International Education Research Forum

Presenter: Marie Clark, Director Insights and Performance, Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao
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This presentation reports findings from Education New Zealand’s Global Brand Health and Awareness Survey, an annual survey conducted for a decade to monitor awareness, consideration, and preference for New Zealand as an international education destination. The FY2025/26 wave was fielded between October and November 2025 across ten priority markets, surveying more than 4,200 prospective international students and 1,100 parents. The research helps ENZ understand how New Zealand compares with competitor destinations and identify opportunities to strengthen demand.

Findings show New Zealand maintains strong brand conversion from awareness to consideration, despite relatively lower overall awareness than leading destinations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. Performance is strongest in Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and New Tier 1 cities in China, while weaker results are seen in South Korea, Vietnam, and the United States. New Zealand is perceived positively for safety, openness and quality of life, and performs particularly well among parents, who are often influential decision-makers.

The results suggest that promotion efforts should focus on increasing awareness in lower-performing markets, leveraging parents as a key audience, and strengthening messages around safety, employability, work rights, and affordability. Growing competition from Asian destinations, particularly Japan, Singapore and China, highlights the need for sharper differentiation and stronger value propositions.