An English guide to the Vietnamese outbound travel market
Access · Trade fairs
Vietnam travel fairs: VITM Hanoi and ITE HCMC
Vietnam has two large international travel fairs: VITM in Hanoi in the spring and ITE HCMC in Ho Chi Minh City in late summer. Both bring together tourism boards, airlines and travel companies, and ITE HCMC adds days when the public buys tours. This page compares their 2026 editions, explains who each is built for, and sets out how a foreign destination can prepare.
The two fairs side by side
| VITM Hanoi 2026 | ITE HCMC 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 10–12 April 2026 | 27–29 August 2026 (speed dating 26 August) |
| Venue | I.C.E Hanoi | Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) |
| Theme | Digital transformation and green growth – promoting Vietnam tourism | Vibrant Connections – Global Destinations |
| Scale | 450 booths | 520+ exhibitors and brands, 34 provinces and cities (expected) |
| Trade programme | Tourism promotion agencies, airlines, international representatives, travel businesses | 260 hosted buyers, 21,000+ pre-scheduled B2B appointments, ministers' meetings |
| Public access | Not stated in the listing we read; ask the organiser | Open to consumers from the afternoon of 27 August |
| Next edition | Not shown on the organiser site when checked | 9–11 September 2027, SECC |
Sources: Vietnam National Authority of Tourism — VITM Hanoi 2026 event listing; VITM Hanoi — organiser website; ITE HCMC — organiser press release, 9 August 2026; TTG Asia — ITE HCMC 2026 preview (trade press, marked sponsored post) · last checked .
VITM Hanoi
The Vietnam International Travel Mart is held each spring in Hanoi. Its 2026 edition ran from 10 to 12 April at I.C.E Hanoi under the theme of digital transformation and green growth, with 450 booths. The national tourism authority's listing describes participants as tourism promotion agencies, airlines, international representatives and travel businesses.
For a foreign destination, VITM's timing is its main feature. It falls a few weeks before the 30 April and 1 May break and at the start of summer planning, so it is a natural place to launch summer products with northern Vietnamese tour operators and to meet Hanoi-based travel media. The press conference for ITE HCMC 2026 was itself held during VITM, which shows how the two fairs feed each other.
The fair's own website did not show 2027 dates when we checked. Ask the organiser directly before budgeting.
Sources: Vietnam National Authority of Tourism — VITM Hanoi 2026 event listing; VITM Hanoi — organiser website; Viet Nam News — ITE HCMC 2026 announced at a press conference during VITM · last checked .
ITE HCMC
The Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo held its 20th edition from 27 to 29 August 2026 at SECC. It is run under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the city's People's Committee, jointly organised by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism. The organiser expected more than 520 exhibitors and brands, around 600 international delegates, about 30,000 visitors and 60 international media outlets. First held in 2005, the expo had about 210 exhibitors in its early years.
Its trade core is a hosted buyer programme: 260 international buyers from more than 40 countries and territories, matched with exhibitors in more than 21,000 pre-scheduled appointments, after a speed-dating session on 26 August. Most of that programme is about selling Vietnam to foreign buyers, which is not the subject of this guide. For a foreign tourism board, the relevant parts are the exhibition floor, where Vietnamese travel companies and media walk the aisles, and the consumer days.
Foreign national tourism organisations do exhibit. The 2026 release named the Korea Tourism Organization and the Japan National Tourism Organization, and promotion agencies from Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Bhutan, Saint Petersburg and Nicaragua. Three tourism ministers' meetings (CLV, ACMECS, CLMV) ran alongside. The next edition is announced for 9 to 11 September 2027.
Sources: ITE HCMC — organiser press release, 9 August 2026; Viet Nam News — ITE HCMC 2026 announced at a press conference during VITM · last checked .
The consumer days
ITE HCMC opens to the public, and VITM's programme should be checked with its organiser. At ITE HCMC 2026 the exhibition opened to consumers from the afternoon of 27 August; Viet Nam News described a public day with discounted tour packages. These days are where Vietnamese tour operators sell packages directly to the public.
For a destination, the consumer days are a chance to meet travellers and, more usefully, to stand next to the tour operators who sell your destination. A shared stand, or materials supplied to your partners' stands, can do more than a separate booth with nobody selling a product.
Sources: TTG Asia — ITE HCMC 2026 preview (trade press, marked sponsored post); Viet Nam News — ITE HCMC 2026 announced at a press conference during VITM · last checked .
Reading the fair statistics
Organiser figures are forecasts made before the event and are revised as it approaches. Viet Nam News, reporting the April announcement of ITE HCMC 2026, gave buyers "from over 32 countries and territories" and about 20,050 B2B meetings; the organiser's August release gave more than 40 countries and more than 21,000 appointments. Neither is a count of what happened. Ask the organiser for post-event results, and for the number of Vietnamese outbound tour operators attending, which matters more to you than the total.
Sources: Viet Nam News — ITE HCMC 2026 announced at a press conference during VITM; ITE HCMC — organiser press release, 9 August 2026 · last checked .
Preparing a stand or a delegation
- 01
Decide the goal
Trade meetings with Vietnamese tour operators, media coverage, or consumer sales through partners. Each needs a different stand and team.
- 02
Book through the organiser
Stands, sponsorship and buyer or seller registration are handled by each fair's organiser; ask for the exhibitor guide early.
- 03
Bring Vietnamese material
Brochures, visa guidance and price examples in Vietnamese, with a QR code to a Vietnamese page or a Zalo Official Account.
- 04
Staff it in Vietnamese
At least one person who can talk to agents and consumers in Vietnamese.
- 05
Plan the press moment
Media gather at fairs. A short press briefing with a real piece of news, a new flight, a visa change, a product, is worth more than a speech.
- 06
Follow up in a week
Send contacts the promised material within days, in Vietnamese, by email and chat.
Choosing between them
- Selling to northern Vietnam, or launching summer products: VITM Hanoi in April.
- Meeting a wide trade audience and other national tourism organisations, or launching products for the autumn and Tet season: ITE HCMC in late August or September.
- A small budget: one fair, attended well, with Vietnamese material and follow-up, rather than both done thinly.
- Advertising placed around a fair still falls under Vietnamese advertising law; see the advertising law page.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
When is ITE HCMC 2027?
The organiser's website announces 9 to 11 September 2027 at SECC, Ho Chi Minh City.
When is VITM Hanoi 2027?
The 2027 dates were not shown on the organiser's website when we checked. The 2026 edition ran from 10 to 12 April 2026.
Do foreign tourism boards exhibit at these fairs?
Yes. At ITE HCMC 2026 they included the Korea Tourism Organization and the Japan National Tourism Organization, among others.
Can the public buy trips at the fairs?
At ITE HCMC, yes: it opens to consumers, and travel companies sell packages with fair offers. Check VITM's programme with its organiser.
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