CEI

What CEI does

CEI (Centre d'Echanges Internationaux) is a French non-profit association founded in 1947 under the loi 1901 framework, headquartered in Paris with a branch office in Saint-Malo and an owned English-language school in Hastings (UK). The organization specializes in organized youth travel and educational programs for French families with children aged 6 to 30, offering five core product lines: language immersion stays (séjours linguistiques) with host families or in residences across 10+ countries; academic-year/semester study-abroad programs (études à l'étranger) for students aged 14–18 in foreign high schools; supervised summer and seasonal camps (colonies de vacances) across Europe, Asia, and the Americas; English courses at CEI's Hastings school; inbound host-family placement of foreign students in France (accueil en France); and educational school-group trips (voyages scolaires éducatifs). A complementary digital service, 'Regarde mon séjour', allows parents to track their child's stay in real time via photos, videos, and convocation details.

CEI generates revenue primarily through one-time program fees ranging from approximately €1,455 for short language stays to multi-thousand-euro packages for full academic-year programs, with optional cancellation insurance (3–4% of stay price) and pre/post-transport surcharges from 30+ French departure cities. The company also runs installment payment plans (up to 6 installments) and offers discounted rates through CSE (Comité Social et Économique) employee-benefit channels and school partnerships. Pricing transparency is institutionalized via a published cost breakdown (11% administration, 35% participant support, 46% placement/logistics, 8% program development). Its technology stack is functional rather than differentiated: a bilingual French/English website, online booking and quote-request forms, a parent-tracking web platform, and standard CRM tools — no proprietary AI, no API offering, no mobile application, and no disclosed patents.

CEI's go-to-market is predominantly direct-to-consumer (phone, email, online booking, in-person appointments at Paris and Saint-Malo offices, regional forums and trade shows), supplemented by B2B2C channels via CSE committees, schools, and a €30 referral voucher program. The customer base is highly distributed across individual families, with no concentration risk, and CEI holds competitive advantage through 75+ years of brand equity, Ministry of Youth and Sports approval (1951), and memberships in L'Office and UNAT quality-guarantee bodies. As a member-controlled non-profit with no external capital, growth is internally funded and reinvested into program operations.

Name

CEI

Legal name

CEI (Centre d'Echanges Internationaux)

Website

https://cei-voyage.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEI is a French non-profit association founded in 1947 that organizes language immersion stays, study-abroad programs, and supervised vacation camps for French youth aged 6–30, with operations spanning 30+ departure cities and 25+ destination countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Educational Travel Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Term Secondary Immersion & Cultural Exchange Trips (EDAIAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

On-Ground Orientation, Travel, Transfers & Logistics Support (EDAIAHAL)

Keywords

• Language immersion programs
• Youth educational travel
• Study abroad programs
• Supervised summer camps
• Host family homestays

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Language stays and vacation camps fees: One-time fees per program covering accommodation, meals, activities, supervision, insurance, and international transport where applicable. Revenue from individual families, CSE/enterprise partners, and school groups.
2. School year programs (abroad): Full-year, semester, trimester, or 10-week academic immersion programs with fees covering family placement, school enrollment, international travel, insurance, and ongoing support.
3. Cancellation insurance: Optional cancellation insurance sold as add-on to core programs: 4% of stay price (from Paris), 3% for CSE; 350€ for school year/300€ semester/250€ trimester programs.
4. Pre/post-transport services: Additional fees for departures from 30+ cities across France beyond Paris, organized and chaperoned by CEI staff.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CEI (Centre d'Echanges Internationaux) is a non-profit French association that organizes and sells international youth educational travel programs, including language immersion stays with host families, academic year/semester study abroad placements, supervised vacation camps, English courses at its own school in Hastings (UK), inbound host family placements for foreign students in France, and educational school group trips. Programs cover 25+ destinations across Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East for participants aged 6–30.

