Here’s startling revelation from Hainan Airlines. Chinese students
are visiting the Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and Tufts University in large numbers this summer. The
airline in fact said that these three renowned institutions in the
United States have become new summer hotspots for students from China.
Media reports said that with numerous Chinese students and their
families heading to these institutions in Boston, Hainan Airlines has
been prompted to launch direct flights between Beijing and Boston in
June 2014.
Considering the growing demand, the airline said that it had to increase
the frequencies of flights making it into a daily service from the
existing four in the months of July and August this year. The airline
stated that Tufts University receives numerous requests from large
organized groups and therefore conducts separate tours for these groups.
The increasing affluence of Chinese middle class and the idea of gaining
prestige on obtaining a degree from institutions in Boston have
prompted a huge number of students to visit the U.S. According to recent
reports, there has been a surge in Chinese students with the numbers in
Boston metropolitan area nearly tripled to 10,913 in 2013 from only
3,800 in 2009. The report said that this has been rather faster than the
growth achieved nationally, which has now more than doubled.
The reports said that Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Northeastern University and Boston University presently rank
among the top 25 schools hosting foreign students in 2012-2013. The
largest number of foreign students comprised of Chinese who accounted
for 27 percent.