ITE Ho Chi Minh City 2026 drew 47,960 visitors and participants to Ho Chi Minh City during its 20th edition held from August 27 to 29 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, marking the event’s largest scale to date.
More than 520 exhibitors and tourism brands occupied 410 booths at the expo. Organisers documented over 21,000 business-to-business meetings between international buyers and exhibitors. The event hosted 309 senior buyers, media representatives, content creators, and media partners from 32 countries and territories. Over 50 multinational companies and global MICE organisations were among participants.
Notable travel companies making their debut at
ITE HCMC included TUI Group, Bunnik Tours, IFC, GetYourGuide, Trip.com, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises. Other participants included Flight Centre Travel Group, Intrepid Travel, JTB, and Thomas Cook India. Exhibitors represented 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, 34 provinces and cities took part, with 26 hosting exhibition booths.
Mekong Sub-Region Tourism Ministerial Meetings
The expo coincided with three Mekong sub-region tourism ministerial meetings held in Ho Chi Minh City for the first time. The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on August 26 focused on tourism product development
and market connectivity. On August 27, the seventh ACMECS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting and the eighth CLMV Tourism Ministers’ Meeting addressed destination connectivity, sustainable tourism, and regional cooperation.
These ministerial meetings produced joint documents, strategic directions, and action frameworks concerning regional collaboration in tourism. Senior officials’ sessions accompanied the meetings to advance these initiatives.
Forums, Seminars, and Startup Events
ITE HCMC featured 15 forums, conferences, and specialist seminars with 26 international speakers and 25 Vietnamese speakers participating. Over 1,100 people attended in person, while 8,500 engaged online. A high-level MICE tourism forum gathered more than 400 delegates to discuss sustainability, technology, policy, and public-private partnerships.
Sessions
addressed topics including artificial intelligence, medical tourism, destination branding, sustainable tourism products, and international market connectivity. The Global Tourism Innovation Startup Investment and Connection Day involved six Vietnamese startups and eight South Korean startups, focusing on AI and tourism technology.
Bilateral Meetings and Stakeholder Engagement
During ITE HCMC, bilateral meetings occurred with representatives such as Cambodia’s tourism minister, the International Congress and Convention Association, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and Qingdao Airlines. These interactions facilitated cooperation and networking among key stakeholders in the region’s tourism sector.
Familiarisation and Press Itineraries
Sixteen familiarisation and press itineraries, involving over 400 participants, were organized around the expo.
The programmes included cultural performances, heritage experiences, and local attractions in Ho Chi Minh City. Tours extending outside the city highlighted resorts, golf courses, and green tourism products targeting markets in the United States, Russia, the UAE, China, Taiwan, and Malaysia.
A new heritage and ecological itinerary linked Ho Chi Minh City with Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta, offering experiences centered on Khmer cultural heritage.
ITE Ho Chi Minh City’s next edition is planned for September 2027.
