Educational Tourism and Language Accessibility: A Global Review of Academic Mobility and Linguistic Inclusion with a focus on Saudi Tourists

Abstract

Educational tourism is an important aspect of the growing field of global higher education. However, language accessibility is an important yet often neglected factor that influences the academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment of educational tourists. This review critically synthesizes empirical and theoretical studies on educational tourism, English-medium instruction (EMI), linguistic inclusivity, bilingual cognitive advantages, translation technologies, and institutional language policies from 2020 to 2025, with a special focus on educational tourists from Saudi Arabia. With a particular emphasis on the case study of Saudi Arabia, the study illustrates the ways in which the ‘Scholarships, Inbound and Outbound Mobility Programs, and Multilingual Support’ offered by the ‘Vision 2030’ initiative can be linked to the achievement of the ‘Quality Education’ goal (SDG 4), ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ goal (SDG 8), ‘Reduced Inequalities’ goal (SDG 10), and ‘Partnerships for the Goals’ goal (SDG 17). To critically analyze such an initiative, the ‘Educational Tourism Language Accessibility Framework’ (ET-LAF) is proposed, in which English is viewed as an enabler of global academic engagement and as a language that may function as an obstacle to the creation of inequalities. However, despite these policy achievements, existing gaps remain, including inconsistent EMI quality, unbalanced allocation of linguistic capital, insufficient multilingual academic scaffolding, and inadequate pre-departure and in-country language orientation. The review highlights the need for a human-centered, linguistically inclusive approach that incorporates language policies, technological tools, and academic scaffolding. The suggested ET-LAF model attempts to provide a conceptual model for understanding the role of language accessibility for educational tourism outcomes and to provide policy insights for sending countries, receiving countries, and higher education policymakers to improve the academic and social integration of international educational tourists.