Vietnam Along With Other Countries Ignite Astonishing Tourism Surge Following Landmark ITE HCMC 2026 Summit

Written By: Paramita Sarkar

Paramita Sarkar

Story-telling has been one of my favourite passtimes and when it is about travel, every other activity seems to fall short. I started my journey as a freelancer close to two decades ago having worked with various online portals inclduding Sambhar Stories, Thirllophilia and so on. Down the years, life has rewarded me with experiences, only adding to my writing practice. Even though teaching has been my primary profession and passion, choosing the job of a travel journalist was not quite dilemmatic when selected by the esteemed editorial team of Travel And Tour World. Knowing and letting readers know about the quaint yet intriguing desintions across the globe through writing is something I always cherish and put in my best endeavour to.

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September 8, 2026 18:02 GMT+5:30

After twenty years of expanding the Southeast Asia travel market, the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo (ITE HCMC) celebrated the largest and the most successful edition of its kind at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.

ITE HCMC 2026 included 47,000 attendees and foreign tourism ministers, global business executives, international travel buyers and technology innovators under the theme of “Vibrant Connections – Global Destinations.” The event defined Vietnam’s important place in the world’s travel trade and promotion and high level tourism diplomacy sectors.

The event was directed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, in partnership with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City co-chaired the event while the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center and C.I.S Vietnam Advertising & Exhibition Joint Stock Company organised the operational activities.

Record Scale and Commercial Momentum

The 2026 edition established new benchmarks for scale, international engagement, and direct commercial transaction volumes. Over the course of the event, more than 520 exhibitors and global tourism brands were represented across 410 dedicated booths. Domestic participation was equally robust, with 34 Vietnamese provinces and cities joining the trade floor, 26 of which designed immersive regional pavilions highlighting new eco-tourism, cultural heritage, and luxury travel offerings.

The exhibition floor attracted 47,960 total participants, including high-volume trade purchasers, international media representatives, and general public visitors. Beyond floor foot traffic, the Expo’s structured business-matching platform generated more than 21,000 pre-scheduled B2B meetings between international buyers and destination exhibitors, driving massive transaction volumes for upcoming travel seasons.

International destination representation spanned a vast footprint, featuring official promotional boards and commercial entities from Portugal, Bhutan, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Japan, Nicaragua, Thailand, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, and Italy.

Global Tourism Giants and Emerging Markets Converge

Emphasising its growing commercial influence, ITE HCMC 2026 hosted 309 senior international buyers, media delegates, and content creators originating from 32 countries and territories. Key buyer delegations arrived from major source markets including the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Poland, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, the UAE, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, the Netherlands, the United States, Myanmar, New Zealand, France, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Türkiye, and China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan).

More than 50 leading multinational corporations, global travel groups, and specialised MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) operators participated actively in trade negotiations. Prominent travel operators in attendance included TUI Deutschland GmbH, DERTOUR Deutschland GmbH, Intrepid Travel, Bunnik Tours, Ignite Travel Group – My Touring, Flight Centre Travel Group, Luxury Escapes, Goway Travel, Travel Edge, Collette, Fora Travel, Remote Lands, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Thomas Cook India Ltd., Yatra Online, SOTC Travel Ltd., HIS, Nippon Travel Agency, JTB Corp., WTS Travel & Tours, Travel Destinations, E-Tours, Asian Dreams Touristik, Schauinsland-Reisen, ATS Travel, and Oliver’s Travel.

Global MICE and corporate travel management firms also maintained a commanding presence, led by American Express Global Business Travel (AMEX GBT), BCD Meetings & Events, HelmsBriscoe, MCI Middle East, FCM Travel Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., Veena World MICE, Global Business Travel Singapore Pte Ltd., and Al Tayer Events. Furthermore, cross-sector corporate giants including EF Education First, Xiaomi, GE HealthCare, BBVA, and Bureau Veritas China engaged directly with the tourism ecosystem to expand corporate travel, event sourcing, and hospitality partnerships.

The 2026 expo also welcomed several first-time international corporate participants, including TUI Group, Bunnik Tours, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), GetYourGuide, Trip.com, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, broadening the market scope for Vietnamese tour operators seeking direct access to Western and long-haul traveller bases.

Milestone Tourism Diplomacy in the Mekong Sub-Region

Beyond corporate trade, ITE HCMC 2026 served as a pivotal stage for high-level regional diplomacy. Pursuant to Decision No. 4752/QD-BVHTTDL issued by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ho Chi Minh City made history by hosting three Mekong sub-region tourism ministerial meetings simultaneously:

• The 1st Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam (CLV) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, held on August 26, focused on joint product development, border-crossing simplification, and multi-destination itineraries.
• The 7th ACMECS (Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on August 27, targeting seamless destination connectivity across mainland Southeast Asia.
• The 8th CLMV (Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, emphasising sustainable travel frameworks and joint promotional campaigns for the next decade.

Accompanied by Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM), these ministerial summits concluded with joint strategic agreements, positioning Ho Chi Minh City as a central hub for policy dialogue and destination synchronisation across the Mekong sub-region.

