STA Australia to Sell AmeriSpan Programs

STA Travel's New Zealand division to offer AmeriSpan & Language Abroad programs

STA Travel Australia, the largest student travel agency in Australia and largest division within STA Travel Worldwide, has begun selling language immersion programs in all of its offices across Australia. By teaming up with AmeriSpan, the leader in Spanish language programs in Latin America, and Languages Abroad, a company that offers programs in Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere, STA Australia will be able to meet all their clients requests for language immersion programs. People wanting to participate in a language immersion program can buy their airline ticket, train passes and register for a language immersion program in any one of the more than 80 STA Travel's offices in Australia.

Studying a language in a country where the language is spoken increases comprehension and speeds up the overall learning process. Participants are immersed in the culture which allows them to learn much more than just grammar and vocubulary such as the unique etiquette of communicating in the target language. Experts have long agreed that true fluency can be obtained more easily when one understands culture and the history of the native speakers.

Historically, language immersion programs have been marketed by educational institutions but companies like AmeriSpan Unlimited have been blurring the line between the educational and travel aspects of these programs. "These programs are just another type of travel that we call language travel. Our participants, study Spanish in the morning, may visit a museum or take a dance class in the afternoon and then share dinner with a local family in the evening. On the weekends, they are regular tourists eager to visit Mayan ruins, hike through a rainforest or relax on the beach," says John Slocum, President of AmeriSpan.

Having built its reputation on "getting you there", STA Travel has more recently helped increase the awareness of affordable adventure travel packages. Their decision to offer AmeriSpan and other organizations' programs is sure to do the same for the newest niche in travel, language travel.