INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
ITE HCMC 2026 EXPO:
“VIBRANT CONNECTIONS, GLOBAL DESTINATIONS”

Hanoi, April 10, 2026 – Following the success of 19 editions, the 20^th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC 2026) is officially launched, marking its 20th edition under the theme: “Vibrant Connections – Global Destinations”.

The 20^th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2026 (ITE HCMC 2026) is directed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, and organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism in coordination with relevant agencies. The event will take place from August 27 to 29, 2026 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), 799 Nguyen Van Linh Street, Tan My Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, together with a series of side activities at hotels, conference centers, and destinations across the city.

ITE HCMC 2026 – A 20-year milestone affirming the stature of one of the leading tourism events in Vietnam and Asia, and the aspiration to elevate the position of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City on the world tourism map

Entering its 20^th edition, ITE HCMC 2026 is not only an important milestone in the development journey of the expo but also affirms the increasingly prominent role of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam on the world tourism map.

Going beyond the framework of a conventional trade expo, ITE HCMC 2026 is positioned as a leading international tourism promotion platform, bringing together management agencies, promotion organizations, businesses, experts, media, and international buyers to jointly create new value for the tourism industry in a global context that is rapidly shifting toward green, smart, and sustainable development.

The theme “Vibrant Connections” is an affirmation of a borderless tourism ecosystem, where digital technology and artificial intelligence intertwine with heritage values to create flexible, practical, and effective bridges among management authorities, businesses, and international partners.

Meanwhile, “Global Destinations” reflects the commitment to elevating the position of Ho Chi Minh City tourism, affirming the role of ITE HCMC as a prestigious regional meeting point where visitor flows, products, trends, and international tourism cooperation opportunities converge.

Scale and strategy for international market coverage

ITE HCMC continues to be honored as “Asia’s Best Trade Show” at the World MICE Awards for two consecutive years, 2024 and 2025, affirming the event’s prestige and quality on the international stage. The expo has further reinforced its position as a pioneering tourism event in Vietnam through its professionally organized, large-scale Hosted Buyers Program, which brings together strategic partners from key markets. Beyond serving as a trade bridge between businesses and stimulating tourism services, the expo creates opportunities for Vietnamese localities to showcase and promote their destinations to international businesses and media, while also serving as a specialized forum for emerging trends and key industry updates.

Continuously expanding in scale and reinforcing its influence, ITE HCMC 2026 is expected to gather more than 520 exhibitors and 34 localities of Vietnam participating in the exhibition; 260 high quality international buyers from more than 32 countries and territories (up 10% compared to 2025); and more than 30,000 visitors (up 15% compared to 2025), helping generate 20,050 B2B Meetings for direct exchanges and contacts between international and Vietnamese tourism businesses.

In its role as the locomotive of Vietnam’s tourism industry, Ho Chi Minh City tourism continues to proactively adjust its international visitor market strategy toward diversification, stronger adaptability, and economic efficiency, while maintaining MICE and high-end travel segments to help stabilize the overall performance of the industry.

At present, the market structure of Vietnam tourism consists of approximately 55% from Northeast Asia, 20% from Southeast Asia, and 6% from Australia and India. Similarly, the market structure of international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City tourism also shows high diversity, with 44% from Northeast Asia, 15% from Southeast Asia, 14% from North America, 7% from Oceania, and 6% from South Asia. This is an important foundation for the city to build a flexible promotion strategy, reduce dependence on a few single markets, and increase resilience against global volatility.

In response to the impacts of conflict in the Middle East, geopolitical fluctuations, and global crises affecting air connectivity as well as international travel sentiment, the city’s tourism industry has proactively adjusted its market development strategy toward broader coverage, risk distribution, and prioritization of regions with stronger recovery capacity. In this context, the impact from the Middle East may reduce visitor numbers in certain direct markets in the Western Hemisphere, the Middle East, or routes dependent on transit; however, it also opens up opportunities to increase arrivals from safer and more stable-demand regions such as Northeast Asia, Russia and Central Asia, Australia, and India.

Under this orientation, Northeast Asia and the United States continue to be key market clusters to maintain the scale and stability of international arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City. Western Europe, including Germany, together with the Australian market, represent potential visitor groups that should be prioritized to increase revenue, extend length of stay, and improve visitor quality. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia and India are highly stable visitor sources that should continue to be maintained in order to balance the market structure and reduce risks from geopolitical disruptions, particularly on international routes dependent on Middle East transit.

On that basis, ITE HCMC 2026 is expected to continue playing its role as a leading international tourism promotion platform, not only creating a strong boost to attract international visitors to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City, but also helping realize the strategy of covering key and potential inbound markets through in-depth business matching, promotion, and communication activities. The expo focuses on promoting cooperation in priority markets such as Northeast Asia, Western Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, thereby supporting localities and businesses in expanding partner networks, improving the quality of visitor sources, and strengthening the position of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City tourism as a dynamic destination of the region.

In addition, the expo also attracts strong interest from international media, with the participation of 60 press and media agencies and globally renowned KOLs/Travel Bloggers, helping spread the image of Ho Chi Minh City as a destination across the international tourism market.

By participating in ITE HCMC 2026, Vietnamese and international tourism businesses and partners will have many opportunities for connection and cooperation in a professional, modern, and vibrant trading environment. The expo is a meeting point for domestic and international tourism enterprises, especially those from the Lower Mekong countries, to seek business partners and offer diverse products to customers. The expo is also a place for participating units to access new products and business models, moving steadily on the path of sustainable tourism development. At the same time, localities and tourism enterprises will have the opportunity to introduce their distinctive tourism products and unique experiences of Vietnam in general, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, to international visitors.

Highlighted activities

This year’s expo is designed with a series of highly professional activities and broad influence:

• High-Level Tourism Forum: Discussion of smart destination management policies, green infrastructure, and renewable energy in tourism, while promoting circular business models and sustainable tourism infrastructure.
• International tourism conferences in Vietnam in 2026: The 8th Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) and the 8th Tourism Ministers’ Meeting of Cambodia – Laos – Myanmar – Vietnam (CLMV); the 7th Tourism Ministers’ Meeting of the Ayeyarwady – Chao Phraya – Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS); and the 1st Tourism Ministers’ Meeting of Cambodia – Laos – Vietnam (CLV).
• Heritage experience journeys: Pre/Post Tour destination familiarization programs for media and international buyers, introducing waterway tourism products, rural ecotourism, and distinctive craft villages of localities.
• Travel Fun Expo Day: A vibrant tourism stimulus space featuring thousands of promotional tours and creating a multicultural exchange playground.

Commenting on the 20-year journey of International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City (ITE HCMC), a representative of the leadership of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism shared:

“Over the past two decades, ITE HCMC has not merely been a trade expo, but has become a bridge connecting the essence of Vietnamese tourism with the flow of regional and global tourism. Entering its 20th year, ITE HCMC 2026 carries a historic mission: not only to be a place for meeting, but a place for creating breakthrough solutions for a new era of tourism – an era of smart connectivity, green development, and sustainable cooperation.

With the theme ‘Vibrant Connections – Global Destinations,’ we affirm the pioneering role of Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry in leading the transformation from ‘traditional tourism’ to a ‘green and digital tourism ecosystem,’ enhancing international competitiveness. ITE HCMC 2026 is the strongest commitment to a Vietnam that is proactively integrating, ready to break through, and steadfastly elevate its position on the tourism map of the future.”