ITB Asia 2026: 5 reasons travel-tech leaders cannot ignore it

ITB Asia 2026, the 19th edition, opened on 21 October at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore and runs to 23 October. It is organised by Messe Berlin Asia Pacific and co-located with MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia.

Organisers expect more than 18,000 participants, over 1,000 exhibiting brands, more than 1,500 qualified buyers and about 60,000 targeted business appointments. These are expectations, not confirmed results.

The conference carries 4,500 minutes of content across more than 100 sessions and 160 speakers, spread over three stages: the Knowledge Theatre, the MICE Show Asia Theatre and the Travel Tech Asia Theatre. The theme is ‘Experiences in Motion: Human-Centred Design in Travel & Tourism’.

Here is why hotel, airline, OTA, DMC and tourism-board leaders should not ignore what came out of the Singapore floor.

1. ITB Asia 2026 launches a new regional show in Jakarta

Messe Berlin Asia Pacific announced ITB Asia Select at the show. Its first edition, ITB Asia Select Indonesia, takes place in Jakarta on 23 to 24 June 2027 and replaces the Travel Meet Asia Jakarta brand. It is run with ASITA, which signed an MoU at the show.

Darren Seah of Messe Berlin Asia Pacific said: ‘Different Asian markets have different opportunities and needs, and strong local partners are essential.’ No other Select markets or dates have been announced.

2. Sunrate and TourMind put payments inside the platform

Sunrate announced a partnership with TourMind at ITB Asia 2026. Sunrate will build its payment capabilities, including Sunrate Cards, into TourMind’s platform. Sunrate CEO Paul Meng also named its ‘Agentic Card’.

For OTAs and DMCs that pay suppliers across borders, the deal shows payments moving into the booking and operations layer instead of sitting beside it.

3. Visit Vietnam shows an AI trip planner that books in the chat

Visit Vietnam, an AI travel app, made its international debut at ITB Asia. Its AI Trip Planner books inside the conversation. The official launch is planned in Phu Quoc toward the end of 2026, with South Korea the priority market for the first rollout.

Tourism boards and Korean outbound sellers get an early look at a destination-led booking flow before it goes live.

4. Sun Group brings Phu Quoc to the MICE market

Sun Group made its ITB Asia debut with a 10-booth pavilion positioning Phu Quoc, host of APEC 2027, for MICE. It presented Sun PhuQuoc Airways, seven hotels and hotel clusters, and the Visit Vietnam platform jointly with Visa.

MICE Show Asia exhibition space grew 184% on 2025 according to the opening coverage, with more than 200 confirmed MICE buyers, including Amex GBT, ConferenceDirect, FCM Meetings & Events and HelmsBriscoe. New this year are an Experience Zone with a Tripadvisor Experience Pavilion, free guided tours supported by Woopa Group and an invitation-only Association Executive Networking Session.

5. Travel Tech Asia 2026 adds a hosted buyer programme for tech only

Travel Tech Asia 2026 added a hosted buyer programme for travel technology alone. The organiser expects about 100 buyers, made up of CIOs, CTOs and procurement leads from hospitality, agencies and DMCs. A single All Access Pass replaced separate registration.

Exhibitors named by the organiser include Agoda, Airalo, DerbySoft, DragonPass, Flywire, Juniper Travel Technology, the Korean Tourism Startup Centre, Rakuten Travel Xchange, RateHawk, SiteMinder and Trip.com. A vendor that wants a technology budget-holder in the room now has a channel built for that.

For organisers

ITB Asia Select Indonesia in Jakarta on 23 to 24 June 2027 is the first show under a new brand, and its conference programme has not been announced. Organisers and speakers who want a place on that programme have the window before it is set.

Key takeaway

If you sell or buy travel technology in APAC, the Travel Tech Asia theatre and hosted buyers are the rooms to be in on the final day, 23 October. We would put the Sunrate and TourMind payments model, the Visit Vietnam launch and the Jakarta date in June 2027 on the plan now, while the Select programme is still open.

Sesh Seshadri

Editor and Head of Partnerships

Subrahmanian Seshadri (Sesh) is a publishing and travel-content veteran with five decades of experience. As the former Director and General Manager of Lonely Planet India, he played a pivotal role in its entry starting in 2012. His career spans Oxford University Press, Dorling Kindersley and digital content, bringing expertise across travel, publishing, and technology.

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