BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Many Chinese parents are now willing to spend money on camp education and study tours for their children spurred by the growing demand for children's quality education, Friday's China Daily reported.

The trend has made the industry a booming market with great potential, according to the newspaper.

The total value of the study tour and camp education market was about 94.6 billion yuan (13.77 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, it cited data from New Oriental Global Study Tour and iResearch.

The industry is expected to see a 20 percent compound annual growth and reach a scale of 172.5 billion yuan by 2021.

There is enough potential for growth as the industry becomes more flexible, according to Lyu Senlin, founder and chief researcher at industry consultancy Learneasy Times Online Education Research Institute.

"Other than the traditional forms of camp education and study tours like those with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) themes, there are several new approaches like the Wushu (martial arts)-themed camps aimed at developing children's interests," Lyu was quoted as saying.

"But science-themed camp education and study tours are still the top choices for parents and children," he added.

The newspaper said a rough industry estimate shows that the number of participants in camp education and study tours amounted to about 31.21 million in 2018, with 30.16 million choosing domestic services, and about 1.05 million sending their children overseas.