"It has been a trend that more Chinese parents are contacting US summer schools themselves and accompanying their children on the trip," she said.

"I think it's easier for them to get visa approval that way as the US government is looking at the larger economic footprint of having the whole family along," she said.

These Chinese parents tend to choose the full-day programs, which aren't specially designed for international students, but focus on serving the local community, she said.

In the US, many working mothers use full-day summer school programs to help take care of their children during the vacation, she said. At local summer schools, her guests from China pay $2,870 for such programs, which last more than a month.

"The markets - in China or the US - are always quick to respond to the concerns of Chinese parents," said Yang Jie, a Chinese man who is running a summer camp business in Beijing and New York. He said he is considering designing a program for students accompanied by their parents.

Diane Marcus, associate director of marketing at UC Berkeley Summer Sessions, told China Daily that the university vies for more summer camp enrollments from China by promoting its "immersion program", where Chinese students take classes alongside UC-Berkeley students.

chenjia@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/06/2013 page11)