Outbound Travel Market (OTM) 2026, held at Jio World Centre in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, marked a defining moment in the global travel industry’s engagement with India. Once viewed primarily as an emerging market, India has now become a central growth market, driven by rising disposable incomes, expanding international connectivity, and a growing appetite for long-haul, experiential, and high-value travel. This shift was visibly reflected at OTM 2026, where destinations engaged with India through high-value, long-term trade promotions.
OTM 2026 featured strong official participation from destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Oceania. Nearly 50 global tourism boards officially participated in OTM. Alongside long-standing outbound markets, several destinations that were once considered niche or aspirational for Indian travellers are now engaged with India as their next major growth market.
OTM 2026
Large booths from Morocco, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Sri Lanka attracted visitors with traditional dancers, musicians, and ethnic performers, who later engaged with many sellers from those delegations. Malaysia Airlines, as the Partner Airline, had a prominent presence at the exhibition and showcased its network connectivity, premium offerings and India-focused travel solutions. It brought in two leading cricket players, who became the centre of attraction with visitors to the stall during those key hours.
Nuwal Fadhilah Ku Azmi, Director International Promo Division Asia & Africa, Tourism Malaysia, said: “The quality of buyers is very high at OTM. Many of our partners in Malaysia have seen strong lead generation. There have also been some instant deals.”
Air India showcased the seat product on its newly inducted Boeing 787-9 aircraft, and Air India Express, which participated for the first time, showcased its in-flight dining brand, Gourmair, and an interactive network map covering 45 domestic and 17 international destinations across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf region. Several other leading airlines worldwide that support India’s expanding global travel footprint and facilitate access to destinations across Southeast Asia and beyond participated significantly.
The exhibition brought together leading hotels and resorts, destination management companies, cruise operators, travel technology providers and specialised travel segments, enabling structured engagement through pre-scheduled meetings, on-ground interactions and curated networking
Malaysia Airlines x OTM
Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd., said, “OTM was created 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 participation we see at OTM 2026, from established destinations to emerging and exotic ones, clearly demonstrates how the world is repositioning itself around the Indian traveller.”
OTM 2026 was organised by Fairfest Media on 5, 6 & 7 February at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. The B2B platform 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.
The show was inaugurated by Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Chairman, Tourism Malaysia, Richard Duval, Minister of Tourism of Mauritius; H.E. Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Sarawak; Hon. Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sri Lanka. Jassim Mahmoud, PR & Communications Director, Visit Qatar and Florian Sengstschmid, CEO, Azerbaijan Tourism Board
The OTM Forum hosted informative and intriguing discussions on the latest industry trends, featuring panels attended by policymakers and senior industry leaders from across the global travel ecosystem.
Founded in 1989, Fairfest Media 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.
By Madhura Katti – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 4 minutes
About the Writer.
Madhura Katti never simply chose travel; it chose her. Trained in hotel management in Bangalore, she understood early that journeys are really about people, not places. By the nineties, she was writing on travel and food with a natural authority, later earning a Best Travel Writer award that surprised no one who had read her work.
Storytelling soon moved to film. Her documentary work with Indigenous India captured the spirit of a country in motion and won a National Award for Best Tourism Film.