Product overview

CEI (Centre d'Echanges Internationaux) operates as a non-profit association founded in 1947, offering a portfolio of youth travel and educational programs. The core offerings include: (1) Séjours linguistiques - language immersion stays with host families or in residences across 10+ countries; (2) Etudes à l'étranger - academic year/semester programs placing students aged 14-18 in foreign high schools; (3) Colonies de vacances - supervised summer camps across Europe, Asia, and France; (4) Cours d'anglais - English courses at CEI's school in Hastings, England; (5) Accueil en France - hosting foreign students in French schools; and (6) Voyages scolaires - educational group trips. The Regarde mon séjour tracking platform supplements these offerings by providing parents real-time stay monitoring. The company operates as a unified platform connecting families, host families, schools, and local coordinators across its global network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Séjours linguistiques (Language Stays) Immersion language programs placing young people with host families abroad or in France, combining language courses (English, German, Spanish, Japanese) with cultural activities. Destinations include England, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Germany, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.
• Etudes à l'étranger (Study Abroad Programs) School immersion programs placing French students aged 14–18 at foreign high schools for a full academic year, semester, trimester, or 10-week stay while living with a host family. Destinations include USA, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Germany, and Mexico.
• Colonies de vacances (Summer Camps) Supervised group vacation camps for young people in France and abroad, offering sports, cultural discovery, beach, ski, and adventure programs. Destinations span Europe (Greece, Italy, Sweden, Spain), Asia (Bali, Vietnam, Japan), and other regions.
• Cours d'anglais (English Courses) English language courses at CEI's own school in Hastings, England, combining classroom instruction with cultural immersion and activities for young learners.
• Accueil en France (Host Family Programs in France) Programs hosting foreign high school students in France, including school enrollment and family homestay arrangements with support from local coordinators throughout the country.
• Voyages scolaires éducatifs (Educational School Trips) Organized educational trips for school groups including cultural tours, historical tours, language tours, and thematic tours within France and abroad.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 cities with organized departures from across France
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• L'Office (Office National de Garantie des Séjours et Stages Linguistiques et Éducatifs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI is a member of L'Office National de Garantie des Séjours et Stages Linguistiques et Éducatifs, which provides quality certification and dispute resolution for language stays. CEI commits to the Contrat Qualité terms, including hosting only one French speaker per host family.
• UNAT (Union Nationale des Associations de Tourisme et de Voyage)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI is a member of UNAT, a national tourism and travel association representing French travel operators. CEI has financial guarantee through FMS/UNAT.
• Ministries (cultural exchange programs)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI partners with ministries for cultural exchange programs as part of its mission to open young people to the world.
• Local authoritiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI partners with local authorities for language study programs and summer camps serving regional youth.
• CSE (Comités Sociaux et Économiques)moderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCEI offers special rates and advantages for CSE (employee social committees) and enterprises subscribing to their language stays and vacation camp programs as employee benefits.
• Primary and secondary schoolsmoderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCEI partners with schools for educational group trips including cultural tours, historical tours, language tours, and thematic tours for student groups.
• Foreign partner schools and host family networkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEI maintains partnerships with schools and host family networks in destination countries (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Japan, etc.) for student placement and program delivery.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• EF Education First: EF Education First is the global incumbent in language travel and study abroad, operating its own language schools worldwide — directly overlapping with CEI's language-stay and study-abroad products, but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic coverage.
• UCPA: UCPA is the major French non-profit operator of sports and outdoor vacation camps, with broad national reach and a similar loi 1901 association structure to CEI; it competes for the same French families and CSE channels on outdoor and adventure vacation programs.

Direct peers

• Nacel: Nacel is a French-founded language travel and study abroad operator with overlapping product lines (language immersion stays, academic year programs, host-family placements) and a similar B2C-to-French-families go-to-market, making it CEI's closest direct competitor in France.
• Telligo: Telligo is a French organizer of themed summer camps (sports, languages, adventure) for children and teenagers; it competes directly with CEI's Colonies de vacances line on parent-facing summer-camp bookings in France.
• ESL Education: ESL is a European language-travel specialist offering study abroad, language courses, and au pair programs across dozens of destinations; its product mix and target demographic (youth and young adults seeking language immersion) overlaps heavily with CEI's séjour linguistique portfolio.
• Cap Monde: Cap Monde is a French tour operator specialized in school trips, educational travel, and language stays for French youth and school groups, competing directly with CEI's Voyages scolaires éducatifs and Séjours linguistiques lines.
• Silc Voyage: Silc Voyage is a French specialist in educational and language trips for students and school groups, with overlapping offerings in language stays and cultural school trips across Europe.
• Voyages d'Études et Linguistiques: A French language-stay and study-abroad operator targeting families and schools with similar product lines (immersion stays, school year abroad), competing with CEI for the same French-language customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ceivoyagesjeune
• Facebookfacebook.com/ceivoyagesjeunes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cei-groupe
• Instagraminstagram.com/cei_voyage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEI