Brunei, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam
August 29 – October 5

The AEO Tour – Fall 2024 tours visited 10 countries and 16 cities in East Asia (Brunei / Hong Kong / Taiwan – Taipei, Taichung, Hsinchu / South Korea – Seoul / Japan – Tokyo / Singapore / Malaysia – Penang, Kuala Lumpur / Thailand – Chiang Mai, Bangkok / Cambodia – Phnom Penh / Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hai Phong. We had 100 school visits and met over 9,000 students in five weeks!

Below, is a summary of each of the countries we visited this fall.

BRUNEI: Aug. 29-Sept. 1
This was our first time going to Brunei and it was wonderful! We had 2 school visits and an EducationUSA Workshop with Bruneian School Counselors. Both international schools in Brunei have amazing counselors that are eager for more visits. At the workshop, a few of the reps did a great job presenting and we had an incredible turnout with over 50 educators from Brunei. Brunei doesn’t get a lot of university visits (especially from the USA), but the parents and students are interested in studying in the USA. The EducationUSA advisor is very supportive of promoting US education and everyone that participated had a great time. We will be back again for sure!

Statistics: Brunei
5 participating institutions: 4 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 2
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 2
Number of total students, counselors, & parents seen: 74

HONG KONG: Sept. 1-3
The East Asia Tour started in Hong Kong and we had a wonderful group of universities and colleges. Everyone arrived on Sunday and a few of us went out to celebrate Emma’s birthday! We found out on Monday that it was also Brian’s birthday – haha, but we regretfully didn’t do anything. Sorry Brian!

We had a packed schedule and every visit was very busy. We had a total of 7 school fairs and were able to add a new school to the schedule that we hadn’t visited before. We’ve built a great network of schools and counselors in Hong Kong and there are many schools that want to host the AEO Tour! The support is amazing!

After the first day of visits, we had a counselor dinner and had 12 counselors join us. On the second day, we had 4 school fairs, including a pizza party fair with students for our lunch break. It was an interesting idea from the counselor to have a more casual fair and it was fun to mix it up. The pizza was terrible hahaha, but it was cool to have the support. We were also able to take a break and visit a local temple & garden and it was beautiful! After the last visit, we returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage and headed to the airport to fly to Taipei.

Statistics: Hong Kong
18 participating institutions: 13 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (6 private, 8 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 4
Number of school visits: 7
Number of total students seen: 720

TAIWAN: Sept. 3-7
Taiwan was incredibly busy and each day we left just after 7am and returned around 6pm. I thought the group was going to revolt against me hahah, but I am grateful that they didn’t. Everyone worked so hard and did such a great job! We had 5 visits in Taipei, 5 visits in Taichung, and 3 visits in Hsinchu. Like Hong Kong, our reputation and network continue to grow in Taiwan and there isn’t enough time to visit every school that wants to host us! It is a great problem to have.

We stay at the Courtyard Hotel in Nangang because it is attached to the High-Speed Rail and it makes it efficient for us to be able to visit multiple schools in Taiwan. I am proud to say that the schedule couldn’t have been more effective, although it was tiring. Each visit was great and our last visit in Taichung, we were greeted by 300+ students and a formal assembly as that was their first time ever hosting a group of US universities.

Taiwan is a fun stop and many of the group enjoyed the Taipei 101 and the night markets. On Friday evening, we had a counselor dinner at the hotel and had 11 counselors join us. We checked out the following morning and flew to South Korea.

Statistics: Taiwan
22 participating institutions: 16 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 18 (7 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 4
Number of school visits: 13
Number of total students & parents seen: 1,087

SOUTH KOREA: Sept. 7-11
We arrived in Seoul on Saturday night, checked into the hotel, and everyone enjoyed the night off. We also had a much-needed day off on Sunday to relax from the busy week and gear up for the new week. On Sunday, many of us had a magical day at Lotte World, which by any metric, is way better than Disneyland hahaha. It was a lot of fun and the group in Korea was incredible!

On Monday, we had 4 school fairs, including a new school that hosted us for the first time. Each visit was busy and we had several parents attend the last 2 fairs. It was nearly another 12-hour day as we had a counselor dinner that night and had 8 counselors join us.

On Tuesday, we traveled all over southern Seoul and visited 2 schools for the first time. The first visit, we had a presentation with nearly 20 parents and it was great to see the support and interest. We left at 6:30am and returned around 5pm, so it was another long day.

On Wednesday, we checked out, had two fairs, and enjoyed a nice lunch break at one of the nicest malls in Gangnam. After the last visit, we left for the airport for our flight to Japan.

Statistics: South Korea
25 participating institutions: 19 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 22 (11 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 10
Number of total students seen: 924

JAPAN: Sept. 11-14
This was our second tour in Japan and it was great again! We had wonderful school fairs and were able to add 2 new schools to the schedule. On the first day, we had another 11-hour day as we left at 8:45am and returned to the hotel at 8pm. The last school wanted to schedule an evening fair to give parents a chance to visit and many of them did. After work, many of us went out to enjoy the city and some delicious ramen!

On Friday, we had 3 fairs and a few of the group presented at the first school and did a great job! After the visits, we had a counselor dinner at the hotel next to ours and 6 counselors attend. It was also the last day on the tour for many of the group, including Lin – who is retiring at the end of the year. Lin has been on the AEO Tour for several years and we love her very much and will miss her.

On Saturday, many of us went out to see some sights before we had to fly to Singapore. Michelle did a great job showing us around the city and planning a fun morning for us!

Statistics: Japan
21 participating institutions: 18 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 15 (9 private, 6 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 7
Number of total students & parents seen: 479

SINGAPORE: Sept. 15-16
Singapore was the start of the Southeast Asia Tour and we had many new universities and colleges join. Sunday was a rest day and many of us went to eat at the hawker center and explore the city. We ended the night watching the water show at the Marina and the light show at Gardens by the Bay. Singapore is incredible!

On Monday, we checked out of the hotel and had 4 school fairs. At the first school, each rep had time to share a little about their institutions to the counselors and it was nice to have that time. We had 3 very busy fairs and one school wanted us to run workshops to help their students with a variety of topics. It was a great idea, but the school didn’t make it mandatory and the turnout was unfortunately poor. After a busy final visit, we left directly for the airport for our flight to Penang, Malaysia.

Statistics: Singapore
17 participating institutions: 14 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 17 (7 private, 10 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 4
Number of total students seen: 324

PENANG & KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Sept. 16-21
We arrived in Penang late in the evening, but many of still went out to enjoy the local food. The hotel in Penang is my all-time favorite and it was nice for the group to experience it!

We just had one day of visits in Penang and we were able to rest in the morning due to 2 last minute school cancelations. We confirmed the schedule back in April, but when they resumed school in August, the Malaysian government added an extra day to a public holiday, so they had to unfortunately cancel. However, I made arrangements to drop off everyone’s materials to both schools in the morning.

At the last school, we had the best fair we have ever had at that school. Many parents and students showed up and it was amazing to see the support and interest. Penang doesn’t get a lot of visits and it is nice for us to visit each year. After the last visit, we departed for the airport to fly to Kuala Lumpur.

In Kuala Lumpur, we had 4 fairs a day and it was very busy. On the first day, we visited all the ADTP (American Degree Transfer Programs) at the colleges and met hundreds of interested students looking to transfer to the USA to complete their degree. After work, many of us went to my favorite Yemeni restaurant in KL and had a nice dinner.

The following two days, we had 8 school fairs with the international schools and each fair kept the reps busy and engaged. After the last visit on Friday, we had a counselor dinner and had 14 counselors join us. The dinner in KL is always a great time! We checked out on Saturday morning and flew to Chiang Mai.

Statistics: Malaysia
17 participating institutions: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 15 (2 private, 13 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 16
Number of total students seen: 1,295

CHIANG MAI & BANGKOK, THAILAND: Sept. 21-25
We had a wonderful time in Thailand! The group was a little smaller than usual and it really made the school fairs extremely busy! We arrived on Saturday afternoon and went to the group’s favorite restaurant to eat the famous Khao Soi soup!

On Sunday, we enjoyed the day off and many went shopping, explored the city, caught up on work, and Stu and I got stranded on a mountain hahaha. Many of us went out for dinner at night and had a great dinner. It was nice to rest up from a busy week and to prepare for another long week.

On Monday, we had 4 school fairs and each school brought out all their students! It was great! At the last school before the fair, a few of the reps gave presentations to over 100 students and parents and did a wonderful job. After the fair, we left for the airport to fly to Bangkok.

We had two days of visits in Bangkok and each visit was packed with students. After the first day’s visits, we had a counselor dinner at my favorite buffet and had 8 counselors join us. It was great to see the support and a wonderful opportunity for the everyone to network and catch up.

The final day in Bangkok, we had great school fairs and were able to visit a new school that we haven’t visited yet. I had been in contact with them for years and it was nice to finally schedule a fair and it turned out to be one of the best ones! The schedule allowed for a lunch break at the mall and it was nice to not eat lunch on the bus for once haha.

