TWO NEW student travel agencies, in Dublin and Cork, are seeking a share of the student travel market. SAY IT - Student and Youth International Travel (tel: (1850) 372623; (021) 272527) - was launched in Cork yesterday.
SAYIT says students who participate in its summer work and travel programme to the US are guaranteed a job placement and accommodation one month prior to departure. SAYIT is also promoting Camp America, the US summer camp work programme.
"We have been researching and coordinating it for the past nine months," says Trevor Ryan of SAYIT. SAYIT has obtained a new sponsor for the J1 programme and plans to offer about 550 places this year.
"The sponsor in America we have has mainly been dealing with Britain, Europe, Australia and New Zealand until now and they are now working with us here," Ryan says.
Students can obtain their own job and accommodation, or the sponsor will provide them. "Basically, it's a relatively small sponsor company and they prefer to see everyone sorted before they go."
SAYIT plans to charge £575 for its basic J1 package, including the visa fee, marginally cheaper than USIT's £588 package. An extra £100 gets you the sponsor's arranged job and accommodation. SAYIT plans to offer 150 of the £675 J1 packages and 400 of the £575 ones this year; an information roadshow will be travelling to colleges in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile DUST - Dublin University Student Travel (tel: (01) 6776545) - which has been established by TCD students union, was given the go ahead last week by the TCD board.
DUST is an agent for STA, the British based student travel company, and is offering fares to a range of international destinations. It has a return to New York for £240 or £139 one way.
Meanwhile USIT, the long established student travel operator, has extended the range of services available to students in its Aston Quay, Dublin, headquarters. Following a huge refurbishment operation, the centre now offers information on CD ROM, an Internet cafe, an information desk for work abroad and a foreign exchange desk.
