17% of all U.S. travel parties include at least one traveler who will seek accessibility services.
Don’t expect the second half of 2026 to be a recovery. And let’s not call it a downturn either. Neither fits. What is actually happening is divergence, and it’s accelerating.
The traditional study destinations have stopped moving together.
Canada is stabilizing by design, Australia stays under pressure, the UK holds its brand but faces a pivotal September, and the US carries both the greatest upside and the greatest uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and a fast-rising set of Asian study destinations keep taking a larger share. And Asia is no longer just a source region.
The market is becoming less concentrated, and that isn’t reversing.
For H2, the number to watch is conversion. Demand hasn’t weakened, but interest, applications, visas and arrivals now point in different directions. And there’s a lot that can intervene between a student’s first enquiry and their arrival on campus.
Just as telling: where students go when they don’t convert to their first choice. That’s what will reveal the real shape of what comes next.
The appetite for international education is still there. What’s changed is the assumption that it follows the same routes it always has.
This article brought you by SYTA partner BONARD Education.
Images courtesy of BONARD Education.
