Tourism board representatives from around the world met in Beijing last month at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) to discuss a campaign to promote youth and student travel.

The WYSTC included discussions on creating a global strategy for student fares, security, visas and the need for consistent data on international arrivals. The goal is to create products and policies that will help make travel more attractive, accessible and affordable for young travellers.

The youth and student demographic is worth $136 billion (US) a year to the global travel industry, and tourism organizations plan to up their marketing efforts and lobby governments to recognize the importance of investing in the younger market.

The conference will most likely result in a clever marketing campaign to entice students to broaden their horizons by traveling the world. And although young people  rarely worry about the dangers of being far from home in a foreign land, their parents most certainly will.

So, how do you protect your child when she's traveling the world? The first step is to make sure she has proper medical care abroad. Medical coverage, like Study USA-Healthcare™ from USI Travel Insurance Services is a must.

Study USA-Healthcare™ is cheaper than most domestic health plans or plans offered by your child's school.  And with coverage including medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation, and 24-hour access to multi-lingual assistance services, they’ll have the help they need when you can't be there.

For more information on Study USA-Healthcare™ , or other travel insurance programs, go to www.travelinsure.com.