opportunities for accompanying partners and stigmas about population growth’ play a role in this.” In the same month, the government introduced an “Orientation Year” residence permit to encourage international student graduates to look for work.

Most of the rationale for retaining international students is economic – i.e., international students add value after they graduate by working in their host country. The Netherlands’ retention rate is 25%, compared with France’s 50%.

The economic argument seems instrumental to convincing all Dutch political parties to pass the motion aimed at encouraging the retention of international students – while at the same time keeping policies aimed at dampening demand for new international students to enrol in the Netherlands.

UNL spokesperson Ruben Puylaert told University World News that a retention-only strategy won’t work as intended, saying that fewer international students “will have negative effects on the quality of our education, our research, and the labour market.” He noted:

“We can make plans to increase the stay rate, but if students stop coming at all – even in the sectors where there is a major labour market shortage – then this will be pointless.”

For additional background, please see:

New survey findings from global international education services firm INTO show that many students are experiencing visa processing delays so significant that study abroad plans are being disrupted.

The 2024-25 INTO Arrival survey was conducted among 2,261 international students from over 100 countries enrolling in universities in the UK and US. The survey revealed that in addition to visa issues, barriers to study abroad include financial concerns related to unpredictable costs of living and studying.

Visa delays have several negative impacts

The survey found that:

• One in five (21%) students reported visa appointment and processing delays as the top reason for postponing their confirmation of university placement, rising to 28% in South Asia.
• Of students who missed orientation services offered by their institution, 45% said that visa issues were the reason.

Of all students who reported visa delays, about 20% said visa delays added at least a month to the timing of their response to an admissions offer.

These findings indicate that many students’ journeys to enrolment – and first impressions of their institution – are poorer because of unreliable visa processes outside of their control.

INTO CEO John Sykes said:

“These findings serve as a powerful message for governments, educational authorities, and universities to work together in addressing visa delays, ensuring students are supported in their aspirations to study abroad. At INTO, we are dedicated to overcoming these challenges, driving positive change in international education, and continuing to create transformative opportunities for students to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.” 

Students are applying to more institutions in more destinations

The work of admissions staff is complicated by students postponing their studies because of visa delays. In addition, staff are dealing with more unpredictability than ever due to a growing trend of students applying to multiple institutions.

In 2024/25, students enrolling in INTO-partnered UK universities said they had applied on average to +21% more higher education institutions than had those who had enrolled in 2022/23. Similarly, surveyed international graduate students applying to US universities in 2024/25 applied to 23% more institutions in 2024/25 than those applying the previous year.

“Waiting for offers from other institutions” was the second-most cited reason for delaying a confirmation of enrolment in the INTO survey.

And it becomes increasingly clear that, even as students are applying to more institutions, they are also exploring options in a wider range of study destinations.

The survey report adds:

“Over half of students considered alternative destinations before choosing the UK or US, with over 40% of those considering alternatives beyond the traditional “Big 4”— the UK, US, Canada, and Australia. Europe, in particular, remained a strong contender across all regions. This trend highlights a rise in students exploring options closer to home to benefit from lower study costs and cultural proximity, reflecting the increasing competitiveness of global education markets.

Beyond Europe, student preferences also followed similar regional patterns identified in INTO’s 2024 Global Agent Survey. Students from East Asia were most likely to consider Singapore and Malaysia, while students from the Middle East and North Africa mainly looked to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, and students from the China, Hong Kong, and Macau region gravitated towards Hong Kong.”

Financial concerns loom large for students

The survey revealed the high degree of stress many international students feel because they don’t have a good sense of how much it will cost to study abroad. Close to half (44%) of surveyed students said that trying to understand tuition fees and cost of living is a “moderately” or “extremely” stressful aspect of their path towards enrolment.

INTO researchers advise:

“Universities can seek to address this challenge by reviewing the clarity in which total cost of studies (including all aspects of cost of living) are communicated, particularly when this might be complicated by how individuals can interpret course structure (e.g., credits) and time it’s likely to take to complete a degree.”

Uncertainty about work rights is another stress

Unpredictable and shifting immigration policies affect not only prospective international students, but also current students. In Canada, for example, many current international students have experienced significant stress in the past year due to not knowing if they were still eligible for work rights and permanent residency. In the US, the situation was stable in 2024, but it is unclear how President Trump may approach international students and legal migration in 2025. Any changes to work rights – e.g., Optional Practical Training (OPT) – would have a significant impact. The INTO survey found that:

• “Two-thirds of graduate students surveyed (66%) intend to secure employment opportunities afforded by OPT”
• One-third of undergraduate students (33%) also indicated a desire to use OPT after graduation.”

