There are travel conferences, and then there’s ITB India 2025, where the industry doesn’t just turn up with a stack of brochures; it arrives armed with ideas, ambitions, and the occasional ego the size of a jumbo jet. From 2–3 September, Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre will become the beating heart of the South Asian travel trade, and frankly, if you’re in the business and you’re not there, you may as well hang up your boarding pass.
The event sits alongside the leading ITB India exhibition until the 4th, but make no mistake: the conference is the thinking engine, where trends are dissected, sacred cows get prodded, and the odd holy cow ends up on the grill.
The Theme Has Bite and So Does the Market
The 2025 slogan, “The Business of Experience: Curated Travel for Targeted Growth”, sounds like something you’d see in a glossy brochure — until you realise it’s describing what’s happening out there. Travellers in India and across South Asia have grown up. They don’t want identikit packages or limp continental breakfasts; they want trips that matter to them.
They’ll pay for a story worth telling, a cruise along the Brahmaputra with elephants for company, or a precision-planned corporate getaway in Dubai that’s more about bragging rights than PowerPoint slides.
A Cast of Heavy Hitters
Kicking things off is Scott Wegener, Tripadvisor’s Head of Asia Pacific, who’s not one for waffling. Expect stats, trendlines, and perhaps the odd reality check for those who think “digital transformation” means getting on Instagram.
Google India’s Shaurab Kapadia will explain where the Indian travel landscape is heading (spoiler: nowhere without data). Meanwhile, Rama Mahendru from Intrepid Travel will take the polite term “sustainable tourism” and push it further with “Beyond Sustainability: The Rise of Responsible Tourism in the Global South”. Translation: expect a few uncomfortable truths.
The MICE Mindshift
If you think meetings and conferences are still about endless coffee breaks and the ritual exchange of business cards, Judith Huisman (Meetingselect) will set you straight. Her session on AI personalisation, innovative booking tools, and real-time data shows how far the MICE sector has come and how fast it’s left the paper agenda in the dust.
Deepesh Jethwani from Tripjack will join the dots between tech and humanity in corporate travel, arguing that a good duty-of-care programme is more than just a WhatsApp check-in.
Technology and a Little Magic
In the Travel Technology track, Anurag Jain (RateGain) will pull apart how AI is rewriting the booking process from the inside out. If that sounds like the death of the traditional travel agent, Rikant Pittie (EaseMyTrip) will show you that there is more evolution than extinction. For those who still think AI in travel is a fad, these sessions will feel like being overtaken by a bullet train on the freeway.
The New Darling Experiential Travel
Brand new this year, the Experiential Travel track spotlights immersive, high-value tourism. Romil Pant from Thomas Cook India and Isha Goyal from India Cruise Forum will discuss cruising, a segment in India that’s finally waking up from a long nap and eyeing the luxury market like a child at a lolly shop.
Film tourism, cultural deep-dives, sustainability with substance — this track has “follow the money” written all over it.
Why This Year Feels Different
The pandemic hangover? Gone. This market isn’t just recovering, it’s flexing. There’s a swagger back in the industry; you can see it in how people talk about investment, innovation, and ambition. Technology isn’t the garnish anymore; it’s baked into the dish. Sustainability isn’t a box-tick; it’s the selling point. And “experience” isn’t a buzzword — it’s the currency.
The Real Action’s in the Corridors
You can pore over the agenda — and you should — but veterans know the real deals happen over chai in the foyer or during the accidental meeting when you’re both trying to charge your phones. The crossover potential is enormous with MICE Show India and Travel Tech India running alongside. If you leave without at least three new business cards and one improbable joint venture proposal, you weren’t trying hard enough.
Don’t Dither — Early Bird’s Flying Away
Trade visitors have until 29 August to snag Early Bird rates. That’s your ticket to the conference, the co-located shows, and a few days of Mumbai hospitality that will remind you why this city is as much a character in the story as any speaker. Details are sitting patiently at www.itb-india.com/visit-register, waiting for those who know an opportunity when they see one.
Parting Thought
South Asia’s travel market is not politely asking for attention; it’s roaring for it. And ITB India 2025 is where you either get with the program or get left behind.
By Susan Ng
