This year, the IFTM trade show will head for the Silk Road, for Samarkand and Bukhara. From 15 to 17 September, as always at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the major event for leisure and business tourism professionals will be showcasing Uzbekistan, its UNESCO-listed historical gems, and its natural beauty, as well as its authenticity. This distinction is not only a recognition of our country's historical heritage, but also a fantastic opportunity to showcase a forward-looking Uzbekistan, which strengthens its position on the global tourist map every year. » , réjouit Soukhrob Bobokulov, vice-président du Comité du tourisme de la République d'Ouzbékistan.
No visa required for stays of less than 30 days for EU nationals, two direct flights a week between Paris and Tashkent, a safe destination for all travellers: the country’s dynamism is underpinned by factors that are driving tourist arrivals, which grew by 30% last year, particularly in the French market, its main customer base in Europe. Building on this, the Central Asian country is aiming for 20 million visitors by 2030, up from 11.7 million in 2025, all supported by 31 infrastructure projects and 34 tourism masterplans.
However, even though they may be lulled by the desires of elsewhere and start to dream of the distant times of Genghis Khan or Tamerlane, travel managers and travel buyers will primarily turn their attention to Le Club Affaires. The organisation of IFTM indeed expects a record edition for this "show within a show" dedicated to business travel. " “Every year, more and more players are taking part,” notes Marie Allantaz, Editorial and Strategic Director of the IFTM trade fair. “While we’re still filling up the Business Club, we’ve already exceeded last year’s number of exhibitors.” And I think we’ll end up with 20% growth, or perhaps even a little more ".
A record edition for the Business Club
With new arrivals announced such as United Airlines and Sixt, as well as Ailleurs Business, Mastercard France, HRS and ATPI France, the 50-exhibitor mark is in sight, with Marie Allantaz highlighting the dynamic nature of these buyer and travel manager associations, thanks to whom " This exhibition grows year on year Whether it's the GBTA or the AFTM, official partner of IFTM alongside Air France, Avis, Les Entreprises du voyage, SNCF, Travelsoft, and a new addition, Revolut for Business.
As last year, Wednesday will see the unveiling of the business travel and MICE barometer. However, what was seen by many as 'THE' business travel day will no longer necessarily be the case. In fact, it wasn't factually according to Marie Allantaz, as the number of visitors to the Business Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays has been "sensibly equivalent for the last two years". But it will be a little less so, as the activity in this business zone will spill over into Thursday, marking one of the major innovations of the 2026 edition of IFTM: a "matchmaking" programme between exhibitors in the Business Club and corporate buyers.
" We needed to break away from the idea of Wednesday as a business travel day. So, we might as well go all out and put these meetings on Thursday's schedule, to broaden attendance and keep the Business Club lively over the three days. », explains the editorial director of the show. Thus, from 8:30 am, before opening to the public, and until 10:30 am, the IFTM will organise a programme of pre-qualified one-to-one meetings punctuated by five to six fifteen to twenty-minute interviews.
" By questioning a large number of buyers from major companies, particularly those who were not attending IFTM, we realised that it was a needExplain Marie Allantaz. Coming to a tourism trade fair at the Porte de Versailles is not an idea that would naturally occur to them. We can increase this buyer population by showing them that they won't be lost in the middle of a large fair and that they will find a dedicated area for business travel. ".
This idea of putting together a programme where they can meet several exhibitors at once accompanies the practice of buyers, whereas accepting an invitation from a single supplier is always a bit tricky. « Conversely, if it's the trade show that invites them and covers their travel and accommodation, with everything organised within a schedule of appointments, then it makes sense and travelling to IFTM becomes easier to justify to the company. », remarks the director in charge of strategic steering at the IFTM.
Beyond these opportunities for exchange, buyers and travel managers will have other reasons to attend the trade show, notably to gauge the industry's pulse through the hundred or so conferences and round tables that will punctuate the three days. Where artificial intelligence will, of course, be a major topic, with conferences in the main Agora hall on the opening up of rail and the challenges of AI for OTAs, or, in the Club Affaires, a round table co-constructed with the AFTM on the theme "Artificial Intelligence: gain in productivity or shift in value". Other industry topics will be addressed in parallel, such as electronic invoicing, air travel purchasing strategies, MICE intermediation, car rentals and VTCs, in addition to asking the question "do we still have the right to talk about value?" concerning business travel.
As the exhibition’s central theme is “the value of travel – revealing what creates impact” – and with IFTM aiming for Net Zero by 2040 – collective intelligence workshops will be offered by the sustainable mobility collective on the Business Club. These include, among others, a mobility mural and a Business Travel mural, as well as a workshop on motivating employees to take the train and another on levers for raising employee awareness for more responsible travel. In parallel, the Village of Sustainable Initiatives by mN’O will also dedicate time to business travel by hosting a round table on the theme "Conferences and events on a sustainable model". To enjoy all of this, head to mid-September at Hall 1 of Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