At the last visit, there were over 150 students attending and Jodi and Daing delivered a fantastic presentation – despite a torrential downpour hahaha. We then headed directly to the airport for our flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Statistics: Thailand
11 participating institutions: 11 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 11 (4 private, 7 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 12
Number of total students seen: 1,156

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Sept. 25-27
Phnom Penh was unbelievable! The interest in the USA is increasing each year and this was our best and most effective stop to date! We were able to have fairs with 3 new schools in Phnom Penh and it was so fun.

We arrived late in the evening to the hotel and a few of us went to a local noodle restaurant and had a nice dinner. The schedule was extremely busy and the group was ready for the challenge. On Thursday, we left at 7:30am and didn’t return until 8:30pm – who plans a 13-hour day?? Haha. To everyone’s credit, they never complained too much to my face haha. All the visits were great and many of the reps had a chance to present on a variety of topics to help the students.

The highlight of Thursday was our third visit, which was one of the greatest visits ever in AEO Tour history. We were treated like royalty as we were hosted by His Excellency and had a multi-school fair with 500 students. It was an incredible experience that we will never forget!

On Friday, we had 4 wonderful fairs and the group did an amazing job! I know everyone was exhausted, but to their credit, they brought the same amount of energy and passion to each student. After the last fair, we departed for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Statistics: Cambodia
9 participating institutions: 9 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 6 (2 private, 4 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 9
Number of total students seen: 974

HO CHI MINH CITY, HANOI, & HAI PHONG, VIETNAM: Sept. 27-Oct. 5
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late on Friday night and were able to finally sleep in! On Saturday afternoon, we had a public fair at the hotel and had nearly 150 students and parents attended. After the fair, many of the group enjoyed dinner and shopping in the city. Ho Chi Minh City is such a fun and vibrant city!

We all enjoyed a Sunday off, but the highlight (as always) was Rico Taco hahah.

On Monday, we another long day as we left at 7:00am and returned at 5:00pm for a quick break before our group dinner. We only had 2 counselors show up, but we had a great time at the Sheraton buffet, which was unbelievable!

On Tuesday, we had another full day of fairs and left directly to the airport for our flight to Hanoi. Nearly every visit in Ho Chi Minh City was packed as most of the school’s made our fairs mandatory and released every grade 10-12 student. It was wonderful!

We arrived in Hanoi later Tuesday night and were still able to enjoy some pizza in the lounge at Pizza 4P’s – a fan favorite! The hotel in Hanoi is fantastic as they are apartments – fully equipped with a kitchen, living room, and laundry machines.

On Wednesday, we had the longest day of the tour, but it was a great day! We left at 7:30am and returned to the hotel at 8:30pm. Another 13-hour day! We were able to go to the famous “Obama Noodle” restaurant as a group and it was a lot of fun. We were also able to be the first group ever to host a fair at one of the schools and they treated us with unbelievable hospitality.

On Thursday, we had 3 school fairs and were also able to visit The Temple of Literature for a nice cultural experience. We persevered through the infamous Bill Gates school hahah and returned to the hotel for our group dinner with 5 counselors. After dinner, the group went to train street and enjoyed an amazing night!

Friday was our last day and it was one of the all-time great days! We had a visit in Hanoi and then drove to Hai Phong for 2 more fairs. This was our first time in Hai Phong and it won’t be the last. I was also able to drop off everyone’s materials to an additional school in Hai Phong that expressed interest in a future fair. We had an amazing fair at the first school and were even gifted with the school’s incredible all-girl rock band.

The final visit of the tour was my favorite visit of all-time! It was their first time ever hosting USA universities and they couldn’t have done a better job hosting us! They had every student in the school attend (300+) and we were welcomed with a vocal and dance performance. For the rest of our lives, we will remember the excitement, energy, and enthusiasm from this school. On the way home, we enjoyed listening to everyone’s favorite music and it made the time fly by. That night, we had a group dinner in the hotel and the group surprised me with an early birthday celebration and it capped off one of the best days of my life. Thank you so much everyone!

On Saturday, everyone checked out and headed their various ways – some home, some to other countries to recruit, some to Ha Long Bay, and some to Sa Pa! It was difficult to say goodbye after such an amazing time together!

Statistics: Vietnam
22 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 21 (private: 5, public: 16)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 20
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 2,316

FINAL THOUGHTS
The Fall 2024 Tour season was incredible and very successful! This was my favorite tour yet and that is because of the people on the tour. Everyone worked so hard, showed up for every visit and student, and truly represented their institutions with world-class professionalism.

Every tour, I try my best to cultivate a “family” environment and culture and I am so happy that the “AEO Family” continues to grow. We seem to attract the best people in the field/world and I am so grateful for everyone that joined the tour this fall. You have made me a better person and I learned a lot from each of you.

The reputation of AEO Tour has always been strong throughout Asia and it continues to grow. As I continue to spend more time in this area of the world, I continue to network with more schools and my goal is to help you cast a wide net of outreach to all types of qualified students in this part of the world. I can proudly say that we did a fantastic job this fall and it was a lot of work, but it was so fun!

I would love for you all to join the tour again in the future! You are always welcome on the tour and I am proud to have you in the “AEO Family”! Keep up the wonderful work you do and please stay connected to each other. The friendships I have made on the AEO Tour have and continue to be lifelong.

Be proud of the work you have done on the AEO Tour this fall. No doubt you have impacted hundreds of lives. Keep up the great work and remember me when you are famous.

I love you all and can’t wait to see you again soon!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea
April 7^th – 20^th

The AEO Tour – Spring 2024 East Asia tour visited 4 countries and 11 cities in East Asia (Japan – Tokyo / Taiwan – Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung / South Korea – Busan, Daegu, Seoul, Incheon / Hong Kong – Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon). We had 29 school visits and met over 2,000 students in two weeks!

Below, is a summary of each of the countries on our tour.

JAPAN: April 7-9
This was our first time going to Japan and the visits were great! The first day, we had 2 visits, visited a beautiful park to see the cherry blossoms, and then hosted a counselor dinner and had 8 counselors show up. We had a great time eating and connecting with each other! We had a very long day on the 9^th as we checked out early, had 3 school visits and then flew to Taipei later at night. Everyone worked hard and nobody complained (at least to my face haha) – so I knew it would be a great group!

Statistics: Taiwan
11 participating institutions: 9 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 9 (4 private, 5 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students & parents seen: 268

TAIWAN: April 9-13
Taiwan was a very effective and busy stop on the tour. The group from Japan arrived in the early morning on the 10^th and we started a few hours later and visited 4 schools in Taipei. The visits were great and we were happy to return to the hotel to rest and relax. Most of the group enjoyed the night market near the hotel.

The second day, we took the train to Taichung and had 3 school visits and one visit was the first fair the school has ever had! They also invited many parents, which is always great! We arrived later at night and everyone enjoyed another free night. On Friday, April 12, we left for a visit in Taoyuan and had 3 more visits in Hsinchu. 2 of the 4 visits was their first university fairs ever and they were all terrific visits. Later that night, we enjoyed a Cantonese-style dinner at the hotel and had 5 counselors join us.

On Saturday, we checked out and had a fair at a school in Taipei. The school wanted to have a Saturday fair to have more parents come. The turnout wasn’t as good as they had advertised and hoped for, but it was still great to be able to meet students and parents. After the fair, we headed for the airport to fly to Busan, South Korea.

Statistics: Taiwan
22 participating institutions: 19 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 19 (8 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 12
Number of total students & parents seen: 831

SOUTH KOREA: April 13-17
We arrived in Busan on Saturday night, checked into the hotel, and enjoyed the night off. On Sunday, April 14, we had a much-needed day off. The weather was beautiful and everyone had fun and relaxed. On Monday, we had 2 visits and both were extremely busy! For dinner, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet at the hotel and had 2 counselors attend.

On Tuesday, April 16, we checked out and traveled north to Daegu for a multi-school fair. It was nice to visit schools that don’t get a lot of visitors and the school invited many parents. After the fair, we took the train to Seoul. We arrived in time for everyone to enjoy dinner and shopping in the Namdaemun area.

We checked out on April 17 and had 2 college fairs. The first school, we held workshops to help the students understand the US application process, how to choose majors, finding the right fit, and learning about scholarships and paying for college. After the workshops, we held the fair and it was very busy. The second school was near the airport and it was our first time visiting the school. The support from the school was great and many parents attended. After the visit, we said goodbye to half of the group and the other half went to the airport to fly to Hong Kong.

Statistics: South Korea
25 participating institutions: 18 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 21 (9 private, 12 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 4
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students seen: 436

HONG KONG: April 17-20
Due to a delay in our flight, the group from South Korea arrived in the early morning of April 18^th. We had a short rest and left for 3 school visits. The first visit wasn’t very busy, but the last 2 were great! After the visits, many of us went out to enjoy the wonderful food and shopping of Hong Kong! The next day, we had 3 very good visits and had a fun group dinner at a Japanese buffet that 8 counselors attended. On April 20^th, we checked out and said goodbye to each other.

Statistics: Hong Kong
14 participating institutions: 12 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 12 (4 private, 8 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 6
Number of total students seen: 509

FINAL THOUGHTS
The Spring 2024 East Asia Tour was a great success! The group bonded together and really got along well – which is what I try to foster and encourage. We had a wonderful mix of new and experienced recruiters and it is major benefit of the tour is to be able to network and help and learn from each other. Some of the best people I have ever met have been on the AEO Tour and I will always be grateful for the high-caliber people and professionals that the AEO Tour attracts.