In parallel, senior municipal leaders held direct bilateral talks and protocol meetings with international delegations, including the Minister of Tourism of Cambodia, leadership from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), and executives from China’s Qingdao Airlines.

High-Level Policy Forums and Tech Disruptions

A core pillar of ITE HCMC 2026 was its comprehensive professional knowledge-sharing track, comprising 15 specialised conferences and seminars that drew 26 international and 25 domestic experts, attracting 1,100 in-person delegates and over 8,500 live-stream viewers.

The central policy session—the High-Level Tourism Forum themed “MICE Tourism in the New Era: Sustainability – Connectivity – Opportunity”—was presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra alongside leaders from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee. Attended by more than 400 government officials, provincial authorities, and industry executives, the forum addressed public-private partnership (PPP) models, regulatory frameworks, green event standardisation, and strategic investments required to elevate Vietnam into a world-class MICE destination.

Other specialised discussions addressed pressing industry evolutions:

• Technology & Health: A seminar co-hosted with the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) examined artificial intelligence applications, medical tourism expansion, and sustainable development goals.
• Branding & Analytics: The Outbox Company led discussions on elevating destination branding through data-driven international connectivity.
• Sustainability: The Swiss Tourism for Sustainable Development in Vietnam (ST4SD) project hosted sessions on engineering sustainable travel products and green supply chains.
• Market Insights: A dedicated workshop in partnership with Xiaohongshu (RedNote) analysed evolving Chinese outbound traveller trends.
• Startup Ecosystems: The inaugural Global Tourism Innovation Startup Investment and Connection Day—co-organised by Expara Vietnam Venture Capital Fund and the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City—introduced cutting-edge travel technology. The event showcased six Vietnamese technology startups (TripHunter, Rada360, Aeterna, Vieroc AI, Link Tourism JSC, and Skyedge AI) and eight South Korean ventures (Piece of Creative, NoTag Korea, emCT, Zivo, KVANKOREA, Paraátar, Connectin, and MyMerci – MediCherry).

Regional promotion also took center stage through local host sessions, including TEDx 2026: Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City, the Hai Phong Tourism Stimulus Conference, and the Thai Nguyen Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s presentation on green destinations.

Experiential Heritage and Public Engagement

To showcase Vietnam’s destination appeal beyond the exhibition hall, organizers curated 16 specialised destination itineraries (“Famtrip” and “Presstrip” programs) for over 400 foreign dignitaries, buyers, foreign media, and content creators.

Delegates explored iconic urban landmarks such as the Reunification Palace, Ben Thanh Market, and Cho Lon, alongside evening city tours via vintage Vespas and live cultural productions like the Mơ Show and LoaLoa Show. Broadening regional connectivity, extended routes showcased luxury golf resorts for target markets in the U.S., Russia, the UAE, China, and Malaysia, while a newly established heritage and eco-route linked Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, showcasing authentic Khmer cultural heritage and riverway lifestyles to enthusiastic European buyer cohorts.

On the trade floor, visual excellence and visitor engagement were recognised through dedicated awards:

• Best Designed Booth Award: Presented to 14 exhibitors, including the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Airlines JSC, Saigontourist Group, Ho Tram Project Company, Viet Princess Cruises, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Saint Petersburg Convention Bureau, Cambodia Ministry of Tourism, Lam Dong Promotion Center, Vinpearl JSC, Quang Tri Promotion Center, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, and the Taiwan Tourism Administration.
• Most Attractive Booth Award: Awarded to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for exceptional interactive public engagement.

Simultaneously, the public festival program offered thousands of discounted promotional travel packages, regional gastronomy samples, direct consumer sales, and One Commune One Product (OCOP) showcase stalls, generating a festive cultural exchange for local residents.

Massive Global Media Impact and Future Outlook

The strategic communications campaign for ITE HCMC 2026 broke all previous records for global reach. More than 4,500 news stories, TV and radio segments were published and broadcast around the world to cover the event. The domestic media produced over 3,100 news stories on the major national TV networks and the top news outlets. internationally, a little over 1,200 specialised articles appeared on major global trade publications like TTG Asia, Travel Daily China, Conference & Meetings World, MICE in Asia, Think MICE, Travel Daily Media, India Outbound, RedNote, and Baxter Media. Additionally, global travel influencers published more than 200 viral social media posts across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Digital campaign metrics recorded a reach of over 24.49 million during August 2026, and generated 1.13 million interactions with over tens of thousands of positive engagement mentions. The Expo’s physical presence was reinforced around Ho Chi Minh City by large scale visual campaigns on 50 digital LED screens located at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the Thu Thiem Sky LED system on the Saigon River, and the central corridors of SECC.

After twenty years of consistent growth, ITE HCMC 2026 showcased the public-private partnership model of Vietnam for trade and policy integration and regional tourism development. The Organising Committee further cemented this 20-year legacy by announcing that ITE HCMC 2027 will take place during September 2027 in Ho Chi Minh City.