Gathering in Paris to unveil the main directions of IFTM 2026, organizers, institutional representatives, and travel professionals outlined the contours of an edition focused on value creation. This ambition is embodied this year by Uzbekistan, the featured destination at a trade show that aims to combine innovation, business, and responsibility.
Sometimes there is a certain coherence between a place and a message.
By choosing the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Paris to present the outline of its 2026 edition, IFTM not only found a prestigious setting for its press conference, but also a powerful symbol.
The image of a destination that looks to the future without denying its heritage. The image of tourism that seeks to reinvent itself without losing sight of the essentials: encounters, discovery, and the creation of connections.
From September 15 to 17, 2026, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles will host a new edition of France's leading tourism trade show. This edition promises to be strategic for a sector facing profound changes and will unite this year around a unifying theme: "The Value of Travel: Revealing What Creates Impact.
Summary
Uzbekistan, the featured destination in an edition focused on openness
Before discussing figures, innovations or trends, the morning naturally began with a journey.
Welcomed by Yayra Sultanova, First Secretary in charge of education and cultural relations at the Embassy ofUzbekistan in France, the guests discovered a destination which is now establishing itself as one of the new faces of international tourism.
Taking the floor next, Sukhrob Bobokalonov, Vice President of the Tourism Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan, recalled the importance of this honor for his country.
While Uzbekistan remains associated in the collective imagination with the legendary caravan routes of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, the country now intends to tell a broader story: that of a modern, dynamic destination open to the world.
The figures illustrate this transformation.
In 2025, Uzbekistan welcomed 11.7 million international visitors. In the first four months of 2026, more than 4 million travelers had already crossed its borders, representing a 30% increase compared to the previous year. Exports of tourism services also grew by 40%, reaching $1.6 billion.
But behind these performances, a strategy is clearly emerging.
Development of ecotourism, enhancement of 44 tourist villages, promotion of mountain and desert routes, enhancement of more than 500 pilgrimage sites, modernization of infrastructure and facilitation of access through visa exemption for French travelers: Uzbekistan is multiplying initiatives to attract an audience in search of authentic experiences.
France occupies a privileged position in this dynamic. With nearly 30,000 French visitors expected in 2025, it is currently the leading source market from Western Europe for the destination.
This context gives full meaning to the choice of Uzbekistan as the featured destination for IFTM 2026.
Marie Allantaz unveils the IFTM 2026 roadmap
After this Uzbek interlude, the conference moved on to its main topic.
Marie Allantaz, editorial director and strategic manager of IFTM, presented the vision that will guide this new edition of the trade show. A vision based on a simple conviction: tourism creates value far beyond purely economic indicators.
For the organizers, it is time to remember what travel really brings to territories, businesses, professionals and the travelers themselves.
This is the whole point of the theme chosen this year.
The programming will be structured around three major dimensions:
- economic and territorial value;
- human, social and emotional value;
- sustainable and collective value.
An approach that reflects the current challenges of a sector called upon to combine performance, innovation and responsibility.
An edition that thinks bigger
The stated ambitions are commensurate with IFTM's positioning.
After a 2025 edition marked by the presence of 1,650 brands, more than 32,000 visitors, 177 destinations and nearly 17,000 business meetings, the show is now aiming for a new milestone.
For 2026, the organizers announce:
- over 1,700 exhibiting brands;
- 34,000 visitors;
- about ten new destinations;
- over 800 buyers and travel agents invited;
- more than 100 conferences and workshops;
- estimated growth of between 10 and 15%.
In an economic context that is sometimes uncertain, these indicators demonstrate the confidence that professionals place in the Parisian event.
AI, innovation and networking: the latest developments to watch
This 2026 edition also promises to be one of the richest in content.
Artificial intelligence will be omnipresent in the debates. Dedicated conferences will explore its impact on digital strategies, tourism distribution, transport, customer relations and the evolution of professions.
The Tech Zone will welcome new players in innovation while the Start-Up Village will highlight companies that are reinventing the traveler experience.
The Business Club will continue its rise to prominence with a strengthened system of qualified appointments between buyers and exhibitors, promoting more targeted meetings and more business opportunities.
New features also include IFTM Now, a mobile solution accessible via QR code allowing visitors to find the show program, conferences, exhibitors and practical information in seconds.
All these tools are designed to make the experience smoother and more efficient.
Sustainable tourism takes action
The other major highlight of this edition will undoubtedly be the Sustainable Initiatives Village.
Conceived as a true laboratory of ideas, it will bring together conferences, participatory workshops, live podcasts and feedback on experiences around topics as varied as decarbonization, accessibility, inclusive tourism, CSR strategies or the attractiveness of professions.
More than just a themed area, this village illustrates the show's commitment to providing concrete support for the sector's transition.
When the media become agents of change
This dynamic will also extend to the world of the press.
The Plume Verte competition by IFTM x ADONET will return with a particularly anticipated new feature: the creation of the ADONET Special Destinations Prize.
This award will recognize journalistic work highlighting responsible initiatives developed by tourist destinations.
A way of remembering that telling the story of tourism is also contributing to its evolution.
An event that goes beyond the simple setting of the trade show
Following this press conference, one thing is certain.
IFTM 2026 is no longer just a place for professional meetings. The trade show affirms its ambition to become a space where the evolution of travel is reflected upon, where ideas are exchanged, and where the collaborations of tomorrow are built.
As for Uzbekistan, the featured destination of this edition, it perfectly embodies this ambition. Combining heritage, innovation, hospitality, and openness, it reminds us that the most beautiful journeys are not only those that take us elsewhere, but also those that invite us to see the world differently.
See you next September to discover how professionals, destinations and travellers will write the next chapter of this story together.
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