2025

Once again Ho Chi Minh City was honoured at the World Travel Awards reaffirming, its position, as one of Asia’s leading destinations with four prestigious titles Asia’s Leading Business Travel Destination 2025, Asia’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2025, Asia’s Leading City Tourist Board 2025, and Asia’s Leading Coastal City Break Destination 2025.

The continuous recognition of Ho Chi Minh City at the “Oscars of the global travel industry” is a powerful testament to the city’s prestige, attractiveness, and sustainable growth potential.

This success reflects not only the city’s ongoing efforts to improve service quality and diversify tourism products, but also highlights its image as a dynamic, modern, and creative metropolis that remains deeply rooted in cultural identity – a unique strength that continues to captivate both domestic and international visitors.

Notably, Vung Tau previously part of Ba Ria, is a province and now under Ho Chi Minh City following recent administrative reorganisation was recognised for the first time as ‘Asia’s Leading Coastal City Break Destination 2025’.

This milestone further enhances, the image of Vietnam’s coastal and island tourism, while expanding the visibility of Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism brand across the region and the world.

Alongside Ho Chi Minh City’s outstanding achievements, Vietnam was also honored with two prestigious titles at the World Travel Awards 2025: Asia’s Leading Destination 2025 for the 7th time and Asia’s Leading Heritage Destination 2025 the 3rd time.

The four prestigious awards not only honour the city’s relentless efforts toward sustainable tourism development, but also mark an important milestone in promoting the ‘Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City’ brand an inviting, friendly, and dynamic destination, confidently moving forward with the global tourism industry’s robust growth.

At the opening of the ITB Asia 2025 in Singapore, the show created a new milestone when Messe Berlin Asia Pacific and Tripadvisor Singapore Pte Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop the Experience Pavilion, which will debut at ITB Asia 2026.

“We saw over 11 million experiences booked on our sites (including Viator) in the first half of 2025, which is a 15 percent YoY increase and we’re expecting that trend will continue for the remainder of the year and into 2026,” said Mr. Scott Wegener, director of sales (APAC), Tripadvisor.

The Experience Pavilion will highlight the power of experiential travel, spanning adventure, culture, wellness, culinary tourism and more, and will provide a platform for exhibitors to inspire, engage, and connect with buyers and media.

Tripadvisor will co-curate the Pavilion’s theme and content framework, leveraging its global network to bring together selected experience-focused providers, while Messe Berlin Singapore will ensure prime positioning, media visibility, and targeted buyer engagement.

Messe Berlin Asia Pacific has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore Tourism Board to collaborate in the ITB Asia from 2026 to 2028. The strategic partnership aims to jointly develop new content pillars, co-market the event, enhance buyer engagement initiatives, and facilitate more government participation.

Together, Messe Berlin and STB are committed to strengthening ITB Asia’s position as one Asia’s leading travel trade shows and platform for the global tourism industry.

“This strategic partnership with Messe Berlin reinforces Singapore’s position as the World’s Best MICE City and aligns with our Tourism 2040 goals to cultivate stronger MICE visitor demand and create distinctive experiences,” said Mr. Poh Chi Chuan, Executive Director, Exhibitions and Conferences, Singapore Tourism Board.

ITB Asia organised by Messe Berlin Asia Pacific is supported by the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau. The annual business-to-business trade show and convention features exhibiting companies from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, covering leisure market, MICE and corporate travel.

IN 2026, it will be held from October 21 to 23 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo will officially take place from September 4 to 6 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, Tan My Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. It marks the 19th edition of the show,

This year’s ITE HCMC will focus not only on economic growth, but also on preserving cultural, social, and environmental values. reaffirming Vietnam’s vision for sustainable tourism development. At the same time, the expo encourages the creation of innovative tourism products and services that respond to the evolving expectations of international travellers, particularly those seeking green, sustainable, and experiential journeys.

Ho Chi Minh City is actively working to attract and welcome over 240 international hosted buyers, including travel companies, tour operators, MICE organisers, and travel agencies from more than 32 countries and territories to participate in ITE HCMC 2025.

According to the organising committee, over 250 exhibiting companies and brands and 240 hosted buyers have confirmed their attendance.

While Ho Chi Minh City’s prominence as a bub for investment and business is growing with its recent administrative expansion to include Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and Binh Duong province. Through this extension, the city is developing a strategic tourism triangle of city break, industrial hub and coastal ecotourism – laying the foundation to become a centre for tourism, investment, and innovation in the region.

Currently ITE HCMC is the only tourism expo in Vietnam with an international buyer program and in 2024, was recognised as ‘Asia’s Best Trade Show’ at the World MICE Awards, affirming the position and quality of the event in the international arena.

The summit will be held at the Exhibition World Bahrain from September 1 to 2 bringing together regional and international stakeholders from meetings and events industry.

