Analysis of factors influencing international student destination choice: a case of Indian HE.

The inflow of international students to Indian higher education has remained low and this should be a matter of great concern. As a piece of country-specific research, this paper aims to understand the factors that influence an international students' choice of India as a higher education destination. The results of an exploratory factor analysis indicate that international students enrolled in Indian universities considered conducive structural elements, the quality of education on offer, the cultural appeal of India, prospects of job in the destination country and the opportunity to learn English as the most important factors in host country selection. Further, a cluster analysis based on the identified factors specifies four international student segments that policymakers must pay attention to while formulating strategies to attract overseas students. This research provides an understanding into the destination choice motivations of an understudied market in an increasingly significant region of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]