PRNewswire
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 11: OTM 2026, Asia's leading travel trade show, concluded today at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, bringing together the global travel and tourism ecosystem at a moment when India has firmly emerged as one of the world's most strategically important outbound travel markets. Recognised by NielsenIQ as the Leading Travel Trade Show in India and Asia for two consecutive years, OTM 2026 hosted over 2,200 exhibitors from more than 60 countries, with 45+ National Tourism Organisations participating and over 50,000 travel trade visitors and 1,000+ top travel industry professionals participating over the three days. Asia's leading travel trade show, organized by Fairfest Media brings together 2,200+ exhibitors from 60+ countries, spotlighting new travel demand, corporate mobility, weddings and the future of distribution.
With strong exhibitor and visitor participation across leisure, corporate travel, MICE and weddings, OTM 2026 reaffirmed its position as one of the most internationally diverse travel trade platforms in the region, reflecting the growing scale and strategic focus global destinations are placing on the Indian market.
Event Highlights
* Exhibitor Showcase: Over 2,200 exhibitors from 60+ countries, representing national and state tourism boards, airlines, hotels and resorts, destination management companies, cruise operators, attractions, and travel technology providers.
* Global Participation: Strong representation from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Oceania, including long-standing outbound markets and a growing number of emerging and experiential destinations engaging with India as a priority growth market.
* High-Quality Buyer Access: More than 50,000 travel trade visitors, including 1,000+ hosted and VIP buyers, enabling focused B2B engagement across leisure, corporate travel, MICE, weddings and niche travel segments.
* Structured Business Engagement: Over 50,000 pre-scheduled B2B meetings across the three days, reinforcing OTM's positioning as a platform built for measurable business outcomes.
* Destination & Airline Announcements: Multiple tourism boards and airlines used OTM 2026 to sharpen their India strategy and spotlight new developments, including Thailand's destination push, Air India and Air India Express' product updates, and Morocco's India-facing tourism momentum.
* Leadership & Knowledge Exchange: The OTM Forum brought together senior leaders from destinations, airlines, travel platforms, corporate travel, MICE, weddings and technology, examining outbound travel growth, destination competitiveness, corporate travel evolution, distribution, marketing, technology and the changing expectations of the Indian traveller.
* Inaugural Programme & Media Briefing: Day 1 opened with the Inaugural Programme & Media Briefing titled 'India takes its Place on the Global Travel Stage', featuring addresses by H.E. Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Sarawak; Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Chairman, Tourism Malaysia; and Hon. Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sri Lanka, moderated by Tanya Khanijow.
* Corporate Travel & Buyer Insight: Day 2 featured a strong focus on India's corporate travel momentum through 'Building India's Corporate Travel Ecosystem: A $20B Journey' and a buyer-led session, 'What India's Top Corporate Travel Buyers Expect from the Industry Today', bringing together senior stakeholders from Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, Deloitte, Tata Consultancy Services and Godrej Industries Group.
* Travel Trade & Distribution: Day 3 spotlighted the renewed relevance of intermediaries through 'The New Power of the Intermediary' and 'Inside India's Travel Trade: What's Changed, What's Working, What's Next', featuring leaders from TripJack, TravClan, Rezlive, Riya Tours and Travels, Classic Holidays, Akbar Online Booking Company, Travesla, Rail Europe and MakeMyTrip.
* Weddings & Destination Celebrations: WeddingSutra Engage brought luxury wedding and wedding-travel leaders into the programme, spotlighting how destination weddings are shaping hospitality demand, guest experiences and travel-led celebrations.
Destinations worldwide recalibrate long-term strategies around India
OTM 2026 saw strong official participation from destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Oceania, with nearly 50 global tourism boards officially participating at OTM. Alongside long-standing outbound markets, several destinations that were once considered niche or aspirational for Indian travellers continued to deepen their engagement with India as their next major growth market, with many participating exclusively at OTM 2026 as their primary interface with the Indian travel trade.
Announcements and showcases
OTM 2026 also served as a launchpad for multiple India-focused announcements across destinations, airlines and experiential travel segments. Thailand Tourism Authority outlined its target of 2.55 million Indian visitors and THB 93 billion in tourism revenue for the year, launching its 'Healing is the New Luxury' campaign in Mumbai to attract high-value wellness travellers and destination weddings, supported by 60-day visa-free entry and expanded outreach to Tier 2 cities including Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Pune.
Morocco reinforced India's growing importance as a source market, highlighting a 224% increase in Indian tourist arrivals compared to pre-pandemic levels, alongside deeper trade engagement through OTM. Sarawak Tourism Board spotlighted its Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign, while Sabah Tourism Board introduced the 'North Borneo Cycling Paradise' initiative to promote niche adventure tourism to Indian travellers. From Africa, the Zambia Tourism Agency showcased safari and wildlife experiences tailored for the Indian outbound market, while Da Nang strengthened its positioning as a MICE and destination wedding hub. Indonesia outlined renewed efforts to grow Indian arrivals, while Air India and Air India Express presented product and service enhancements supporting India's expanding global travel footprint. WeddingSutra Engage also unveiled emerging destination wedding and travel trends reflecting evolving Indian traveller preferences.
