The conference will take place on the Gold Coast from November 9-12, 2027.
With about a fifth of the event’s delegates typically travelling from overseas to attend the conference and half of the Australian attendees usually coming from New South Wales and Victoria, the event will drive a significant influx of out-of-state visitors to the Gold Coast.
“This event is a unique opportunity to showcase the Gold Coast’s vibrant international education sector, research and innovation capabilities to a national and international audience,” said Experience Gold Coast’s head of education, Matt Boyd.
“It also puts our local education sector in direct contact with national and international decision-makers, opening the door to new partnerships and opportunities for growth.
“International education is one of the Gold Coast’s most important industries,” said Boyd.
“International students contribute over $1.7 billion per annum to our economy, and hosting an event of this calibre reflects the strength of our education ecosystem and the global reputation our institutions have built.”
Echoing Boyd, Queensland’s education and training minister, Ros Bates, called international education “one of Queensland’s great strengths”.
“It brings people together, it creates opportunities and it builds lasting connections with the world,” said Bates.
“It’s why we’re proud to welcome education leaders, researchers and policymakers from across Australia and around the globe to Queensland in 2027.
“As we look ahead to Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, these connections will be more important than ever.”
The Gold Coast has hosted AIEC twice before – in 2005 and 2022.
The win comes as Experience Gold Coast announces its results for last financial year, which showed the organisation won 77 business events for the region, valued at $175 million. The wins include 19 international events.
Amongst these were some significant pieces of business – the Gold Coast will host the global conference for the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) in 2028, bringing an important group of incentive planners to the destination; Experience Gold Coast also secured the Asian Pacific Patent Attorneys Conference for 2029.
