ITE Ho Chi Minh City 2026 attracted 47,960 visitors and participants to Ho Chi Minh City from August 27 to 29 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center. The event was the 20th edition and the largest in the expo’s history, featuring participation from more than 520 exhibitors and tourism brands across 410 booths. Organisers recorded over 21,000 business-to-business meetings connecting international buyers and exhibitors.
International companies attending included TUI Group, Flight Centre Travel Group, Intrepid Travel, JTB, and Thomas Cook India. TUI Group, Bunnik Tours, IFC, GetYourGuide, Trip.com, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises made their debut appearances at the
event. Delegates came from 32 countries and territories, with over 50 multinational firms and global MICE organisations participating.
Exhibitors represented a broad range of destinations such as Portugal, Bhutan, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Japan, Thailand, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, and Italy. Within Vietnam, officials from 34 provinces and cities took part, with 26 maintaining exhibition booths. Concurrently, Ho Chi Minh City hosted three Mekong sub-region tourism ministerial meetings for the first time alongside the expo.
The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Tourism Ministers’ Meeting convened on August 26 to discuss tourism product development and market connectivity. The seventh
ACMECS and eighth CLMV Tourism Ministers’ Meetings occurred on August 27, focusing on destination connectivity, sustainable tourism, and regional cooperation. These meetings produced joint documents outlining strategic directions and cooperation frameworks. Bilateral sessions were held involving Cambodia’s tourism ministry, the International Congress and Convention Association, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and Qingdao Airlines representatives.
ITE HCMC delivered 15 forums, conferences, and specialist seminars involving 26 international and 25 Vietnamese experts, attracting over 1,100 in-person attendees and 8,500 online viewers. A high-level MICE tourism forum gathered more than 400 delegates to discuss sustainability, technology, policy, and public-private partnerships.
Sessions expanded to topics including artificial intelligence, medical tourism, destination branding, sustainable tourism product development, and international market connectivity.
The expo enhanced its programming with a strengthened startup component featuring 14 startups at the Global Tourism Innovation Startup Investment and Connection Day. Six Vietnamese and eight South Korean startups highlighted innovations in artificial intelligence and tourism technology. Additional sessions addressed Chinese travellers to Vietnam through Xiaohongshu and focused on destinations such as Hai Phong and Thai Nguyen.
Sixteen familiarisation and press itineraries occurred around the event, involving more than 400 participants. The routes showcased Ho Chi Minh City’s established attractions
alongside cultural performances, culinary experiences, and heritage sites. Programs extended beyond the city to resorts, golf courses, and green tourism offerings targeting markets including the United States, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. A new heritage and ecological itinerary linked Ho Chi Minh City with Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, combining local experiences with Khmer cultural heritage.
The next ITE Ho Chi Minh City event is scheduled for September 2027.
