Cardiff championed as a fantastic destination for EFL learners

24th September 2014

This month, Cardiff saw world leaders from President Barack Obama to our very own Prime Minister, David Cameron, gather for the NATO summit in South Wales. English language providers across South Wales also welcomed their very own international delegation to Wales.

On the back of StudyWorld London, the UK’s leading international student recruitment forum, education agents from across the globe came to Wales as part of a familiarisation trip. The visit was hosted by Celtic English Academy, the largest independent English as a Foreign Language (EFL) provider in Wales.

Celtic English Academy’s Marketing Manager, Shoko Morimoto, commented on the increase in agents asking for Wales as new destination to promote to their students: “I have never seen so many agents asking about Cardiff as I did at the StudyWorld fair this year.”

New agents from Brazil, Taiwan, Russia, Italy, New Zealand and the Ukraine, as well as longstanding partners from as far east as Japan, made the journey to Wales to visit showcase schools and take in the sights. They received a warm welcome from The Mumbles through to Cardiff Bay.

Bridget Egan, Director of Global Student, New Zealand, was delighted with the visit:

“I have really enjoyed my stay in your beautiful city, plus the awesome hospitality.”

President Barack Obama concluded similar of his visit to Wales for the NATO summit, praising its extraordinary beauty, wonderful people and encouraging others to visit the country.

The education agents’ stay culminated in a night of celebration at the renowned Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama to mark the 10th anniversary of Celtic English Academy. By bringing together everyone connected with Celtic, from the homestay providers who regularly host students to the transfer company that is counted on for the airport runs, the evening highlighted the reach that an English language school can have in its local and global community, not to mention the benefits that the study travel industry can bring to a region’s economy and tourism figures.

Celtic welcomes students from around the world to study English in Cardiff and study English at Celtic English Academy. Agents from across the globe visited us to celebrate Celtic’s 10th Anniversary

Representatives from Visit Wales, English UK and the British Council attended the event and championed Cardiff as an English language destination. Tom Poole from the British Council said:

“Cardiff is a great asset to the EFL sector. A capital city renowned for its friendliness, low crime rates, affordability and ever increasingly as a centre for adventure sports simply can’t be ignored. This wonderful networking evening hosted by Celtic English Academy served to highlight that the city is a fantastic destination to learn English.”

Voted as the No.1 UK City for Young People (The Independent, 2013), it cannot be denied that Cardiff has all the right ingredients to be a top study travel destination, especially if Celtic English Academy and the region’s other providers continue to lead the way.