APAIE 2026 and the Rise of Asia as a Study Destination

Held in the vibrant city of Hong Kong over four days in February, this year’s Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference was the largest one yet.

Attended by over 3,000 delegates, APAIE 2026 was a landmark edition in the conference’s history, having hosted over 50% more attendees than last year’s event in India.

Vietnam, for example, had a national booth for the first time, while the choice of Hong Kong as a location also made it easier for smaller universities from across Asia to make an appearance.

But as we investigate the three main topics and trends we picked up through conversations on the conference floor, we also begin to understand that APAIE 2026 owes a lot of its success to wider shifts in international higher education.

1. The decline of the Big 4 as an international study destination for Asian students

The Big 4 destinations, especially the US, Canada and the UK, have been losing traction international students, and those in the Asia-Pacific region are no exception. Rather than choosing other western destinations, however, these students are now increasingly selecting destinations closer to home.

Policy instability in the west causing insecurity amongst APAC students

At APAIE 2026, many conversations touched on the current volatility of various government policies throughout the Big 4.

Particularly, the US has recently implemented restrictive immigration policies, including sweeping travel bans and visa limitations, making it impossible for students from several countries to study there.

Other immigration and visa regulation changes have also gone into effect in the UK, Canada and Australia, some limiting how many international students universities can recruit. 

These constant policy changes are leading universities across the Big 4 to hesitate when it comes to investing in long-term international student recruitment strategies, as a policy shift six months down the line could render any strategy useless.

"Almost all of those have got more restrictive visa settings and some of them are actively attempting to lower the number of international students. Nations or countries that have been trying to attract international students, but perhaps not really taking market share, are having a moment."

Paul Bolt, Senior Strategic Adviser, Keystone Enrolment Services

It’s not just universities, either, as the unreliability and sudden changes in rules and regulations cause insecurity with students as well.

With the US, while recent bans don’t affect most countries in Asia, they still create a cloud of insecurity over students. Similarly, a rise of anti-immigrant ideology across the US and the west in general may be causing students to feel like they won’t be welcomed or even safe in these countries.

2. International students in the Asia-Pacific region are looking to stay local

And it’s not just because of rising insecurity about studying in the west. 

Some of the primary drivers for students looking to study internationally within Asia are cost and cultural fit. It’s considerably less expensive to study in most Asian countries than it is to study in the US or the UK, especially so when travel and accommodation costs are added to the cost of the course itself.

Malaysia in particular is emerging as a regional education hub, especially for Chinese students. This is partially due to the established presence of branch campuses for Western universities in the country, where students can earn internationally-recognised degrees for much cheaper than in Australia or the UK. The Malaysian government has also invested significantly in student infrastructure, introducing fast-track immigration lanes and staffed arrival support for international students.

It’s a culture thing, too. While Asian countries still differ greatly between each other, it’s undeniable that they offer a closer cultural fit than the west, and students are likely to integrate better and feel generally more welcomed. It also allows them to stay closer to family and friends, both in terms of travel cost and time.

"It's much cheaper, it's a much better culture fit, and there are good work and visa opportunities after graduation."

Charlie Connor, Strategic Client Partner, FindAUniversity

3. Transnational Education in Asia is a mutual priority

One of the biggest topics to arise during conversations at APAIE 2026 was the incredibly boom of TNE in the Asia-Pacific region.

As students are increasingly cost-conscious and immigration policies continue to shift, Western universities are relying heavily on TNE to maintain a presence in Asia. Having local campuses makes it both cheaper and easier for international students to enrol in their programmes.

Asian economies are embracing this western shift towards TNE, too, with national policies being implemented to encourage this. South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong have all developed multi-year national strategies to attract foreign universities. For the bigger economies in Asia, student-age populations are dropping sharply as a consequence of years of declining birth rates, so attracting international students is seen as a matter of institutional survival. 

"India, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong — they've all built, in the last two or three years, five year plans to really internationalise their universities because they, apart from India, are running out of people."

Joonas Salo, Managing Director, Asia Exchange

With western universities looking to maintain a presence in Asia and Asian universities seeking to boost their overall student numbers, TNE is experiencing massive growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Universities from Canada, the US, the UK and Australia have already established campuses across India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. And there’s still a lot of room for growth, with Asian universities at large planning to offer more programmes in English within the next few years.

Visible growth and a positive mindset – APAIE 2026 as a mirror of international education in Asia

"Asia Pacific is a real area of opportunity and growth — both as a source market and a destination market."

Charlie Connor, Strategic Client Partner, FindAUniversity

The significant growth of APAIE as an event is undeniable, and it serves as a mirror of the outlook for international higher education in the region. As eastern students search for more cost-effective and culturally-aligned options, they’re starting to move more across borders and less across oceans.

And while political instability in the west is definitely a factor to consider, we should also give credit where it’s due: across Asia, governments and higher education institutions alike are making serious efforts to position the Asia-Pacific region as a top destination for students.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on how their efforts pay off, but we’ll definitely be doing so with optimism.