OTM 2026, Asia’s leading travel trade show at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, brought together the global travel and tourism ecosystem at a time 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. The event saw participation from 45+ National Tourism Organisations and welcomed over 50,000 travel trade visitors, along with 1,000+ top travel industry professionals across the three-day exhibition.

With strong exhibitor and visitor engagement 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. The scale and diversity of participation reflected the growing importance and strategic focus global destinations are placing on the Indian market.

Event Highlights at OTM 2026

● 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.

Commenting on the conclusion of the show, Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media, said, “OTM 2026 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.”

The next edition of OTM is scheduled to take place from 1st–3rd February 2027.