Re: Student travel companies

Eric from EF

Posted on 11/11/09

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This is Eric from EF, and I want thank everyone for investing your
time and energy into providing the best travel opportunities for
your students. Our goal at EF is for all students to be able to
travel abroad, so we're excited to see so many teachers passionate
about student travel.

I just want to clarify a few things about EF as the lowest-cost
provider. We do everything we can to keep the prices of our tours
the lowest in the industry so that as many students as possible can
afford to travel, but we do not "cut corners." As the largest
international student travel provider in the country, we are able to
negotiate the best possible prices and pass those savings on to our
travelers. Yes, our tours are designed for student travelers, but we
do not sacrifice quality. In fact, the majority of our teachers and
students provide overwhelmingly positive feedback about our tours,
including hotels and meals. And, of course, we're always working to
improve all aspects of our educational tours.

Also, our travel dates do not change shortly before travel. Final
tour dates are confirmed approximately 60 days prior to departure,
but we work directly with teachers to avoid conflicts with testing
schedules, etc.

Regarding additional fees, the initial $95 fee is not a membership
fee but an enrollment fee and covers the initial costs associated
with a tour, including processing services. This is common among
student tour providers. We do offer families the ability to pay
conveniently through a free, monthly payment plan. However, there
are no finance fees for parents who elect not to pay with a credit
card. In fact, most parents now pay with a debit card. Plus, with
the automated monthly payment plan, there are no late fees.

Finally, there are no last-minute surcharges and fees charged
directly to accounts or automatically adjusted without the
participants' or group's knowledge. Also, we often are extremely
flexible in working with families who might be struggling to meet
payment deadlines. We want to make sure that all students are able
to travel.

If anyone has additional questions about traveling with EF, I would
be happy to address them here. Or you can call our Customer Service
Department at 1-800-665-5364.

Whether you travel with EF or any other company, we thank you for
providing travel opportunities for your students.

Best regards, Eric from EF

EF Educational Tours

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