Tourism Expo Japan 2026
Duration:
［Industry Date] September 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
［Industry Date] September 25, 2026, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
［General Day] September 26, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
［General Day] September 27, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight, East Exhibition Hall 1/2/3/7/8, Conference Tower (3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo)
Organizers: Japan Tourism Association, Japan Association of Travel Agents, Japan National Tourist Organization
Admission: 1500 yen at the door, 1200 yen in advance (free for university and college students and younger with advance registration)
The theme for 2026 is “Evolving Shapes of Travel. The target for visitors is 180,000, a figure based on the actual number of visitors in Tokyo in 2024, which was 182,900.
In previous years, the Tokyo venue has used East Halls 1-6, but since East Halls 4-6 are currently being renovated, East Halls 1/2/3/7/8 will be used this year. The venue area is 40,450 m2, or 80% of the previous year’s area (50,000 m2 in Aichi in 2025).
Manabu Hayasaka, General Manager of the Tourism Expo Japan Promotion Office, who took the stage at the press conference, urged people to apply as soon as possible. The regular application period for booths is from March 14 to May 15.
Portugal has expanded the size of its overseas booth, and Morocco and Sweden have decided to return, while Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan have not yet decided to exhibit due to the worsening situation in the Middle East (the secretariat has refused to allow exhibitors with a risk level of 3 or higher from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the first place).
In addition, the Horticulture Expo (GREEN x EXPO 2027) will exhibit in four booths, Miyajima, Hiroshima will be larger than usual for the 30th anniversary of the World Heritage Site, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Japanese Heritage will also have a large number of booths.
The special sections on Drive Tourism, Starry Sky Tourism, Content Tourism, and Cruises are now called “TEJ Collection” and the new sections are Wellness and Gastronomy. They are collecting items that are attracting attention as industries or that they want to cultivate.
The admission fee has been raised from 1,300 yen to 1,500 yen on the day of the event (and from 1,000 yen to 1,200 yen in advance) from 1,300 yen on the day of the previous year, and this is due to the rising cost of labor and oil. However, the free admission for university and college students and younger with advance registration will remain the same, and as a new initiative, high school students studying tourism will be invited to the industry day. In this regard, Mr. Hayasaka stated that the aim is to develop tourism personnel and professionals while reaching out to the alpha generation.
The Japan Tourism Awards, which will be held during the Tourism Expo Japan, will be held for the 10th time since its inception in 2015 (interrupted once by the Corona Disaster). The 10th Japan Tourism Awards is an award program to recognize the sustainable and outstanding efforts of domestic and international groups, organizations, and companies that have contributed to the development and expansion of tourism.
Although the applicants are required to describe their achievements (the year and the month when they started their efforts) when applying for the award, there have been cases in the past in which an attractive project was not selected for the award because it had “just started and had no achievements”. Applicants for the Special Start-up Award are allowed to describe the start of the project as a “start-up”.
In addition, in light of the expansion of overtourism in some regions, the criteria for “whether the tourism is designed to coexist with the local community” and “whether the tourism contributes to the maintenance or development of the local community” have been added. In addition, the report also includes the following two points of view in light of the background of the expansion of overtourism in some regions: “Are you coexisting with local communities?
The application period is from April 1 to May 29, and the award ceremony will be held on September 24, the first day of Tourism Expo Japan 2026. The application target is set at 220 entries.
© Source travel watch