Among others, it will feature a forum focused on panel discussions, case studies, workshops and structured networking targeted at critical topics shaping the global MICE landscape.

The summit will also introduce the ICCA Middle East Recognition Awards, aimed at acknowledging institutional excellence and innovation within the region’s business events sector.

While the key theme is on technology and during the summit, participants will learn about how technology can strengthen the tourism and meetings industry and in creating, seamless experiences for travellers.

“We are looking forward to leading the charge in innovation and high-tech developments, particularly in how artificial intelligence is transforming destination marketing and the way cities position themselves globally,” said Dr. Senthil Gopinath, chief executive officer of ICCA.

There will also be discussions on sustainability with Bahrain’s effort in committing to sustainable tourism.  Conversations at the summit on sustainability will be centred on eco-friendly practices, green certifications and carbon neutral initiatives.

What participants can take away from the summit this year will be, strong networking opportunities, connect with industry professionals as well as, suppliers of tourism and MICE products, country tourism boards and destination and venue owners.

Back row: Oliver Chong, Assistant Chief Executive (Designate), International Group, STB; Melissa Ow, Chief Executive, STB; Alex Hungate, President and Group COO, Grab; Alejandro Osorio, Singapore Managing Director, Grab; Front row: Juliana Kua, Assistant Chief Executive, International Group, STB; Yee Wee Tang, Group Managing Director of Operations, Grab, at the MOU signing ceremony.

Through a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding, both organisations aim to attract more international visitors and drive tourism spend, while delivering seamless and authentic travel experiences in the city.

As part of the collaboration, STB will act as the gateway connecting Grab with tourism partners across Singapore for closer collaboration.

According to STB, the insights gained from these partners, combined with Grab’s demand generation tools and marketing capabilities, will help drive greater footfall and tourism spending throughout the island thus, benefiting a wide array of local businesses and experiences.

One key initiative will be the enhancement of the Grab Travel Pass, a convenient bundle offering discounts on Grab transport and services in-country.

Available to all international travellers visiting Singapore, the Travel Pass simplifies travel planning and improves on-ground mobility, delivering greater value to travellers while driving growth for tourism partners.

Leveraging on Singapore’s strength as a hub for global and regional events, the partnership will also see Grab collaborating with STB and event organisers to elevate the overall event experience through its mobility, food and financial services which are widely used by both leisure and business travellers.

In the first six months of this year, Singapore recorded 8.33 million international visitor arrivals with SGD8.07 billion in tourism spend in the first quarter of 2025.

In collaboration with two leading data authorities, Tourism Economics and Trip.com Group, ITB China has officially released its travel and trends report for 2025 to 2026. The report examines structural shifts and evolving trends across three core areas of the China travel ecosystem covering outbound travel, meetings, incentives and events and inbound travel to China. While findings of the report are drawn from insights of survey conducted among 1,400 members ITB China Buyer Circle.

According to Messe Berlin China deputy general manager, Ms.  Lydia Li the annual trends report is aimed at providing actionable insights for global partners and industry professionals interested in the Chinese travel market.

She added the goal of the report, is to help them better understand Chinese travel demand and industry dynamics, identify opportunities, stay in step with market shifts, and make informed business decisions.

The survey of the report revealed a shift in China’s outbound travel demographics, according to data from Trip.com Group. Travellers born in the 1980s and 1990s represent 67 percent of the segment in 2024, a proportion of which is expected to grow.

A rise of ‘active seniors’ is reshaping the market, with more than 100 million expected to travel by the end of 2025 and drive spending beyond CNY One trillion (USD140 billion).

At the same time, the trend of companies going global has brought new opportunities to China’s MICE market with business and leisure travel becoming a growth engine.

A key finding was the strong growth potential in the bleisure segment that is business and leisure travel cited by 83 percent of respondents. This trend reflects a shift in corporate travel priorities with higher demand for integrated experience value for delegates, teams and clients than just meeting logistics.

Inbound tourism as claimed in the report is becoming a key growth driver for China.  As the sector, enters a new phase of expansion with tourism economic projects continued gains in China’s share of global inbound supported by visa easing, restored air capacity and improved readiness on city level.

The study also delved into the increasing role of AI in travel.  Over half of ITB China Buyer Circle members are now using AI tools for product recommendations, customer service applications and market analysis. The challenges according to the report is on maintaining human-centred service while adopting AI-driven efficiencies.

In the final analysis, the report recognises that preferences among travellers are also changing, with a move toward free independent travel, social media-driven planning and higher demand for authentic, experience-led tourism beyond the major landmarks.

Tourism New Zealand confirmed 64 international conference wins in the past year, worth an estimated NZ$78.8 million to New Zealand’s visitor economy.