The reputation of the AEO Tour is great in East Asia and many new schools are reaching out to have us visit now and schedule visits in the future. It is fun to see the excitement from the college side, as well as the university side.

We worked hard on this tour and had a few 14+ hour days and long nights. The group was always positive and everyone was on time every day. In 2 weeks, we visited 29 schools for university fairs, helped with workshops, hosted 4 counselor dinners, and visited 4 countries & 11 cities.  We maximized each day with effective visits/workshops/presentations and enjoyed our nights with group dinners and cultural experiences. It was a great time and it is always difficult to say goodbye at the end of the tour.

I truly loved each day of the tour and a lot of that has to do with the people on the tour. We visited some wonderful countries and I can’t wait to visit again this fall!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Denpasar, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh
Feb. 29 – March 20, 2024

The AEO Tour – Spring 2024 SE Asia Tour visited 7 cities and 5 countries in Southeast Asia. We had 2 AEO public exhibitions, 42 school visits, and met over 2,500 students! We were very busy from start to finish and we had an amazing group of university and college representatives! Below, is a summary of each of the cities on our tour.

DENPASAR, INDONESIA: Feb. 29-March 3
For the first time ever, we organized a counselor fly-in and networking retreat and it was amazing! Before the retreat, we had 2 school fairs and gave presentations to the entire 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade classes.

For the counselor networking retreat, we invited counselors from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand. We had a great opening dinner the first night and the next day had a wonderful networking session and a very informative and engaging free discussion. We had fun, grew professionally, learned from each other, and enjoyed the beautiful resort. This will be the first of many counselor networking retreats!

Statistics: Denpasar
9 participating institutions: 7 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 8 (1 private, 7 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 2
Number of total students seen: 95

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND: March 3-4
Everyone arrived on Sunday, March 3 and we had a group dinner in the hotel. It was great to get to know each other! We had a very busy day with four school fairs and they were all packed with interested students! After the visits, we left directly to the airport and flew to Bangkok. It was a very long, but effective day. Chiang Mai doesn’t get a lot of visits, but the schools are amazing and the student interest in the USA is very high.

Statistics: Chiang Mai
15 participating institutions: 12 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (3 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 4
Number of total students seen: 246

BANGKOK, THAILAND: March 4-6
We had two days of fairs in Bangkok and they were all very busy. The first day, we had 4 school fairs and 2 of the fairs, we had workshops and gave presentations. After the last visit, we had a mindfulness workshop with the owner of the school who incorporates mindfulness in their school practice. We had an amazing buffet dinner with counselors after the first night and it was one of the best buffets I have ever been to!

The second day we had 2 school fairs and the second school fair was their first one after the pandemic. The counselor said she had received other invites from different groups and tour companies, but only wanted the AEO Tour to come this semester! That is awesome! We have a great network of schools in Bangkok that we have worked with for years and we are able to maximize each day to the fullest with effective school visits. After the last visit, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City.

Statistics: Bangkok
15 participating institutions: 12 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (3 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 6
Number of total students seen: 385

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: March 6-9
We arrived late on the 6 of March and had an early start to the day on March 7 with 4 school fairs. 2 of the fairs were the first ever for the AEO Tour and although one of them wasn’t very busy, it was still good to increase our network and visibility for the participating universities and colleges on the tour. It was nice to finally have a night off after several busy days in Thailand and I took many of the group members to my favorite restaurant in HCMC – Rico Taco haha.

On March 8, we had 3 school fairs and had workshops in conjunction with the fair at the first school. It was a very successful and busy day. That night, we had a counselor dinner at the hotel buffet and it was nice to celebrate “International Women’s Day” with everyone!

On March 9, we had the morning off and held our first public exhibition in the afternoon. We had a great turnout and were happy to award a $5,000 scholarship to a wonderful student! Directly after the fair, we flew to Hanoi.

Statistics: Ho Chi Minh City
22 participating colleges: 18 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 4, public: 12)
Number of 2-year colleges: 6
Number of school visits: 7
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 484
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 268
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

HANOI, VIETNAM: March 9-12
We arrived late in the evening of March 9 and checked into the Lotte Residence. This a nice place to stay for many reasons, but primarily because each room has a washer and dryer. On Sunday, March 10, most of us enjoyed an optional excursion to Ninh Binh, which is one of the most beautiful sites in Vietnam. We hiked, ate lunch, rode in a boat and made it back in time to enjoy dinner and Train Street!

On March 11, we had our longest day of the tour – 4 school fairs, a public exhibition, and a counselor dinner. We left at 7:30am and didn’t return to the hotel until 9:30pm. Everyone worked so hard and nobody complained (at least not to my face hahah). The school fairs were all very busy. The public exhibition was ok, but we didn’t have as many students attend than we were expecting. We did have 76 students and parents attend and those that attended were great! We had several counselors attend dinner after the exhibition and we practically had the buffet all to ourselves.

On March 12, we had 2 school fairs planned, but one of them canceled last minute due to an ownership visit to the school. The counselor came to dinner the night before and we will be sure to visit in the fall. The fist school was very busy and brought out every student grade 9-11 – which was great. We returned to the hotel, packed up and flew to Kuala Lumpur.

Statistics: Hanoi
18 participating colleges: 14 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (private: 3, public: 11)
Number of 2-year colleges: 4
Number of school visits: 5
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 392
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in Hanoi sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 224
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

KUALA LUMPUR: March 12-16
Kuala Lumpur is always our longest stop, because we dedicate one day to the colleges that have American Degree Transfer Programs (ADTP). We have coordinated with each of the schools in KL to be able to have fairs with all of them on the same day, so it makes it very efficient for the group. On Wednesday, March 13, we had fairs with 4 ADTP colleges and enjoyed a free night. After, many of us went out to dinner at my favorite Yemeni restaurant in KL.

On Thursday, March 14, we had 4 school fairs and they were all very busy. The last visit had several parents attend it was our best fair at that school! Everyone enjoyed a free night and some of us went out for some karaoke!

On Friday, March 15, we had another 3 school fairs and the first was the first university fair the school has ever had. The last 2 school fairs mentioned that they only have one group of USA universities and colleges visit each year and it is the AEO Tour! After the last visit, we returned to the hotel for our largest counselor dinner on the tour!

On Saturday, March 16, we checked out and flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Statistics: Kuala Lumpur
16 participating colleges: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 4, public: 12)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 11
Number of total students seen: 568

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: March 16-20
We arrived in Siem Reap on Saturday afternoon and had a nice Khmer dinner at the resort. It happened to be the annual River Festival and we walked around and enjoyed the festivities. On Sunday, March 17, we went to Angkor Wat and it was incredible! We visited 3 temple sites and had a wonderful lunch. After, we flew to Phnom Penn and discovered the best restaurant, “David’s Restaurant Homemade Noodles”.

On Monday, March 18, we left the hotel at 8:30am and didn’t return until 8:45pm at night. We had 3 school fairs and a 1 parent night and fair. It was a very busy and effective day and the students were great!

On Tuesday, March 19, we had 3 school fairs and a group dinner with counselors! It was fun to be able to spend a few days in Phnom Penh – the schools and counselors are so amazing! We all said our goodbyes and everyone departed home the next day!

Statistics: Phnom Penh
9 participating institutions: 9 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 7 (3 private, 4 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 7
Number of total students seen: 419

FINAL THOUGHTS
We had so many amazing experiences during this trip and so many incredible recruiters joined us. The tour was very successful and we were able to visit a variety of quality schools throughout SE Asia, including some that have never had USA universities visit before. I am grateful for the network of incredible counselors in SE Asia who help coordinate our fairs and allow us to visit. Several of them mentioned to me that they only allow fairs for the AEO Tour and that is always nice to hear!

I am grateful for each participant. Everyone was on time, worked incredibly hard, and was so positive. We had some long days – but everyone was so great! Each tour has its own personality as the group is different every time, but it is amazing every time! I love it so much and I love being able to bring people that I care about to places in SE Asia that I care about.

An important element that I try to incorporate into the tours is having experiences to connect and learn more about the cultures of the places we visit. Group activities, dinners and excursions were carefully planned with this goal in mind. I am so grateful for the group’s eagerness and willingness to try new things – although sacrificing sleep at times. I can’t say enough great things about the group. Thank you!

Already looking forward to another round of tours in the Fall of 2024!

Thank you for being a part of the AEO Family!

Mr. Ben
AEO Tour

Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Surabaya, Jakarta
Sept. 21^st – Oct. 14^th

The AEO Tour – Fall 2023 SE Asia Pt. 1 & 2 Tours visited 9 cities and 6 countries in Southeast Asia. We had 3 AEO public exhibitions, 54 school visits, and met over 4,300+ students! We were very busy from start to finish and we had an amazing group! Below, is a summary of each of the cities on our tour.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND: Sept. 21-23
We had four school visits in Chiang Mai and they were all very busy. Two of the schools we had visited had never hosted a university fair before, so we were happy to be the first! The interest in the USA is high and the students were energetic. After the visits, we had a group dinner at a local family Thai restaurant and ate the best Khao Soi soup! On Saturday morning, we went to an Elephant Rescue Park in the mountains and had the opportunity to feed, walk with, and bath rescued elephants. It was an incredible experience!

