According to independent research commissioned by multilingual event technology provider Interprefy, demand for real-time multilingual translation in the Asia-Pacific region is expanding beyond large conferences into everyday business settings, such as internal meetings and webinars.
The survey found that 71% of APAC business event organisers reported high or very high demand for multilingual translation services. While conferences remain a key use case, respondents indicated growing interest in broader deployment across routine work formats. Fifty-eight percent said their organisation would benefit from live translation in business meetings, compared with 45% who cited industry conferences and 44% who pointed to webinars.
Interprefy said the findings reflect changing expectations around language accessibility as more organisations operate across multiple markets, time zones, and distributed teams. The company added that the demand is being shaped by the region’s cross-border trade activity, multinational headquarters presence, and ongoing workforce internationalisation.
Oddmund Braaten, Interprefy’s chief executive, said organisations increasingly expect multilingual support to be available in day-to-day interactions rather than being limited to major events.
The research also reported regional differences in demand drivers. In Southeast Asia, multilingual communication is often tied to cross-market collaboration and expanding international teams. In North Asia, organisations are focusing on consistency in meetings with overseas partners. In Australia and New Zealand, multilingual access is being integrated into broader workplace practices aimed at supporting global collaboration.
A further finding was a growing preference for hybrid delivery models that combine professional interpreters with AI-based tools. According to the research, organisations are selecting human interpretation for high-stakes discussions, while using AI-powered speech translation, live captions, or subtitles for more frequent operational communication.
Interprefy said multilingual communication is becoming more central to business continuity as APAC organisations expand into new markets and manage increasingly distributed operations. The company added that integration into existing workflows remains an important factor in adoption, particularly for organisations looking to reduce language barriers without increasing operational complexity.
Methodology
The research surveyed 600 decision makers in Asia-Pacific working in events, marketing, project management, and learning and development at multinational companies with annual revenue above $10 million. Markets included Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, South Korea, and Japan.