Malaysia Airlines strengthens India's outbound connectivity at OTM 2026
Reflecting the role of air connectivity in unlocking outbound growth, Malaysia Airlines participated as the Partner Airline at OTM 2026 with a prominent presence at the exhibition, showcasing its network connectivity, premium offerings and India-focused travel solutions for the Indian travel trade. Several other airlines also participated across the show floor, reflecting broader airline confidence in India's expanding global travel footprint.
OTM Forum: Three days of sharp, segment-led industry dialogue
Complementing the exhibition, the OTM Forum delivered a high-density programme of leadership, insight and industry direction, bringing together senior voices from travel platforms, corporate travel, weddings, marketing, technology and distribution.
On Day 2, the programme moved into sharper conversations on how and why India's traveller motivations are changing, with 'Vibe Traveling - Aesthetics, Experiences, and the New Indian Narrative' featuring Adedayo Olawuyi (Uganda Airlines), Amit Jaipuria (Postcard Travel Club), Maanav Saraf (Gainwell Travel), Nupur Gupta (Google India) and Pabs Raghava (Tours Limited). The day also deep-dived into business mobility through 'Building India's Corporate Travel Ecosystem: A $20B Journey' with Bhavin Modi (Quest2Travel by MakeMyTrip), Gaurav Shekhar Nagwekar (Reliance Industries), Shaheen Karoji (Aditya Birla Group) and Sunny Sodhi (FCM Travel India), moderated by Dr. Sanjay Pai (Larsen & Toubro). A buyer-led session on 'What India's Top Corporate Travel Buyers Expect from the Industry Today' brought together Ajay Bhatt (Godrej Industries Group), Devendra Saraiya (Deloitte), Ranjit Nair (Tata Consultancy Services) and Sri Arardhi (Fast Collab), moderated by Mridul Pahuja (Motilal Oswal).
Day 2 also expanded into destination weddings through WeddingSutra Engage sessions focused on luxury hospitality and discovery-led wedding travel, and continued the conversation on experience-led travel and commercial growth through 'Live Tourism - The Anti-AI Bet on Human Connection', featuring Chitra Daga (Thrillophilia), Daniel Dsouza (Dream Set Go), Sabbas Joseph (Wizcraft Group) and Uttam Garodia (Headout). The day further examined performance-led marketing and retention in 'The Future of Travel Marketing: AI, Personalisation and Loyalty Shifts', with leaders including Anurag Jain (RateGain), Neel Ghose (Skyscanner), Neeraj Singh Dev (Thomas Cook India), Nikhil Dhar (Indigo), Ravi Shankar (Air Asia Move) and Sandeep Sonawane (DreamFolks). The Forum also featured an executive-only session on alternate accommodation, presenting VIDEC's market insights with participation from MakeMyTrip, Zostel, Elivass and Saffron Stays, moderated by Virendra Jain (VIDEC).
On Day 3, the Forum turned to distribution power and travel trade evolution through 'The New Power of the Intermediary: Why India's Travel Agents Are More Relevant Than Ever', featuring B A Rahim (OA Globe DMC), Chirag Agarwal (TravClan), Jaal Shah (Rezlive), Manoj Samuel (Riya Tours and Travels) and Srijit Nair (Rail Europe), moderated by Parikshit Choudhury (MakeMyTrip). This was followed by 'Inside India's Travel Trade: What's Changed, What's Working, What's Next', featuring Hussain Patel (TripJack), Jitesh Poojari (Akbar Online Booking Company), Rishabh Doshi (Classic Holidays) and Salil Nath (Travesla).
Valedictory and Awards
OTM 2026 concluded with the Valedictory and Awards Function, alongside key partner announcements including the ICRT Indian Subcontinent Awards 2026 announcement.
Commenting on the conclusion of the show, Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media, said, "OTM continues to reflect the reality of global travel today, where India is no longer an emerging opportunity but one of the most sought-after and strategic travel markets globally. The diversity and depth of participation at OTM 2026, alongside the quality of conversations across the show floor and the Forum, demonstrate how the world is repositioning itself around the Indian traveller in a focused, business-driven environment."
OTM 2026 was organised by Fairfest Media. The next edition of OTM is scheduled to take place from 1st-3rd February 2027.
About OTM and Fairfest Media:
OTM is Asia's leading travel trade platform, connecting global travel suppliers with India and Asia's fastest-growing travel markets through large-scale exhibitions, curated buyer programmes and structured B2B engagement.
OTM is organised by Fairfest Media. Founded in 1989, Fairfest Media is a global trade show organiser and media company, providing platforms for doing business in the world's fastest-growing markets. Fairfest recently acquired WTE Miami, the fastest-growing travel show in the United States, which will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Centre on the 27th and 28th of October, 2026.
For more information, please visit: https://otm.co.in/.
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