Statistics: Chiang Mai
17 participating institutions: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 15 (5 private, 10 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 4
Number of total students seen: 362

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Sept. 23-26
We were in Bangkok for 3 days and had the day off on Sunday to rest and catch up with work. On Monday and Tuesday, we had 8 total school visits and it was very busy. We have a great network of schools in Bangkok that we have worked with for years and we are able to maximize each day to the fullest with effective school visits. After visits on Monday, we had a group dinner with counselors at a very nice Michelin Rated restaurant called Khao. We all loved it!

Statistics: Bangkok
18 participating institutions: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 15 (6 private, 9 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 8
Number of total students seen: 559

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Sept. 26-27
Although we were in Phnom Penh for just a night and a day, we made the most of it! As soon as we arrived, we dropped off our luggage and participated in a local Cambodian cooking class. It was a great change of pace for the group and it was delicious! We had an early start the next morning and 4 busy school visits. 2 of the schools invited other local schools from the area to participate in the university fair! It was truly an amazing day and it was the first time the AEO Tour has been back in Cambodia since the spring of 2019. We will be coming back in the Spring as many of the schools requested longer fairs and parent nights in the future!

Statistics: Phnom Penh
17 participating institutions: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (6 private, 10 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 4 (a total of 7 schools participated)
Number of total students seen: 459

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: September 27-October 1
After a busy start of the week visiting 2 different countries, it was nice to be able to stay in the same hotel and city for multiple nights! Ho Chi Minh City is always a fun city to be in and visit! We had a packed schedule that consisted of 8 school visits, a counselor dinner, and a public exhibition. Ho Chi Minh City is always a great stop on the tour as the economy is growing so fast and the desire for US education remains high. We had a great turnout at the public exhibition and we were happy to award a $5,000 USD scholarship to a wonderful student.

Statistics: Ho Chi Minh City
24 participating colleges: 19 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 22 (private: 12, public: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 8
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 805
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 268
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

HANOI, VIETNAM: October 1-3
We arrived in the afternoon on Sunday in Hanoi and most of us enjoyed the famous” Obama noodles” and experienced Train Street! It was such a fun night with the group! On Monday, we had 3 school visits and went directly to our public exhibition and a counselor dinner. It was a busy day, but another great day and another great turnout at the exhibition. We were happy to award another $5,000 USD scholarship to an excited student! Most of the group checked out on Tuesday and we had 2 school visits before flying to start Tour 2 in Kuala Lumpur!

Statistics: Hanoi
23 participating colleges: 19 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 21 (private: 11, public: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 5
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 482
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in Hanoi sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 224
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

KUALA LUMPUR: October 3-8
Kuala Lumpur is always our longest stop, because we dedicate one day to the colleges that have American Degree Transfer Programs (ADTP). We have coordinated with each of the schools in KL to be able to have fairs with all of them on the same day, so it makes it very efficient for the group. On Wednesday, we had fairs with 4 ADTP colleges and enjoyed a free night. Thursday, we had 4 school visits and the public exhibition. Although the exhibition was a little slow, the students and parents that attended were high quality and interested in the USA! On Friday, we had another 4 school visits all over the KL area and returned to the hotel for our largest counselor dinner on the tour! It was great to have Saturday off and many of the group went shopping and enjoyed a delicious Yemeni dinner at night and watched a terrible rom com based in Vietnam haha. On Sunday, the group flew to Singapore.

Statistics: Kuala Lumpur
17 participating colleges: 12 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 7, public: 9)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 8
Number of public exhibitions: 1
Number of total students seen: 1,039
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in Malaysia sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 556
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn.

SINGAPORE: October 8-9
We arrived in Singapore in the afternoon on Sunday and the group went out and explored the best we could for one night! We saw some sights from “Crazy Rich Asians”, visited the Marina, saw the light shows, and ate delicious food! On Monday, we checked out of the hotel and had 3 school visits. The first 2 visits were good, but the last was terrible. It was frustrating, because the school requested for us to come back and they would ensure a better turnout, but it is not a very effective school for us to visit. Lesson learned. Just like that, we were off to Surabaya.

Statistics: Singapore
8 participating colleges: 6 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 8 (private: 5, public: 3)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 3
Number of total students seen: 83

SURABAYA, INDONESIA: October 9-11
This was the first time the tour has been to Surabaya since 2013 and it was great to be back! Surabaya doesn’t get a lot of visitors and the students have money and a desire to study in the USA. The schools were very supportive and were eager to host us. The first day, we had 3 school visits and visited the second largest Mosque in Indonesia. Later that night, we had a nice counselor dinner in the hotel. We checked out the second day and had 2 school visits before flying to Jakarta.

Statistics: Surabaya
10 participating colleges: 7 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 10 (private: 5, public: 5)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students seen: 289

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: October 11-14
We had 5 school visits in Jakarta over 2 days and they were all good. The level of support from the counselors is always high in Jakarta and the student engagement was great. Fortunately, the traffic is getting better and we were on time for everything haha. The second night, we had a counselor dinner at traditional Indonesian restaurant and it was a great experience! This was the last stop for the Southeast Asia Tours and most said goodbye, while a few remained and traveled to Hong Kong for the East Asia Tour.

Statistics: Jakarta
12 participating colleges: 9 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 12 (private: 5, public: 7)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students seen: 283

FINAL THOUGHTS
The AEO Tour – SE Asia Tours were a huge success and I loved every day of it! From the start, we had a special group of participating representatives and everyone came ready to work, help one another, and immerse themselves into the experience. The group bonded from day 1 and as the tour leader, I couldn’t have been happier! Everyone was on time, worked hard, had great attitudes, and we had a ton of fun. We truly made the most of each day and made the best use of our time in SE Asia. We had 54 school visits across the 2 tours! Amazing!

An important element that I try to incorporate into the tours is having experiences to connect and learn more about the cultures of the places we visit. Group activities, dinners and excursions were carefully planned with this goal in mind. I am so grateful for the group’s eagerness and willingness to try new things – although sacrificing sleep at times. I can’t say enough great things about the group. Thank you!

Already looking forward to another round of tours in the Spring of 2024!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea
Oct. 15th– 25th

The AEO Tour – Fall 2023 East Asia Tour visited 9 cities and 3 countries in East Asia. We had 27 school visits and met over 1,800+ students in a week and a half!

Below, is a summary of each of the cities on our tour.

HONG KONG: Oct. 15-17
This was the first time the tour has been in Hong Kong since 2012 and it was so great to be back. It took a great deal of planning and networking with the schools in Hong Kong, but the hard work paid off, because nearly every visit was amazing! Across 2 days, we had 8 school visits and met so many amazing and interested students! The support from the counselors was incredible and we will be back in the Spring.

Statistics: Hong Kong
19 participating institutions: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 15 (5 private, 10 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 8
Number of total students seen: 660

TAIWAN: Oct. 17-20
Taiwan is always a great stop on the tour. This was the first time the tour has visited in the fall as it is usually a spring stop. We visited 3 cities in 3 days and had a total of 10 school visits. The first day, we were in Taipei and visited a record 5 schools in one day! That night, we had a very nice counselor dinner and had several counselors from all over Taipei and Hsinchu attend!

Although the greatest ice cream in the world didn’t make a showing, it was still a great dinner haha! The second day, we took the train to Taichung and had 3 great school visits. The final day, we drove to Hsinchu for 2 great school visits and flew to South Korea.

Statistics: Taiwan
24 participating institutions: 20 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 24 (12 private, 12 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 10
Number of total students seen: 585

SOUTH KOREA: Oct. 20-25
We started off our South Korea journey on a bus (a very long bus ride) to a beautiful national park on the Northeast corner of South Korea, called Seoraksan. It was incredible to be in the outdoors and experience a beautiful hike in the fall season. We were able to rest on Sunday, before 3 very busy days of work in South Korea.

On Monday, we had a great school visit in Seoul and then took the train to Daejeon for a large multi-school fair and a stop at the world famous bakery! On Tuesday, we traveled to Suwon for a large fair and then back to Seoul for 2 more school visits. That night, we had a large counselor dinner at a local Korean restaurant and had a wonderful time with everyone. This was our last night, so it was great to be together!

On Wednesday, we checked out and had 4 school visits all over Seoul and Songdo before we said out goodbyes! It always goes by too fast!

Statistics: South Korea
22 participating institutions: 19 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 21 (10 private, 11 public)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 9
Number of total students seen: 617

FINAL THOUGHTS
The Fall 2023 East Asia Tour was a great success! In just a week and a half, we visited 3 countries and participated in 27 fairs! We were among the first groups to visit Hong Kong since the pandemic and the visits couldn’t have been better! We maximized each day with effective school visits and enjoyed our nights with group dinners and cultural experiences.

Each participant was on-time, professional, worked hard, and positive. I loved every day of this tour and a large part was how amazing each member was. The tour is only as good as the people on it and we had some of the best on this tour!