Reassurance and advice are crucial

In today’s unsettled global environment, immigration is a hot-button and polarising issue that profoundly affects international students hoping to study in one of the Big Four destinations. This is a year in which to prioritise communications with students and agents, check the institutional website to ensure it offers current and helpful information, and provide prospective students with useful information on visa processes, work rights, and costs of studying and living.

For additional information, please see:

Our recent article, East African student mobility: Current trends and future possibilities, focuses on the need for more mutually beneficial relationships between leading study abroad destinations and countries where outbound student mobility is high due to education capacity and/or quality issues. Improvement in this area would enhance the ethical framework for international education and promote the best aspects of globalisation.

A natural extension of this is encouraging more students (and academics and researchers) to:

• Study in their home countries in programmes improved by transnational partnerships (TNE) between domestic institutions and foreign institutions;
• Return to their home countries after receiving scholarships and completing eligible programmes with direct relevance to their country’s economic and development needs.

This would a long way towards reducing brain drain, and to moving away from any colonialist underpinnings of Global South to Global North student mobility. It would also:

• Enhance security and political/economic stability in less prosperous or conflict-prone regions – which is good for the whole world.
• Allow education institutions to attract international students without needing to leverage immigration benefits (which are shrinking in many Western destinations).

With that in mind, this article looks at progressive and interesting scholarship programmes geared at more balanced mobility, as well as the similarly intentioned transnational education framework in China. There are many more examples out there, but these can serve as examples and inspiration.

The Australia Awards Scholarships

These are long-term awards administered by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are given to emerging leaders from developing countries for study, research, and professional development in Australia and the region. Their goals are to:

• Contribute to the development of Australia’s partner countries in line with bilateral and regional agreements.
• Allow leaders to return home and contribute to their nations’ development. All awardees return home on completion of their studies so they can contribute to development in their country for at least two years.

For more information, visit this website.

The Emerging Leaders in the Americas Scholarships (Canada)

These are aimed at providing students from post-secondary institutions located in Latin America and the Caribbean with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research at Canadian post-secondary institutions. A goal is also to strengthen the linkages between post-secondary institutions in Canada and the Americas.

For more information, visit this website.

Study Scholarships – Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines (Germany)

These provide funding for a postgraduate or master’s degree programme completed at a state or state-recognised university in Germany or one year of study in Germany as part of a second or master’s degree completed at students’ home university. Academic credits gained in Germany are recognised by students’ home university.

For more information, visit this website.

Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships

The New Zealand government, though New Zealand Aid Programme funding, offers both full academic scholarships and short training scholarships to international students from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Students from Pacific countries (Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) have the option of studying at a New Zealand institution or a Pacific university in one of the following regions: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji (postgraduate only), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Awardees are required to return to their home country for at least two years after the completion of their scholarship to apply the new skills and knowledge they have gained through their Manaaki New Zealand scholarships in government, civil society, or private business organisations.

New Zealand also offers English-language training scholarships to officials from Africa (10 weeks) and Asia (5 months).

For more information, visit this website.

Commonwealth Scholarships (UK)

The Commonwealth Scholarships programme is aimed at students from across the Commonwealth who would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the UK. By funding postgraduate studies in a range of different study formats, the scheme is meant to support future innovators and leaders. All Commonwealth Scholarships are offered under six CSC development themes:

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion, and opportunity

There is no restriction on what students can study but the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission gives priority to applicants whose studies are most relevant to their development criteria.

For more information, visit this website.

China’s TNE foundations

Along with scholarships, transnational education arrangements can also be designed to be more mutually beneficial. For example, as reported in University World News in August 2024:

“In China, TNE is termed ‘Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools’ and emphasises ‘cooperation’  between the two parties, while requiring degree-awarding from the international partner to be part of the essential requirements.

Critically, a genuine and often equitable collaborative partnership with the international institutional partner is a prerequisite in TNE delivery and success nowadays in China, manifested in the four one-third rules (stipulating the requirement for international partners to commit no less than one-third of teaching and education resources) relating to the whole running of TNE, from teaching and learning, staffing, curriculum development, administration, resources and quality control for all levels of education.”

The article is well worth reading, and examines the question: “Despite its complex requirements and resource investment from UK universities, why does this set-up still attract UK universities or international universities?”

This year, we are seeing a trend where in destinations characterised by tightened immigration settings, more institutions are exploring TNE, whether through joint degrees, exchanges, or branch campuses. China’s requirements offer an indication of the likely evolution of how TNE agreements will be structured around the world.

For additional background, please see: