Extending the Visitor Economy Framework to International Student Mobility: Evidence from a Global Student Consultancy in Bangladesh

Rafiqul Bari Lasker; Ágnes Nóra Raffay-Danyi

doi:10.63924/jsid.v8i1.336

Authors

Rafiqul Bari Lasker University of Pannonia https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3570-5404
Ágnes Nóra Raffay-Danyi University of Pannonia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63924/jsid.v8i1.336

Keywords:

Visitor Economy, Experience Economy, International Student Mobility, Education Tourism, Global Student Consultancy, Bangladesh

Abstract

The visitor economy increasingly encompasses forms of temporary mobility beyond conventional tourism, yet international student mobility remains comparatively underrepresented despite its economic, social, cultural, and knowledge-based contributions to destinations. Previous visitor economy research has focused mainly on leisure, business, and event visitors, while international education research has rarely examined student mobility through a visitor economy lens. This study aims to extends the visitor economy framework to international student mobility by examining the intermediary role of Optimum Consultancy Inc. (OCI), Bangladesh, and asks how consultancy activities shape mobility, visitor experience, and stakeholder coordination. The study uses a qualitative single-case study design based on semi-structured online interviews with 20 participants across five stakeholder groups, supported by secondary academic and documentary sources and analysed through analytical generalisation and conceptual mapping. The findings show that OCI performs strategic intermediary functions by reducing information asymmetry and perceived risk, coordinating administrative and stakeholder flows, interpreting complex institutional information, and co-creating visitor experiences before physical travel. The analysis further identifies consultancy services as intangible attractions and positions consultancy firms as actors that extend visitor management beyond destination boundaries and into pre-mobility processes. The study contributes theoretically by integrating visitor economy, experience economy, visitor management, stakeholder, and international student mobility perspectives into an extended framework. Practically, the framework offers guidance for education consultancies, higher education institutions, destination managers, and policymakers seeking to improve international student experiences and strengthen the economic and social value of educational mobility.

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