Already looking forward to another round of tours in the Spring of 2024!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Seoul, Suwon, Songdo, Daejeon, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung
April 11-21

The AEO Tour – East Asia Spring 2023 Tour visited 8 cities and 2 countries in East Asia. We had 22 school visits and met nearly 2,000 students! This was our first solo tour in East Asia and it was fantastic! In the past, we have added Taiwan as a first or last stop on our Southeast Asia tours, but it was nice to be able to focus more on Taiwan and add South Korea. Below, is a summary of each of the countries on our tour.

South Korea (Seoul, Suwon, Songdo, Daejeon): April 11-15
We were in South Korea for 4 nights and it was great! We were the first group of US universities and colleges to visit since the pandemic for most of the schools in South Korea and they were very grateful and brought out most of their students.

On the first day, we visited 4 schools and all the visits were very good! The schedule was busy, especially for the first day of the tour, but the group was incredible! The schools were relatively close together, which allowed us to schedule 4 visits even with the traffic. After the visits, the group enjoyed the free night and went shopping and out to dinner. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Namdaemun. Namdaemun is a great location as it close to Seoul Station and lots of great restaurants and shops.

On the second day of school visits, we traveled to Suwon for a large fair and several of our group members gave presentations to students and parents. It was a huge success and over 140 students and parents participated. After, we drove to Songdo and had lunch and another school visit. Our last school visit of the day was with a school that hasn’t hosted a large university fair before and the students were amazing! It was another great day! For dinner, many of us went to a Michelin-rated restaurant and had amazing spread of Korean desserts (patpingsu).

Our final day of school visits, we had one visit in Seoul that brought out every 10 and 11 grade student and was great! After, we took the train to Daejeon and had a multi-school fair with over 170 students participating. To cap off the visits, we stopped off at a famous Michelin-rated bakery and bought snacks for our train ride back to Seoul. We enjoyed a group dinner at the hotel and it was a great way to end the working week!

On Saturday, April 15 many of us went on an excursion to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Half of the group decided to dress up in the Korean traditional clothing, called Hanbok, and we had a blast walking around and taking pictures of the palace. After, we all checked out and flew to Taipei.

Statistics: South Korea
25 participating universities & colleges: 20 states represented
Number of 4-year universities & colleges: 22 (private: 6, public: 16)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 9
Number of total students seen: 908

Taiwan (Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung): April 15-21
We arrived in Taiwan on Saturday evening, April 15 and checked into the Courtyard Marriott in Nangang. The location is quite nice, because it is attached to a mall and the high-speed rail station. It was nice to have Sunday off and most of the group enjoyed sightseeing and the night markets.

On Monday, April 17, we had 3 school visits in Taipei. Just like in South Korea, most of the school visits in Taiwan were the first university fairs since the pandemic. The first visit was the first university fair the school has ever had! Each school visit was great and they brought out all their grade 10 and 11 students. The final visit of the day was a very large fair with a presentation and personal introduction for each university/college representative! When we returned to the hotel, we had a very nice group dinner for at the hotel which featured the greatest ice cream in the world!

On the second day of visits, we started the day in Taipei and then traveled to Hsinchu for 3 school visits. Again, each school visit was great and we were proud to be the very first group to have a university fair at one of the schools. The last visit of the day was after school and over 120 students participated. The PTA of the school also put together snacks for each representative for the drive back to Taipei.

We had our longest day on Wednesday, April 19. We checked out of the hotel in the morning and drove 2 ½ hours to Taichung. In Taichung, we had 4 school visits. The first visit, we had an assembly and over 160 students attended! We were the first university fair for the second school and the staff, students, and fair set up were amazing! After the last visit, we drove 2 ½ hours to Kaohsiung. The highlight of the drive was watching “Furious 7” hahaha. When we arrived, we checked into the beautiful Kaohsiung Marriott hotel.

Our final day, we had 2 school visits with a nice break in between. When we returned to the hotel, we had a final dinner with everyone and many of us stayed up together talking and hanging out. The group truly was special and everyone that participated helped make the tour awesome!

FINAL THOUGHTS
From my perspective, the tour couldn’t have been better! The schools that we visited brought out most of their students for us to talk to, the schedule was full, we ate amazing food, stayed in amazing hotels, everyone was on time each day, nobody got sick, and each participant contributed to making the tour memorable. Everyone was so great and I loved spending time with the group each day!

Although this tour was shorter than our normal tours, the group bonded fast and it was fun to see the team building from day one. I can’t say enough good things about the participants on the tour. I am very grateful to have been with you all.

I want to personally thank you for choosing AEO Tour! I know there are different tour companies and many different recruitment opportunities around the world. For over 36 years, AEO Tour has invested time, energy, and money prior to the tours to ensure each participant has a positive, successful, and memorable experience. The goal is to provide the best tour possible in East Asia at a great value. We are constantly striving to make each tour better and better and hope to see you on one of our Fall 2023 Tours!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Jakarta, Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bangkok
Feb. 28 – March 18

The AEO Tour – Spring 2023 Tour visited 7 cities and 5 countries in Asia. We had 2 AEO public exhibitions, a record-setting 45 school visits, and met over 2,600 students! This was the longest tour we have ever ran in our 36-year existence and probably the longest tour in the world! Each member of the tour should feel proud that they are a part of history! Below, is a summary of each of the cities on our tour.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA: February 28-March 2
It has been a few years since we have been to Jakarta and it was good to be back. We had 5 school visits in total – 3 on the first day and 2 on the second day before flying to Bali. The visits were stronger the first day as the schools brought out most of their students to our fair. All the counselors were excited for us to be back and many counselors mentioned that many of their students’ number one destination for university is the US! We will return to Indonesia this fall.

Our first night, we had a wonderful group dinner at a beautiful traditional Indonesian restaurant and it was great to be with everyone.

Statistics: Jakarta
15 participating colleges: 13 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 10 (private: 4, public: 6)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students seen: 307

BALI, INDONESIA: March 2-5
We planned the Bali portion of the tour because there are some great schools that were eager for us to visit and it also provided a chance for everyone to rest up. Jakarta was a difficult city to start the tour as there are no direct flights from the USA and many of the group arrived late at night before the tour started. When we arrived in Bali, we were greeted at the airport with flower necklaces and checked into our beautiful hotel on the coast. We had a combined 3-school fair and scheduled presentations and another school visit in the afternoon. We met a lot of great students that don’t get a lot of exposure to universities from the USA and the counselors were extremely grateful. They immediately asked for us to schedule another visit next year. After the visits, we had an amazing Italian dinner at the Hyatt Hotel with a few of the counselors and I think we all gained a few pounds.

On Saturday, March 4, we went on an excursion to a traditional village and had an amazing lunch with a scenic view of the volcano and highest point in Bali. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoyed perfect weather and an incredible sunset.

Statistics: Bali
15 participating colleges: 13 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 10 (private: 4, public: 6)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 5
Number of total students seen: 185

SINGAPORE: March 5-7
Again, this was our first time being back in Singapore since 2019 and most of the school visits were great. We were able to have fairs with a few schools that had never hosted US universities before! We had a total of 7 school visits during our 2 days. The group enjoyed the delicious food at the Newton Food Centre, which is right down the street from the Sheraton Towers Hotel. Also, many went to see the amazing light show at the Gardens by the Bay down by the marina.

Statistics: Singapore
19 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (private: 4, public: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 7
Number of total students seen: 421

KUALA LUMPUR: March 7-11
We arrived in KL in the evening of March 7 and checked into the Le Meridien hotel just in time to enjoy the lounge. We had 11 school visits in KL and the surrounding area. On the first day, we had 4 school visits with the American Degree Transfer Programs (ADTP). These are great visits as every student that participated in the fairs is looking to study in the USA. After the visits, many of enjoyed a delicious Yemeni dinner.

On our second day of visits, we had 3 school visits and 2 of the schools had never hosted US university fairs before, so it was a great honor to be the first group ever! After the second day of visits, many of the group went to have dinner at “Dining in the Dark” – where our entire dining experience was in complete darkness.

Our last day of visits was a very long day as we drove to all over KL and the surrounding area. We had a 2 school visits in Cyberjaya and Negeri Sembilan that had never hosted US university fairs before! The other 2 visits were great schools that we continue to visit each fall and spring.

After our visits, we had a great counselor dinner at the amazing Le Meridien buffet and had 10 counselors join us!

On Saturday, March 11th, we enjoyed buffet breakfast at the hotel and took the train to the airport to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Statistics: Kuala Lumpur
25 participating colleges: 18 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 20 (private: 5, state: 15)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 11
Number of total students seen: 625

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: March 11-13
We flew into Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Saturday afternoon and checked into Le Meridien Saigon. This was our first time staying at this hotel and we all loved it! It is much more expensive than our usual hotel (The Rex Hotel), but we feel it is worth it.

