Cebu, Philippines – Southeast Asia’s largest tourism trade event opened Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the province of Cebu, gathering hundreds of international buyers, sellers and exhibitors as the region seeks to expand travel markets and cooperation.
The ASEAN Travel Exchange, or TRAVEX 2026, began at the newly opened Mactan Expo Center in Lapu-Lapu City, drawing 271 buyers from more than 50 countries, along with 124 Philippine sellers and 222 exhibitors from across Southeast Asia.
The three-day event runs from Jan. 28 to 30 as part of the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the forum marked the beginning of ASEAN tourism meetings in Cebu, welcoming ministers, delegates and buyers from the region and dialogue partners.
She said the event is expected to generate income and employment for local tourism businesses.
“The results of this will provide livelihood and sales for our local tourism industry,” Frasco said in an interview with reporters. “That is why we are grateful for the opportunity to host the ASEAN Tourism Forum.”
Participants include tourism officials from all 11 ASEAN member states and dialogue partners under the ASEAN Plus Three framework – Japan, China and South Korea – as well as India, Russia, and Australia.
Frasco said ministerial meetings during the forum will focus on implementing the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan, which identifies shared priorities for the region.
“These include resilient tourism development, empowering tourism workers, improving accessibility such as coordination on flights, digitalization, diversification of tourism products, and sustainable tourism development,” she said. “We see this as an opportunity to advance ASEAN as a unified tourism destination.”
She added that under the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has emphasized regional collaboration so that economic benefits are felt at the community level.
“This is exactly what the ASEAN Tourism Forum will bring to our communities in the Philippines,” Frasco said.
Organizers said TRAVEX allows buyers to assess tourism products through pre-arranged meetings, while sellers gain direct access to international markets. Delegates are also being offered complimentary post-event tours to destinations including Cebu, Bohol, Davao, Pampanga, Manila, Dumaguete, Siquijor and Palawan.
Tourism officials said Philippine-hosted TRAVEX events have generated steadily rising sales leads in recent years, exceeding $7 million (around ₱413 million) in 2025. This year, Philippine sellers are targeting more than $17 million (nearly ₱1billion) in potential deals.
Sustainable design
The Philippine exhibition space at TRAVEX 2026 features a pavilion made largely from locally sourced rattan, with about 80 percent of the materials coming from Cebu producers. Elements of the design were reused from the Philippine Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, which won a silver award for exhibition design at the Bureau International des Expositions.
Tourism officials said the reuse reflects efforts to highlight Filipino craftsmanship and sustainability while reducing waste from major international exhibitions.
