ITB China 2026 officially opened on May 26, 2026 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, bringing together travel industry leaders from across the globe to strengthen ties with China’s rapidly evolving tourism market.
As the leading B2B platform dedicated to China’s travel market, this year’s ITB China has expanded further, reflected in a 20% year on year increase in net exhibition space, fully booked show floors, more than 900 travel organizations and companies from 85 countries and regions, alongside 1,700 hosted buyers and 280 media representatives. Over the three days of the show, approximately 46,000 business matching meetings are expected to take place.
Running alongside the exhibition, the ITB China Conference launched with a strong focus on major industry trends shaping the future of travel. More than 180 speakers are participating in over 70 sessions covering topics such as changing market structures, inbound tourism growth, destination competition, evolving traveler preferences, MICE demand, and the growing role of artificial intelligence throughout the travel value chain.
David Axiotis, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (China), said the event’s expanded scale reflects the travel industry’s long-term confidence in China.
“The expanded scale of this year’s ITB China reflects the global travel industry’s strong belief in the long-term value of China’s travel market,” Axiotis said. “We look forward to participants engaging in deeper dialogue, building higher-quality partnerships, and translating industry exchange into concrete business outcomes here in Shanghai.”
Compared with last year, ITB China 2026 has grown significantly, highlighting increasing international interest in tourism cooperation with China. Exhibitors from 85 countries and regions are participating this year, with representation from Asia and Oceania, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and Africa.
Major destination stands include Georgia, Malaysia, Türkiye, Morocco, Abu Dhabi, and Italy, underscoring the importance of the Chinese outbound market for global tourism boards and travel suppliers.
Destination management companies make up the largest exhibitor category, followed by hotels, tourism boards, attractions, transportation providers, and travel technology companies.
Several destinations are making their ITB China debut this year, including the Philippines, Côte d’Ivoire, Nepal, Mexico, Romania, Fiji, Uzbekistan, Goa, Jakarta, and a number of Chinese provinces and cities. Organizers said the new additions create fresh opportunities for tourism product development and international cooperation.
The event’s official partners include the Georgian National Tourism Administration as Official Destination Partner, Zhejiang Province as Official Partner Province for China Inbound Tourism, Jin Jiang International as Official Travel and Hospitality Group Partner, and Trip.com Group as Official Content Co-Creation Partner. Malaysia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, and Zurich Insurance are also among the official partners.
The conference program is organized around eight core themes: Sino-EU Dialogue, Outbound Travel, Inbound Travel, Luxury Travel, Themed & Customized Travel, Hotels & Accommodation, MICE, and Travel Technology Innovation.
Industry organizations and institutions supporting the program include the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, SITE China, Tourism Economics, the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and Trip.com Group.
Georgia took center stage as the show’s Official Destination Partner during the opening dinner, which welcomed more than 700 travel professionals from China and overseas.
One of the opening day highlights was the C-Talks forum, which brought together more than 30 senior executives from Chinese outbound travel companies and international tourism boards. Discussions focused on how destinations can better adapt to China’s digital ecosystem, payment platforms, social media landscape, and evolving travel distribution channels while developing more collaborative and sustainable tourism partnerships.