On Sunday morning, we held our public exhibition at The Rex Hotel. The Rex Hotel is still a great place to hold our public exhibition, due to its location and popularity. We were not happy with our turnout as we had less than 100 total people join. While the quality of students that attended were excellent, this was our worst attendance we have ever had in HCMC. Most of our costs go into advertising and promoting the event and the turnout did not match the work and money that was invested into this exhibition. The competition in Vietnam is crazy now as there were multiple public fairs nearly every weekend this spring in HCMC. There was even one fair that scheduled their public fair the night before ours in the same venue. While we schedule our public fairs months in advance to avoid other competing tours or events, it is unfortunate that other groups plan their fairs nearly the same time as us. We have decided to move our fair from a Sunday to a late Saturday morning in the fall to prevent this from happening again. However, the highlight of the fair was awarding a $5,000 scholarship to one student. It was great to see the winning student’s reaction and to be able to help them pursue their education in the USA! After the exhibition, we enjoyed a group lunch at the famous chicken wing buffet in the mall. Everyone enjoyed the Sunday afternoon off in HCMC and it was nice to relax after a busy week.

On Monday morning, we had 4 school visits and most of the visits were very good. After the last visit, we departed for the airport and flew to Hanoi. It was a very long and busy day for everyone as we left at 7:00am in the morning and arrived in Hanoi after 11:00pm. The group did a great job working hard and not revolting against me hahaha.

Statistics: HCMC
21 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 4, state: 12)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 4
Number of total students seen: 249
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 268
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

HANOI, VIETNAM: March 13-15
We arrived in Hanoi late in the evening on the 13 of March and checked into the Lotte Residence. We chose this hotel because of the beautiful, spacious rooms, and the washer and dryer in each room. Normally, we stay at the Daewoo Hotel, but the Lotte Residence will be our hotel of choice moving forward.

On Tuesday, March 14th, we had another very busy day – 3 school visits, a public exhibition, and a group dinner! The first 2 visits were very busy and we were excited for the third visit, because they had never hosted a US University fair before, but the turnout was not what we were hoping. It was still good to make new connections though.

Our public exhibition was amazing and had over 100+ students and parents that attended! Normally, the Hanoi exhibitions are much smaller than HCMC, but we had a great turnout with some amazing students! We were happy to award another $5,000 scholarship to one student that was very grateful! We are very happy to give back and help students to study in the USA!

After the exhibition, we had a very nice Vietnamese dinner in the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel.

On Wednesday, March 15th, we checked out of our hotel had 3 school visits and then departed for Bangkok. The first school brought out all the students and had a formal ceremony and standing ovation for our group!

Statistics: Hanoi
21 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 4, state: 12)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 6
Number of total students seen: 473
Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 224
Advertising included: Digital ads in local newspapers, Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and TikTok.

BANGKOK: March 15-18
We arrived in the evening of March 15 and checked into the Conrad Bangkok. This was our first time staying here and we absolutely loved it! It was the most expensive hotel on the tour, but the location was very convenient for our visits and the amenities were outstanding!

We had 2 very busy days in Bangkok with 8 school visits. Many of the schools that we visited brought down entire classes for our fairs and we met many wonderful students. After the last day of visits, we had a very nice closing dinner at a Michelin-rated restaurant, where we experienced several courses of fine Thai dining. On Saturday, March 18 we checked out, said goodbye, and a few of us went to Phuket for the weekend for team building and to relax after a very busy and successful Spring 2023 tour!

Statistics: Bangkok
14 participating colleges: 12 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 9 (private: 4, public: 5)
Number of 2-year colleges: 5
Number of school visits: 8
Number of total students seen: 388

FINAL THOUGHTS
As I mentioned earlier, this was our longest tour we have ever conducted in our 36-year history of running tours! The group should be very proud of themselves for all the hard work, early mornings, late nights, and thousands of students that they talked with each day. Although we stay at very nice hotels and get to see some amazing cities around the world – international student recruitment is very hard work and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone!

Part of the benefit of going on the tour is the team building and collaboration that takes place between the recruiters and I feel that many made lasting connections and friendships with each other. We were also able to visit many new schools that had never had US universities and colleges visit before! As we plan our tours, we will continue to research and discover new schools to visit, while still scheduling visits with our great schools from the past and continue to build on already established relationships.

The AEO Tour – Spring 2023 Tour was a huge success and we want to thank you for choosing to travel with us. We know there are many different tour companies that travel around the world and different recruitment opportunities available. For over 36 years, AEO Tour has spent time, energy, and money prior to the tours to ensure each participant has a positive, successful, and fun experience. We feel confident that we provide the best recruitment tour in Southeast Asia at a great value. We are constantly striving to make the tour better and better and hope to see you on one of our Fall 2023 Tours!

Thank you!

Ben Wilkey
Tour Director – AEO Tour

Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay
Sept. 20– Oct. 8

The AEO Tour – Fall 2022 Tour visited 7 cities and 3 countries in Asia. We had 4 AEO public exhibitions and 41 school visits and met over 5,000 students! Below, we have included a summary of each of the cities on our tour.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND: Sept. 21
For the first time in over 10 years, we visited Chiang Mai. Although it was a crazy day to fly to Chiang Mai from Bangkok and return to Bangkok, our visits were amazing and it was totally worth it! This was a great test for the group, because it was our most difficult day of the tour and to everyone’s credit – nobody complained or revolted hahah. We had such an incredible group and everyone worked so hard.

In Thailand, we had to test for COVID every night and we were fortunate to not have a single case the entire tour! In Chiang Mai, we visited 4 schools. 2 of the schools we visited had never had college fairs before, so we were grateful to be the first to ever do it! Before we flew back to Bangkok, we stopped to eat Chiang Mai’s famous Khao Soi soup, which was recently voted as the #1 soup in the world (according to Channel News Asia and my Grab driver).

Statistics: Chiang Mai
15 participating colleges: 14 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 14 (private: 7, public: 7)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 4
Number of total students seen: 188

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Sept. 21-24
We stayed in the Hilton Millennium Hotel which is beautiful and has a great lounge that overlooks the river. We had some of our best visits ever in Bangkok! We had 2 days of visits and visited 7 schools. Each visit was packed with students interested in the USA and most schools brought out every 11 and 12 grade student that they had for our fairs. Since Bangkok was so great, we have added it to our Spring 2023 tour. The final night, we had a private dinner cruise and it was fun to eat a nice dinner and unwind from a very busy few days in Thailand. The weather was absolutely perfect for our dinner cruise and then poured rain as soon as we finished. We had a well-deserved morning off on Saturday, Sept. 24, then flew to Penang, Malaysia in the evening.

Statistics: Bangkok
18 participating colleges: 16 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 16 (private: 7, public: 9)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 7
Number of total students seen: 620

PENANG: Sept. 24-27
We arrived in Penang and checked into the G-Hotel Kelawai late in the evening of Sept. 24th.

We had the morning of Sunday, Sept. 25 off and then held our first public exhibition of the tour in the afternoon. The market in Penang is much smaller and we weren’t expecting great numbers, but the turnout was not very good this time. However, the students that did attend came with parents and had some great conversations. After the exhibition, we had an amazing buffet dinner at the G Hotel Kelawai.

On Monday, Sept. 26, we had 3 school visits and had great turnouts at each school. The counselors really appreciate our visits, as we are the only American group that visits Penang each year. After the visits, everyone enjoyed the lounge and many of us had a great dinner at the famous Red Garden hawker center. Penang is famous for its food and it is always fun to try new dishes.

Statistics: Penang
19 participating colleges: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 18 (private: 8, public: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 3
Number of total students seen: 244

Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in Penang (and surrounding area) sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 156
Full- and half–page ads in the Star newspaper and Star Education Magazine appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Star Online, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Google.
Social Media Reach: 32,290
Social Media Clicks: 133
Website Views in Penang: 635

IPOH: Sept. 27
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, we checked out of the hotel and drove to Ipoh for 2 school visits. The first visit was the first college fair in the school’s history and they invited several parents to attend. The second visit brought out hundreds of students. Ipoh doesn’t get a lot of U.S. university visits aside from our tour, so they bring out all the students. Ipoh is small, but is very wealthy, so we like visiting. After the visits, we drove to KL and checked into the Le Meridien Hotel.

Statistics: Ipoh
19 participating colleges: 15 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 18 (private: 8, state: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 2
Number of total students seen: 210

KUALA LUMPUR: Sept. 27-Oct. 1
We arrived in KL in the evening of Sept. 27 and checked into the Le Meridien hotel just in time to enjoy the lounge. We always like to stay in KL Sentral, because it is very easy for students to come to the exhibition. All the trains in Malaysia come to KL Sentral, so it is the best to hold an exhibition, although it is the most expensive. However, we feel it is definitely worth it.

On Wednesday, Sept. 28, we had 4 school visits and the last 3 were colleges that had American Degree Transfer Programs (ADTP). These are great visits as every student that participated in the fairs is looking at studying in the USA. After the visits, many of us enjoyed a unique dinner experience at “Dining in the Dark”, where our entire dining experience was in complete darkness.

We had our biggest day in KL on the 29 – 4 school visits and our public exhibition. Every school visit was great as usual and we were grateful to be the first group of U.S. Universities to hold college fairs at 2 of the schools. We arrived back at the hotel in time to set up for the KL exhibition. Although we had a steady stream of students and parents, the turnout in KL was not what we were hoping for. Usually, our KL Exhibition is our biggest on the tour. A few factors could have contributed to lower turnout – it was the first US fair post-covid and the cost of the US dollar is so high compared to the Malaysia ringgit. The good thing is that those students and parents that participated were eager to study in the USA. After the exhibition, we all enjoyed an amazing buffet dinner in the hotel.

