Language Travel after COVID-19, CEO John Cedergårdh shares his thoughts

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with STS Education CEO John Cedergårdh to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the company, the industry and STS students around the world. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became the CEO of the world’s first student travel organisation.

After working at STS’s sister company directly after high school, I spent several summers as Centre Director for STS course towns around the UK and the world. I immediately fell in love with the industry’s quick pace and how rewarding it is to see young travellers learning and developing as both students and individuals. During my university years I stayed in contact with STS and worked extra hours in the finance department, within sales or wherever I was needed.

After graduation, I started working as Production Manager and then Director for the High School division. I was 26 at the time, a member of the Global Management Team and responsible for a large profit unit and a lot of people. It was tough at times, but I learnt a lot and really enjoyed it. Then, after a few years working as COO of a London-based education group, I was asked to come back to STS as CEO and I jumped at the opportunity. Three years have passed since then, and I’ve never regretted my decision.

What is STS doing today, 62 years after the start of student travel in 1958?

In recent years we have worked hard to reach our customers in new ways. As in many other industries, we have changed the way we communicate and what channels we use. We have also added a lot of new products and destinations. For instance, we now offer collaborations with famous football clubs such as Real Madrid, as well as entrepreneurship courses and esports camps on top of our traditional language trips.

We have also worked hard to be conscious about our impact on the environment. We have introduced train journeys to some destinations as well as biofuel compensation of flights through the Fly Green Fund. It’s great to see that after so many years of business we can still find new ways to work and grow.

How is the spread of COVID-19 currently affecting STS’s business?

There are travel bans in place in most countries right now which are preventing our students from going anywhere. Most of our offices are closed, and we are mainly working from our homes. Even though this situation is temporary, it is incredibly challenging for many people around the world. Our hearts go out to everyone who is affected by this crisis in one way or another.

How do you think it will affect business in the future?

We have dealt with a lot of difficult situations since we started in 1958 and we will work through this one as well. We are a solid and stable company that is still 100% owned by the same founding family. We believe strongly that our mission is more relevant than ever in a situation like this. An understanding between different cultures and the ability to communicate across borders are vital for the world to be able to tackle this global pandemic. One country cannot solve this on its own. We have to be united to really deal with the consequences of this situation.

Can you tell us a bit about how STS is handling this difficult situation?

First and foremost, we are prioritizing the health and safety of our students. We have made the difficult decision to recommend all our participants to return to their home countries to deal with this crisis together with their natural families. In a situation where most governments are recommending their citizens to return home, we feel strongly that we need to do the same.

Second, we are trying to make sure that our employees are safe and not spreading the virus further in society. Most of our offices are closed at this point and we are working online to keep everything going.

Finally, we are staying in touch with our customers that are due to travel in the future. This situation will pass eventually, and we hear from our participants that they are still dreaming about travelling and exploring the world. So naturally, we are already preparing for students continuing to travel the world as soon as they are able to. 

How do you think the industry can adapt to survive long-term travel restrictions?

We do not believe the travel ban situation will remain long term. The world will beat this virus eventually and once again open up borders and opportunities to travel. The relevance for cultural understanding and education will be stronger than ever when we fight to better deal with similar situations in the future.

We are also finding new ways to complement our offering to our customers. In May we are launching online language courses for our students until they are able to travel again. We may be in a dark stretch of the tunnel at the moment, but there is light at the end of it. 

Visit us at sts-education.com