Education Tourism Seen As Tourism Opportunities For Foreign Students In Romania, Türki̇ye, And Cuba

The study’s purpose is to investigate the tourism opportunities for international students when studying in Romania, Türkiye, and Cuba in order to offer the best tourism experiences that enrich their life. Furthermore, the paper offers new perspectives for the destinations tourism management organizations to promote tourism in university cities creating tourism strategies to interplay academic life with local communities. Education tourism can enhance the tourism cities’ cultural attractions and foster social relations between residents and visitors, contributing to the international tourism economic boost. The paper methodology consists in qualitative research using in-deep interviews with foreign students studying in Romania, Türkiye and Cuba. The research followed the three counties in terms of affordability, tourism cultural attractions, infrastructure and the diversity of students’ programs. The results have shown important insights for Romania, like the EU-wide powerful student access and a big appreciation for the traditional culture, for Türkiye, like the preferences for ecotourism and big appreciation for Istanbul being vibrant, and for Cuba, like viewing tourism through art, dance and music, but limited internet services.