Hosting an informational parent meeting

Your Tour Consultant will work with you one-on-one to make sure your informational parent meeting is a complete success. From helping you prepare to practicing your presentation to giving you tips to make the whole thing fun (yes, fun!), they’ll be there to help you every step of the way.

Preparing for your informational parent meeting:

Just like your Tour Consultant helped you promote your meeting, they’ll also help you prepare for it. They will:

  • Set you up with a customized meeting agenda.
  • Prepare you with a PowerPoint presentation filled with videos and all of the tour information you’ll want to share with families.
  • Send you print resources to hand out at the meeting.
  • Have a “meeting dress rehearsal” with you to make sure you are ready to go.

Presenting at your meeting:

First of all—be confident! You know your tour is an incredible opportunity for your girls, so make sure they know it, too. Your Tour Consultant will give you personalized tips, but here are a few to keep in mind:

Open your meeting with the benefits of travel:

Traveling is more than an educational experience—it's an investment in a girl's future. Start by introducing yourself. Share a personal story about why you've put this tour together. Next, explain that:

  • International travel gives girls the opportunity to see the world through a new lens. By discovering amazing sites and cities, their interest is sparked like never before.
  • Girls acquire valuable life skills such as confidence, independence and leadership during their experience and they recognize their abilities to make a positive contribution to the world.
  • Colleges are placing increased emphasis on international experience when it comes to admissions.

Tell them why you chose EF:

EF is the world leader in international education and EF Tours for Girls offers girl-led organizations the opportunity to discover the world on safe and affordable international tours that are designed just for girls.

  • Discuss EF's focus on safety and support, and also your own approach to safety.
  • Review EF's worldwide presence, 24-hour emergency on-call service, full-time Tour Director, Global Travel Protection plan and over 50 years of experience.
  • Review your own rules that you expect travelers to abide by.

Talk about the tour:

Once all the background has been covered, it's time to talk about your adventure of a lifetime:

  • Spend time going over your tour’s itinerary and discuss what’s included in the price.
  • Personalize your presentation:     
    • Highlight what you are most excited about for your tour—whether it’s a city, a certain museum, or anything else.
    • If you or another Group Leader has led a tour in the past, make sure to show photos from that trip to generate additional interest.
  • Use the tools and resources EF provides (such as our parent guide) to help parents make informed decisions. 

Encourage girls to enroll:

Now that you've reviewed the benefits of travel, your partnership with EF and the details of your specific tour, it's time to tell travelers how to sign up. See details about enrolling girls and use these tips:

  • Take sign-ups at the meeting directly on your Tour Enrollment Page.
  • After your presentation, hand out materials that you received from your Tour Consultant, including the day-by-day itinerary.
  • Remember to communicate your enrollment deadline.

Making the whole thing fun:

Your tour is going to be a blast, so why not bring some of that festivity to your meeting as well? Feel free to get creative with this, but we’ll give you a few ideas here to get you going:

  • Serve food. (Travelers unanimously agree, this is a huge plus for any meeting.) Plus, it gives you the chance to showcase cuisine from your chosen destination.
  • Play music that’s popular in the places that your tour is going.
  • Make your meeting a social event. Invite parents and girls to stay after to mingle and get to know each other better.

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