On Friday, Sept. 30, we had the morning off to catch up from a busy previous day. We had 3 visits and the first visit nearly every student in high school participated. The other 2 visits were great as well. After the visits, we enjoyed the night off and a few of us explored the world-famous Batu Caves and had dinner in the Brickfields (Little India).

On Saturday, Oct. 1, we enjoyed buffet breakfast at the hotel and took the train to the airport to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Statistics: Kuala Lumpur
20 participating colleges: 16 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 18 (private: 8, state: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 11
Number of total students seen: 1,471

Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in KL (and surrounding area) sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 486
Full- and half-page ads in the Star newspaper and Star Education Magazine appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Star Online, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Google.
Social Media Reach: 45,404
Social Media Clicks: 1,624
Website Views in KL: 892

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: Oct. 1-4
We flew into Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Saturday afternoon and checked into the historic Rex Hotel. We have usually loved the Rex Hotel, but it is unfortunately not like it used to be and we will move to another hotel in the Spring. We will still hold our exhibition at the Rex Hotel, due to its location and popularity, but we will stay elsewhere. The economy in Vietnam is growing rapidly and HCMC is no exception. Everywhere you go, there is new major developments and it is exciting to see! There is even a Rolls-Royce dealership across the street from the Rex Hotel now!

Many of us went to dinner at 5KU Station, which has become an AEO Tour staple in HCMC for dinner on Saturday night. On Sunday morning Oct. 2nd, we had our public exhibition at the Rex Hotel. We had a great turnout and most students attended with their parents. There were many students from start to finish and we were very pleased with the turnout. After the exhibition, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet luncheon with the world’s greatest chicken wings and some sneaky good pandan ice cream.

We had two days of school visits in HCMC, which was nice, because it gave us an extra night in the city. On Monday, Oct. 3rd, we visited 3 schools and had incredible turnouts. Our second visit was one of the best visits we have ever had with several hundred students participating! After visits, many of us enjoyed dinner together and had some delicious watermelon horchatas – a local drink in HCMC haha. On Tuesday, Oct. 4th, we checked out of the Rex Hotel and had 5 school visits. It was a long day, but group worked hard! After the visits, we headed straight for the airport to fly to Hanoi.

Statistics: HCMC
21 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 19 (private: 9, state: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 8
Number of total students seen: 1,303

Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 268
Full page full color ads in the Thanh Nien newspaper appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube.

Social Media Reach: 274,300
Social Media Clicks: 2,279
Website Views in HCMC: 5,388

HANOI, VIETNAM: Oct. 4-6
We arrived in Hanoi in the evening of the 4th and transferred to the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, we were scheduled to visit 3 schools, but the first visit canceled due to a scheduling conflict (they realized they were on Fall Break haha), so we were able to have a later start to the day and had 2 great visits. As soon as we returned form the visits, we set up for our Hanoi exhibition. The exhibition was very busy and we had great turnouts from a lot of the local high schools. After the exhibition, we had a very nice private dinner with everyone and enjoyed a wide variety of Vietnam cuisine.

On the morning of Thursday, Oct. 6, we checked out of the hotel and visited 4 schools. On the way to the first visit, our drivers took a shortcut down a one-way road and let’s just say, we are all lucky to be alive. Each visit was very busy and the last visit had several hundred students participate. After the last visit, we headed back to the hotel and picked up our luggage, said our goodbyes to those staying behind, and a small group of us headed to Ha Long Bay!

Statistics: Hanoi
22 participating colleges: 18 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 19 (private: 9, state: 10)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 6
Number of total students seen: 1,002

Advertising and Promotion
Number of schools in Hanoi sent packages of posters, flyers, and brochures: 224
Full page full color ads in the Thanh Nien newspaper appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube.

Social Media Reach: 134,229
Social Media Clicks: 1,287
Website Views in HCMC: 2,637

HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM: Oct. 6-8
We arrived in Ha Long in the evening of the 6th and checked into the most beautiful hotel and resort – The Vinpearl Resort. The hotel was on its own island and it felt like paradise. On Friday, Oct. 7th, we enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast and headed out for a 6-hour cruise around Ha Long Bay. On the cruise, we had lunch, went kayaking, explored a cave, almost got attacked by a monkey (my bad!), swam in the ocean, and hiked to the top of a mountain. It was great spending time with everyone and enjoying a well-deserved mini- break from an incredibly busy few weeks with no days off. When we returned to the hotel, we had a nice buffet dinner with everyone and talked about how wonderful the last few weeks have been.

On Saturday morning, Oct. 8th, we checked out and drove to the Hanoi airport and said our final goodbyes. It is amazing how close you get with everyone in such a short amount of time and it is always hard to say goodbye!

FINAL THOUGHTS
We wanted to keep the group a little smaller than normal for our first tour back and it was the perfect size. We had a great group of college/university representatives on our tour and everyone worked so hard and well together. We had some crazy days and some long days, but we are just so grateful for everyone’s positive attitudes and fantastic work ethics. Everyone was on time each morning and we made the most out of each day on the tour!

The AEO Tour – Fall 2022 Tour was a huge success and we want to thank you for choosing to travel with us. We know there are many different tour companies that travel around the world and different recruitment opportunities available. For 36 years, the AEO Tour has spent time, energy, and money prior to the tours to ensure each participant has a positive, successful, and fun experience. We feel confident that we provide the best recruitment tour in Southeast Asia at a great value. We are constantly striving to make the tour better and better and hope to see you on the Spring 2022 tour!

Thank you!

-The AEO Tour Dream Team (Ben Wilkey & Bob Allan)

Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, and Penang
Sept. 15th – Oct. 5th

The 2019 AEO Fall Tour visited 9 cities in Asia. We had 5 AEO public exhibitions and 45 school visits and met over 6,000 students! We had excellent turnouts at our public exhibitions in HCMC, Hanoi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang. In Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, most students were accompanied by parents, which can be attributed to our huge newspaper and social media advertising campaign. The turnout in Hanoi was great as well as we had hundreds of high school students bussed in right after school. Below, we have included a brief summary of each of the cities on our tour and correlating numbers of attendees at our exhibitions.

SIEM REAP & PHNOM PENH: Sept. 16th-17th
For the first time in AEO Tour history, we visited Cambodia. I was in Cambodia 50 years ago during the war. We spent the first day in beautiful Angkor Wat and visited 3 temples and had lunch. We had a fun day and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in our bungalow-style hotel in Siem Reap. The morning of the 17th, we flew to Phnom Penh and visited 3 schools and met some great students. That night, we flew to Bangkok to start the main tour.

Statistics: Phnom Penh
7 participating colleges: 6 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 7 (private: 3, state: 4)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 3
Number of students seen on school visits: 90

BANGKOK: Sept. 18th – 21st
We spent 3 days in Bangkok. The first 2 days, we participated in 4 large multi-school fairs. While these were great opportunities to meet hundreds of students, there were many universities from all over the world that participated and not as effective as we would have liked. In the future, we will do our own visits and avoid these large, multi-school fairs.

The final day in Bangkok, we had 5 visits planned, but one of the schools emailed early in the morning and canceled due to a flood to the school. The 4 visits we had were very busy with eager students looking to study in the USA. Each night, we enjoyed the beautiful lounge in the Hilton Millennium Hotel, which overlooks the river and city.

On the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21st, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City.

Statistics: Bangkok
20 participating colleges: 14 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 20 (private: 7, state: 13)
Number of 2-year colleges: 0
Number of school visits: 8
Number of students seen on school visits: 1,850

HO CHI MINH CITY: Sept. 21st – 24th
We flew into Saigon on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, Sept. 22nd, we had our public exhibition at the Rex Hotel. We had one of our best turnouts in years and most students attended with their parents. There were many students from start to finish and we were very pleased with the turnout. It was even raining during the last half of the exhibition. We would have had even more students and parents if it hadn’t rained. After the exhibition, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet luncheon with the world’s greatest chicken wings.

We had two days of school visits in HCMC, which was nice, because it gave us an extra night in the city. On Monday, Sept. 23rd, we visited 4 schools and had great turnouts. On Tuesday, Sept. 24th, we checked out of the Rex Hotel and visited a record-breaking 6 schools. It was a long day, but nearly all of the visits were very busy with lots of students. One of the schools we visited had never hosted college representatives before and we had a fantastic turnout. After the visits, we headed straight for the airport to fly to Hanoi.

Statistics: HCMC
32 participating colleges: 16 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 28 (private: 13, state: 15)
Number of 2-year colleges: 4
Number of school visits: 10
Number of students seen on school visits: 759
Number of attendees seen at public exhibition: 450

Advertising and Promotion
Percentage of students who knew about the exhibition from:
Social Media: 53%  |  School Poster/Flyer: 36%  |  Newspapers: 11%
Number of schools in HCMC sent packages of posters, flyers and brochures: 162
Full page full color ads in the Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre newspapers appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Facebook, Instagram, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, VN Express, Coc Coc, Zing Vn, Kenh 14, Zalo, and Dantri.com
Social Media Reach: 361,233
Social Media Clicks: 2,906
Website Views in HCMC: 825

HANOI: Sept. 24th – 26th
We arrived in Hanoi in the early evening of the 24th and transferred to the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel.

