ITE HCMC 2026 kicks off with a mega culture night at conventions and events venue GEM Center.
The 20th Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo (ITE HCMC 2026) puts the city’s push for higher-value tourism at the centre of its largest edition to date, targeting visitors who stay longer, spend more and seek a broader range of experiences.
Held from 27 to 29 August at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, the expo brought together more than 520 exhibitors and brands, 34 Vietnamese provinces and cities, and 260 high-level international buyers from over 40 markets. More than 21,000 pre-scheduled B2B appointments provided a route for converting the city’s destination positioning into business.
From publicity to brand-building
Lê Trương Hiền Hòa, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said ITE had evolved beyond a conventional trade fair into an international promotion platform connecting government, businesses, experts, media and global partners. Its value, he added, should be measured not only by scale or meeting numbers, but by the partnerships generated after the event.
Hòa linked ITE to the city’s move from destination publicity to destination-brand building. He said the brand must bring policy, products, services, infrastructure, community, environment, communications and visitor experience together under a common promise.
New demand
This supports the city’s strategy to diversify source markets while retaining MICE and high-end travellers. Western Europe and Australia are being targeted for their potential to increase revenue and lengthen stays.
Australian buyer Lena McGarry, product manager at My Touring, Ignite Travel Group, said demand was rising among families, multigenerational groups and older travellers seeking premium, comfort-led experiences and four- to five-star accommodation. “We’ve been getting a lot of requests for family tours,” she said, citing cooking classes, boat trips and cruises in Hoi An and the Mekong Delta.
McGarry was also seeking lesser-known cultural experiences, soft adventure and scenic rail journeys to expand the company’s Vietnam portfolio. “We want to show our clientele new aspects of Vietnam’s culture and local lifestyle, so I’m looking for hidden gems.” She added that a combination of unique discoveries with soft adventure and scenic relaxation wrapped in comfort travel will provide the elements for an ideal Vietnam itinerary.
A bigger role in multilateral cooperation
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism director Phạm Huy Bình said the concurrent CLV, ACMECS and CLMV tourism ministerial meetings reflected the expo’s expanding regional role, linking tourism promotion with diplomacy and development cooperation.
The meetings produced 2026–2028 cooperation plans covering travel facilitation, connectivity, joint marketing, digitalisation, workforce development and sustainable, community-based tourism. CLMV countries received 32.3 million international visitors and US$45.8 billion in tourism receipts in 2025, but intra-regional travellers accounted for only 3.3 million, or 9.6%.
For Ho Chi Minh City, ITE’s test is now conversion: turning policy alignment, destination identity and buyer connections into higher-value demand rather than footfall alone.