PASAY CITY/MANILA, Philippines — Anticipation is building across the Philippine tourism sector as the 33rd Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) Travel Tour Expo prepares to open Friday, February 6, at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia Complex. Running through February 8, the three-day event is expected to draw tens of thousands of consumers, travel professionals, and international exhibitors, reaffirming its position as the country’s most influential travel exposition at a time when global tourism continues its steady recovery.
For more than three decades, the Travel Tour Expo has served as both marketplace and mirror — reflecting how Filipinos travel, where they aspire to go, and how the country positions itself within the global tourism economy.
From Modest Beginnings to a National Institution
The Travel Tour Expo was first staged in 1993, at a time when the Philippine travel industry was far smaller and largely domestically focused. Organized by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association, the event began as a practical platform: a venue where accredited travel agencies could offer discounted packages directly to the public while building trust in a largely offline booking era.
Over the years, as outbound travel grew and international connectivity expanded, the expo evolved in scale and ambition. What once fit into a single exhibition hall gradually expanded into a multi-hall event, eventually finding a long-term home at the SMX Convention Center, where it now occupies some of the largest contiguous indoor exhibition spaces in the country.
Today, the Travel Tour Expo is widely regarded as the largest and longest-running travel fair in the Philippines, a fixture in the national tourism calendar and a bellwether for travel demand.
What Awaits Visitors in 2026
The 2026 edition brings together hundreds of exhibitors across nearly 800 booths, representing airlines, hotels, tour operators, cruise lines, national tourism organizations, insurance providers, and destination marketers from across Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Oceania.
Visitors can expect:
- Expo-exclusive airfare and tour package discounts
- Domestic and international destination showcases
- Cultural performances and destination presentations
- Travel seminars and on-site consultations
- Daily raffles and promotional giveaways
General admission is priced at ₱100, with discounted entry for senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Select bank cardholders are granted complimentary access, a feature that has helped broaden the expo’s reach beyond frequent travelers to families and first-time international tourists.
A Platform With Economic Weight
Beyond consumer appeal, the Travel Tour Expo carries tangible economic significance. Tourism remains a major pillar of the Philippine economy, contributing trillions of pesos annually and supporting millions of jobs across transportation, hospitality, and related services.
Industry leaders note that the expo plays a critical role in stimulating early bookings, stabilizing demand during shoulder seasons, and providing small and medium-sized travel enterprises with direct access to consumers — an advantage that digital platforms alone cannot fully replicate.
Government tourism stakeholders and local government units also use the event to promote regional destinations, particularly emerging provinces seeking broader visibility in both domestic and international markets.
National and International Response
Locally, the expo is met each year with strong public turnout, often drawing long queues on opening day as travelers seek limited-time offers. Travel agencies describe the event as a rare opportunity for face-to-face engagement in an increasingly online industry.
Nationally, the expo has become a reference point for tourism momentum, frequently cited by industry analysts and media outlets as an indicator of consumer confidence in travel spending.
Internationally, participation by foreign tourism boards, embassies, and global travel brands has steadily increased. Many view the expo as a strategic gateway to the Philippine outbound market — one of Southeast Asia’s most travel-hungry and English-proficient consumer bases.
The Business of Travel: Beyond the Show Floor
Running alongside the public exhibition is the International Travel Trade Expo (iTTE), a business-to-business platform designed to facilitate partnerships between Philippine travel agencies and global suppliers. Through pre-arranged meetings and networking sessions, the iTTE underscores the expo’s dual role as both consumer fair and professional marketplace.
This convergence of leisure travelers and industry stakeholders has become a defining feature of the Travel Tour Expo, distinguishing it from purely consumer-oriented travel fairs in the region.
Looking Ahead
As it enters its 33rd year, the PTAA Travel Tour Expo stands as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of Philippine tourism. From its early years of paper brochures and manual bookings to today’s digitally supported, globally connected travel economy, the expo has grown alongside the industry it represents.
When doors open tomorrow, the event will once again invite Filipinos to imagine new journeys — while signaling to the world that the Philippines remains firmly engaged in the global conversation on travel. (hz)