Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo 2026 (ITE HCMC 2026) is expected to facilitate more than 20,000 business meetings with the participation of 260 international hosted buyers.
Under the theme “Vibrant Connections, Global Destinations”, the expo is scheduled to take place from August 27 to 29, 2026 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, announced the city’s Department of Tourism during the Vietnam International Travel Mart 2026 (VITM 2026) held in Hanoi.
Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said the ITE HCMC 2026 is expected to gather more than 520 exhibitors and representatives from all 34 Vietnamese localities. Notably, the expo will attract 260 international hosted buyers from over 30 countries and territories, a 10% increase compared to 2025, and is projected to generate around 20,050 B2B meetings between Vietnamese and international tourism businesses.
With its large scale, the ITE HCMC 2026 aims to promote tourism cooperation between Vietnam and priority markets such as Northeast Asia, Western Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania while also boosting visitor arrivals from the Indian market, he said.
The organisers pledge to help localities and enterprises expand partnership networks and improve visitor quality, thereby strengthening the position of both Vietnam’s tourism sector and Ho Chi Minh City as a dynamic destination in the region, Hoa added.
Nguyen Thi Hoa Mai, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said that since October 2025, the authority has coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City to guide preparations for the event in order to elevate the expo’s international standing.
This year’s event will feature a range of activities, including a high-level tourism forum discussing smart destination management policies and green infrastructure, the Cambodia – Laos – Myanmar – Vietnam Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, the Ayeyawady – Chao Phraya – Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, the Cambodia – Laos – Vietnam Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, and various destination survey programmes.
Mai emphasised that participants in ITE HCMC will not only promote tourism products or tour packages but also contribute to popularising the tourism brand of Vietnam.
Amid global geopolitical fluctuations, Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector is adjusting its strategy by diversifying markets and strengthening adaptability. Currently, about 55% of Vietnam’s international visitors come from Northeast Asia and 20% from Southeast Asia, while Ho Chi Minh City’s market structure is more balanced, with 44% from Northeast Asia, 15% from Southeast Asia, 14% from North America, and the remainder from other regions.
Facing regional conflicts and aviation disruptions, the city continues to maintain key markets such as Northeast Asia and the US while expanding into Western Europe, Australia, and India, which are considered markets with strong growth potential and recovery capacity.
The ITE HCMC 2026 is therefore expected to serve as a lever to boost promotion, strengthen market connections, and attract more international visitors to Vietnam.
Over its 20 editions, it has become a milestone in the development of the city’s tourism industry and helped enhance the global profile of both Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam on the world tourism map./.
