New research from global multilingual event technology company Interprefy, reveals widespread frustration among Asia-Pacific (APAC) event organisers over native-language access at international events; despite recognition of its importance for business development, engagement and inclusion around regulatory standards.
The study, Accelerating Global Communication, surveyed 600 key decision makers working in events, marketing, project management and learning and development for multinational companies turning over US$10 million per year across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, South Korea and Japan.
The report explores how organisations are navigating the reality of real-time multi-lingual support, what challenges they face and where the opportunities lie to deliver more inclusive, impactful experiences.
The findings paint a clear picture of a region ready for increased language access:
- 71% of business event organisers report a high or very high demand for multilingual live translation and interpretation services at their business events.
- 49% remain unfamiliar with RSI, while 46% have never encountered live multilingual captioning, highlighting a significant gap between intent and understanding.
- It found that 92% of business event organisers in APAC who attended international events expressed frustration over the lack of live multilingual translation services, limiting their ability to participate in their native language.
- Nearly half (46%) described their frustration as extreme or very high.
Respondents shared in the report that they are turning frustration into action, with 81% of APAC event organisers saying they are likely to use real-time translation services at their own multilingual events. Highlighting that organisers are not just aware of the issue, but are taking proactive steps to set new standards for language inclusion.
Yet Interprefy’s research indicates that while APAC organisers are accelerating their multilingual capabilities, familiarity with key technologies and terminology is still developing. While 58% of organisers say their organisations would benefit from multilingual services, nearly half (49%) are unaware of RSI. Such gaps threaten technology adoption and limit progress toward real language inclusion in the region.
Interprefy’s report concludes that as accessibility expectations rise globally and regulatory standards such as the European Accessibility Act influence international operations, for example by prioritising the use of captioning to improve accessibility for deaf people and people who are hard of hearing. In this context, APAC organisations have a major opportunity to lead the way in inclusive, multilingual event design.
Interprefy notes the following key points for APAC organisers to consider:
- Awareness and education: Many event teams may not yet understand the difference between RSI, AI translation, captioning and hybrid configurations.
- Trust and accuracy: Concerns about AI accuracy and confidentiality will likely be the top adoption barriers.
- Format prioritisation: Webinars and virtual meetings may lead to multilingual adoption before full conferences.
- Regulatory and accessibility trends: Global accessibility standards (e.g. European Accessibility Act) influence compliance expectations across regions.
- Market opportunity: With global markets growing, there is room for early adopters to set benchmarks in APAC multilingual event delivery.
The global multilingual interpretation market is projected to reach US$20.5 billion by 2025, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.9% through 2032. Meanwhile, the human interpretation services segment has seen rapid recent growth, increasing from US$9.3 billion in 2023 to US$11.6 billion in 2024, a year-on-year jump of 25.5%, driven by rising demand at international conferences, government events and cross-border business meetings.
The full report can be found here.