The Tourism New Zealand Business Events team closed out its 2025 financial year hitting record bid targets enabled by a NZ$3 million government funding boost announced in March 2025. It exceeded its stretch target of 110 bids worth NZ$170 million, making 112 bids worth NZ$173 million. The national tourism organisation had previously set a target of 90 bids with a value of NZ$140 million for the 2025 financial year.

In addition to the bid numbers lodged in FY25 there were also 100 resulted bids (win/loss announcements), with 64 wins and 36 losses. The 64 wins have an estimated direct economic impact of NZ$78.8 million.

“What that economic impact figure doesn’t capture is the other benefits hosting these events deliver to New Zealand, from research collaborations to investment opportunities, job creation, profile for New Zealand universities, and knowledge sharing to find solutions to global challenges.” Said Tourism New Zealand global manager business events, Ms. Penelope Ryan

Wins secured in the last year include the WONCA World Rural Health Conference in 2026; Asia-Pacific Intelligent Transport Systems Forum 2027; World Indigenous Cancer Conference 2026; and International Precision Dairy Farming Conference 2025.

“We continue to accelerate momentum thanks to the Government’s additional NZ$3 million in funding for the 2026 financial year,” Ms. Ryan stated. “We’re holding the 110-bid stretch target but aiming to increase the value to NZ$185 million in FY26. We have conference bids in process for 2026 and beyond, with wins confirmed as far ahead as 2030, highlighting the vital role business events activity plays in growing the New Zealand economy now and into the future.”

New Zealand has already secured nine conference wins in the first month of the new financial year. Conference pipelines continue to grow across New Zealand’s three new key city convention centres Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the New Zealand International Convention Centre, opening in Auckland in February 2026.

Ms. Penelope Ryan, Global Manager Business Events of Tourism New Zealand.

The Centre successfully secured six major international conferences through competitive bidding in the first half of the year and is set, to attract more than 6,150 delegates in 2026 and 2027 – generating an estimated RM77.5million (USD18.2million or Euro15.6million) in economic impact for Malaysia.

“Winning these bids is a resounding vote of confidence in Malaysia’s capacity, connectivity and collaborative spirit. Beyond the RM77 million in direct economic contribution, these events will spark new partnerships, accelerate talent development, and showcase our nation’s commitment to driving solutions for aviation safety, global health security, net-zero technology and women’s health,” said Mr. John Burke, general manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

These recent wins highlight the Centre’s ongoing commitment to fostering intellectual exchange, advancing professional development, and delivering economic value to the nation. The conferences span across the fields of aviation, global health security, evidence-based guidelines, clean-energy technology and women’s health.

While the regional and international conferences include Global Health Security Conference 2026, Energy Tech Summit Asia 2026 and 85th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2027.

Returning to Bangkok, Thailand, from 23 to 25 September, IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific 2025 will see the show’s commitment to deliver powerful thought leadership, inclusive travel experience and with robust educational content. This year’s three-day event brings together MICE and corporate travel professionals for an extensive programme of conferences, networking activities, and hands-on workshops.

Day One begins with a re-energised emphasis on education and skill-building, supported by leading global associations such as the Global MICE Collaborative such AEE, MPI, SITE, ICCA, and GBTA. Delegates can pre-register for the MICE Fundamentals: Conferences, Exhibitions & Incentive Events certification course by the Global MICE Collaborative

ICCA will lead a sustainable gastronomy in MICE activity that explores the wonders of gastronomy through the lens of sustainability and innovation. Delegates will take part in interactive experiences that encourage knowledge sharing and promote responsible practices within the business events landscape.

Delegates are able to participate in a series of hands-on activities that encourage interaction, collaboration, and cultural appreciation, providing a refreshing break from traditional business meetings while facilitating networking in an informal setting.

While Global Business Travel Association and CTW Asia-Pacific bring thoughts and ideas for delegates to have a discussion on the topic of business travel and its future resilience, with a focus on sustainability, policy, and the traveller’s well-being.

Programme Highlights of this year’s IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific are conferences on key topics namely Express Mindful Moment – “Your Smiling Heart” is a 10-minute mindfulness session led by Dr. Buathon Thienarrom, using meditative sounds to promote self-awareness.

Speed-Dating Session a five-minute roundtable engagement for selected buyers and exhibitors to encourage quality networking and business lead generation.

Tastebud Lab Conference roundtable exploration of how food as a wellness driver, is reshaping the hospitality, health tourism, and MICE landscape. From personalised nutrition, future food systems, and sustainable culinary experiences, the session uncovers how destinations can innovate for competitive advantage.

For more information, log on to www.itcma.com | www.corporatetravelworld.com/apac

Registration for IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific is available at https://itcma.com/register/