Erasmus students in Portugal: from students to tourists and advocates

Suzanne Amaro,Joaquim Antunes,Carmen Martins,Cristina Barroco

doi:10.54055/ejtr.v22i.377

Abstract

Although there are several studies examining the benefits of the Erasmus student mobility programme on student’s professional career and academic development, there is scarce literature focusing on how they are similar to tourists and can promote tourism in the country where they did Erasmus. This study interviewed 16 students from 10 different nationalities that have done Erasmus in Portugal, in order to examine their travelling behaviours and how they may contribute in promoting Portugal. The findings reveal that Erasmus students are similar to tourists, contributing to Portugal’s Tourism not only by their travelling behaviour, but also by the visitors they receive and because of the posts of Portugal on social media. Furthermore, after their Erasmus experience, they become advocates, recommending Portugal to family and friends.

Highlights

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2017) there has been a significant increase in student mobility across countries, rising from 0.8 million in the late 1970s to 4.6 million 45 years later
Many of the studies carried out to evaluate the impact of Erasmus mobility have shown the positive impacts it has on the students in several contexts such as professional careers, academic development (Engel, 2010), on individual skills enhancement, employability and institutional development (European Commission, 2014, 2016a) and its positive influence on students’ European identity and loyalty (Oborune, 2013)
Several studies had already pointed out that international students are similar to tourists and the term Academic Tourism is often used precisely to define the activities conducted by students studying abroad (e.g. Bento, 2014; Hughes et al, 2015; Martínez-Roget, et al, 2013; Rodríguez et al, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2017) there has been a significant increase in student mobility across countries, rising from 0.8 million in the late 1970s to 4.6 million 45 years later. There are more and more initiatives at national, regional and institutional level to promote university mobility, for example by providing grants or establishing exchange programs to study abroad (Rodríguez, Martínez-Roget, & Pawlowska, 2012). An example of such a program is Erasmus, launched in 1987, a European Union student exchange programme that provides students with the opportunity to study in a different country for 3 to 13 months (European Council, 2017). Many of the studies carried out to evaluate the impact of Erasmus mobility have shown the positive impacts it has on the students in several contexts such as professional careers, academic development (Engel, 2010), on individual skills enhancement, employability and institutional development (European Commission, 2014, 2016a) and its positive influence on students’ European identity and loyalty (Oborune, 2013)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion