Article: Building a digital trust ecosystem for innovative learning: the formation of complex educational tourism products in Europe Journal: International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE) 2025 Vol.20 No.6 pp.79 - 99 Abstract: The relevance of educational tourism has been growing in recent years, driven by factors such as globalisation, an increasing interest in immersive learning experiences, and the integration of technology. This growth has opened new opportunities for innovative learning within educational tourism. This multinational study investigates digital trust theory, focusing on how educational tourism products are formed through online services provided by language schools. To achieve this, qualitative data were collected using web-scraping techniques from 563 language schools across several countries, including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, and France. This process helped gauge the growth rate of online services offered by language schools during one academic year. Additionally, surveys and the 'secret client' method were employed to understand how these schools hybridise their online services with educational tourism offerings. Educational tourism managers can utilise the findings from this research to enhance customer loyalty and trust while gaining insights into how online services are utilised during the three phases of tourist product formation: before the trip, during the studies, and afterwards. The results demonstrate practical implementations of online service formats that can serve as a foundation for the innovative formation of educational tourism products. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Building a digital trust ecosystem for innovative learning: the formation of complex educational tourism products in Europe

Authors: Galina Shamanina; Elizaveta Fainshtein; Valentina Chkoniya; Valery Gordin; Anastasiia Korman

Addresses: Department of iSpring Solutions, Knektegårdsgatan 19A, 44137 Alingsås, Sweden ' Laboratory for Management in Culture and Tourism, Department of Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Saint Petersburg, Souyuza Pechatnikov 16, RU, 190121, Russia ' GOVCOPP, ISCA-UA, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal ' Department of Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Saint Souyuza Pechatnikov 16, Saint Petersburg, RU, 190121, Russia ' Laboratory for Management in Culture and Tourism, Department of Laboratory for Management in Culture and Tourism, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Saint Petersburg, Souyuza Pechatnikov 16, RU, 190121, Russia

Abstract: The relevance of educational tourism has been growing in recent years, driven by factors such as globalisation, an increasing interest in immersive learning experiences, and the integration of technology. This growth has opened new opportunities for innovative learning within educational tourism. This multinational study investigates digital trust theory, focusing on how educational tourism products are formed through online services provided by language schools. To achieve this, qualitative data were collected using web-scraping techniques from 563 language schools across several countries, including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, and France. This process helped gauge the growth rate of online services offered by language schools during one academic year. Additionally, surveys and the 'secret client' method were employed to understand how these schools hybridise their online services with educational tourism offerings. Educational tourism managers can utilise the findings from this research to enhance customer loyalty and trust while gaining insights into how online services are utilised during the three phases of tourist product formation: before the trip, during the studies, and afterwards. The results demonstrate practical implementations of online service formats that can serve as a foundation for the innovative formation of educational tourism products.

Keywords: digital trust; educational tourism; online language courses; loyalty; innovative learning; decision-making model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2025.150504

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2025 Vol.20 No.6, pp.79 - 99

Received: 31 Oct 2024
Accepted: 15 Apr 2025
Published online: 15 Dec 2025 *

Title: Building a digital trust ecosystem for innovative learning: the formation of complex educational tourism products in Europe

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