Education has always been one of the most important priorities not only by Vietnam as a whole country, but also by individuals. 20% of the state budget is spent on education in Vietnam in 2011, and the first nine months of 2012 already saw an increase of 5.7% in comparison with the same period last year. 91% of consumers said that they would spend ‘more’ or ‘the same’ on education in 2012 despite the economic recession (TNS Vietcycle 2011). This clearly indicates a positive prospect in the Vietnam market.

The Education UK Exhibition in October 2012 was really an excellent occasion where Vietnamese students could have direct exposure with UK institutions to realise their dreams to study in the UK. Nearly 2,000 visitors joined the event in all three cities. In almost 1,000 feedback forms collected, over 30% of them said that they had decided to choose the UK as their overseas study destination. Almost half of this 30% was planning to go in the next 6 months or 1 year, which could give a good indication about possible conversion rate for participating exhibitors.

The report below will give further information about the event, and British Council’s action points for future exhibitions.