In Hanoi, instead of joining the large, multi-school fairs with 160 colleges, we had our own AEO exhibitions at each school and this proved to be much more effective.

On Wednesday, Sept. 25th, we left in the morning for 3 school visits. All three visits were well-attended. The last two schools brought out their entire grades 10-12 for us and we saw hundreds of students. As soon as we returned to the hotel, we setup for the exhibition. The exhibition was very busy and we had multiple schools bus their students in. Not as many parents attended like Ho Chi Minh City, but Hanoi is very different market. After the exhibition, we had a nice poolside buffet dinner in the hotel. It was nice to relax after an extremely busy few days.

On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 26th, we checked out of the hotel and visited 3 schools. One of the schools canceled the day before, or we would have had 4 visits. The visits on Thursday were not as busy as Wednesday, but we were still able to see lots of students. After the last visit, we headed back to the hotel and picked up our luggage and headed to Halong Bay.

Statistics: Hanoi
31 participating colleges: 17 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 28 (private: 13, state: 15)
Number of 2-year colleges: 3
Number of school visits: 6
Number of students seen on school visits: 625
Number of attendees seen at public exhibition: 375

Advertising and Promotion
Percentage of students who knew about the exhibition from:
School Poster/Flyer:  68%  |  Social Media:  23%  |  Newspapers: 9%
Number of schools in Hanoi sent packages of posters, flyers and brochures: 90
Full page full color ads in the Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre newspapers appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Facebook, Instagram, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, VN Express, Coc Coc, Zing Vn, Kenh 14, and Dantri.com
Social Media Reach: 577,537
Social Media Clicks: 4,664
Website Views in Hanoi: 1,140

HA LONG BAY: Sept. 26th – 28th
We arrived in Ha Long in the evening of the 26th and checked into the most beautiful hotel and resort we have ever stayed at. The hotel was on its own island and it felt like paradise. On Friday, Sept. 27th, we enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast and headed out for a 6-hour cruise around Ha Long Bay. On the cruise, we had lunch, a cooking class, went kayaking, explored a cave, and hiked to the top of a mountain. It was great spending time with everyone and enjoying a nice mid-break from the tour. When we returned to the hotel, we had a nice buffet dinner with everyone.

On Saturday morning, Sept. 28th, we checked out and drove to Hanoi to catch our flight to Singapore.

SINGAPORE: Sept. 28th – Sept. 30th
We arrived in Singapore in the early evening on Saturday, Sept. 28th and checked into the Sheraton Towers Hotel. Most of us had dinner at the nearby Newton Food Center, where they filmed “Crazy Rich Asians” and a few enjoyed the light show at the Gardens by the Bay.

On Sunday, Sept. 29th, we had our public exhibition at the Sheraton Towers Hotel. We had our best turnout in years even though the weather was rainy, so we were very pleased. We had many parents attend without their children, as some of their children are in the military service. It was great having so many parents attend. After the exhibition, everyone enjoyed a free evening to explore the city or rest.

On Monday, Sept. 30th, we checked out of the hotel and had 5 school visits. Most of the visits were great, for we are the only American group now visiting Singapore. After the last visit, we headed for the airport to catch our flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Statistics: Singapore
22 participating colleges: 13 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 20 (private: 8, state: 12)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 5
Number of students seen on school visits: 210
Number of attendees seen at public exhibition: 295

Advertising and Promotion
Percentage of students seeking undergrad: 97%, graduate: 3%
Percentage of students who knew about the exhibition from:
Social Media: 67% | Newspapers: 20% | School: 9% | Friends: 2%
Number of schools in Singapore sent packages of posters, flyers and brochures: 256
Full- and half-page ads in The Straits Times appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Instagram, and YouTube
Social Media Reach: 189,791
Social Media Clicks: 935
Website Views in Singapore: 3,020

KUALA LUMPUR: Sept. 30th – Oct. 3rd
We departed Singapore in the late afternoon for Kuala Lumpur and upon arriving, we took the high-speed rail directly to KL Sentral and checked into Le Meriden. We arrived just in time to enjoy the lounge and relax from a busy day. We always like to stay in KL Sentral, because it is very easy for students to come to the exhibition. All of the trains in Malaysia come to KL Sentral, so it is the best place to hold an exhibition, although it is the most expensive. However, we feel it is definitely worth it. The lounge at Le Meridien is the best in Asia, serving excellent dinners each night.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1st, we visited 4 schools. We had quite the adventure getting to the first school, but were greeted with wonderful students and a lot of parents. The rest of the visits were great as usual. After the last visit, we headed back to the hotel and setup for the exhibition. The public exhibition in KL is our largest of any city. We had nearly 400 in attendance in spite of the rain and most of the students came with their parents. We were busy the entire evening and most of the universities ended up staying past the finish time. After the exhibition, we enjoyed a very nice buffet dinner in the hotel.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2nd, we had 4 visits. Each visit was full of students and it was a very successful day. After the visits, we had the evening free. A few of us went to the Batu Caves and explored the city; while most enjoyed the lounge.

On Thursday, Oct. 3rd, we checked out of the hotel and drove to Ipoh for a school visit.

Statistics: Kuala Lumpur
25 participating colleges: 16 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 23 (private: 7, state: 16)
Number of 2-year colleges: 2
Number of school visits: 8
Number of students seen on school visits: 740
Number of attendees seen at public exhibition: 392

Advertising and Promotion
Percentage of students seeking undergrad: 91%, graduate: 9%
Percentage of students who knew about the exhibition from:
Social Media: 48% | Newspapers: 34% | Friends: 9% | School: 6% | Email: 3%
Number of schools in KL sent packages of posters, flyers and brochures: 540
Full- and half-page ads in the Sun and the Star appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Star Online, Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Instagram, and YouTube
Social Media Reach: 294,941
Social Media Clicks: 2,418
Website Views in KL: 2,016

IPOH: Oct. 3rd
On Thursday, Oct. 3rd, we checked out of the hotel and drove to Ipoh for a school visit. We saw hundreds of students and had a great visit. Ipoh doesn’t get a lot of US university visits aside from our tour, so they bring out all of the students. After the visit, we drove to Penang and checked into the G-Hotel Gurney.

Statistics: Ipoh
10 participating colleges: 7 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 9 (private: 1, state: 9)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 1
Number of students seen on school visits: 275

PENANG: Oct. 3rd – Oct. 5th
We arrived in Penang and checked into the G-Hotel Gurney in the evening of Oct. 3rd. Most of us spent time in the lounge and then went out for dinner at the Red Garden hawker center and had a fun evening.

On Friday, Oct. 4th, we had 4 school visits. We had great turnouts in each of the school visits. The counselors really appreciate our visits, for we are the only American group visiting Penang each year. After the visits, we returned to the G-Hotel Gurney to setup for the Penang exhibition. Once again, we had a fantastic turnout and one of the best in years. Nearly every student that attended came with their parents. After the exhibition, we had a nice buffet dinner in the hotel with everyone.

On Saturday, Oct. 5th, we all said goodbye departed to our respective destinations.

Statistics: Penang
10 participating colleges: 7 states represented
Number of 4-year colleges: 9 (private: 1, state: 9)
Number of 2-year colleges: 1
Number of school visits: 4
Number of students seen on school visits: 228
Number of attendees seen at public exhibition: 120

Advertising and Promotion
Percentage of students seeking undergrad: 94%, graduate: 6%
Percentage of students who knew about the exhibition from:
Social Media: 79% | School: 11% | Newspapers: 8% | Friends: 2%
Number of schools in Penang sent packages of posters, flyers and brochures: 65
Full- and half-page ads in the Sun and the Star appeared for one week prior to the exhibition.
Social Media ads included: Star Online, Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Instagram, and YouTube
Social Media Reach: 180,845
Social Media Clicks: 1,630
Website Views in Penang: 426

FINAL THOUGHTS
We had a great group of college/university representatives on our tour and we were nearly full in each city on the main tour. We had more colleges join us in Vietnam, due to another tour canceling their entire Southeast Asia tour. AEO has never canceled a tour in 34 years. We had to turn away a number of colleges, for in Vietnam, permits are required to participate in public exhibitions. These permits take 6-8 weeks to process and we would never endanger our participants by allowing unlawful participation.

The AEO Tour Fall 2019 was a huge success and want to thank you for choosing to travel with us. We know there are many different tour companies that travel around the world and different recruitment opportunities available. There are also many free exhibitions and free large-scale multi-school fairs. Our experience has taught us that free is not necessarily free, because often colleges waste time and money on hotels, airfares, etc. and see very few students due to the high competition of hundreds of colleges. Public exhibitions are very expensive to hold, for advertising costs are very high. Without a huge advertising budget, very few students would ever show up. For 34 years, the AEO Tour has spent time, energy, and money prior to the tours to ensure large student turnouts. AEO only runs two tours a year, while other tours will run tours almost every month of the year. We feel confident that we provide the best recruitment tour in Southeast Asia at a great value. We are constantly striving to make the tour better and better and hope to see you on the Spring 2020 tour!

-The AEO Tour Dream Team (Bob, Jenny, and Ben)