The fifth edition of pakistan travel mart 2026 took place in April 2026, running from April 3 to 5 at the Karachi Expo Centre with a business to business roadshow in Islamabad on April 7 and 8, and the event has returned to the news this week because its official impact report has now put firm numbers to that week: more than 250 exhibiting organisations from 20 countries, about 20,000 trade visitors in Karachi and 25 live podcast sessions, according to the report as covered by Emerging Travel News. This is a retrospective look at what the April event actually delivered, based on that report and on the coverage published at the time.
Pakistan Travel Mart is organised in partnership with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, with the support of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the provincial tourism authorities, and the official site describes it as a platform where tourism boards, airlines, hospitality chains and travel businesses connect and expand into new markets. Pakistan Travel Mart 2026 ran under the theme “Shaping the Future of Travel: Innovation, Sustainability and Global Connectivity”, a theme the organisers used across the exhibition floor, the conference programme and the podcast stage.
Pakistan Travel Mart 2026 in Numbers: 250 Exhibitors and 20,000 Trade Visitors
The impact report records more than 250 exhibiting organisations from 20 countries across the five day programme, and The News, reporting the inauguration in April, put the figure at around 250 companies and organisations occupying all six halls of the Karachi Expo Centre. Exhibitors at pakistan travel mart 2026 spanned destination marketing organisations and tourism boards, airlines, hospitality brands, travel technology providers and tour operators, and the Karachi exhibition drew a reported 20,000 trade visitors over its three days.
The Karachi floor was organised into themed districts covering hospitality, travel technology, destinations and aviation, alongside a Hunar Zone that showcased Pakistani artisans as a cultural tourism asset. Coverage at the time also named the zones as Global Aviation, Global Destinations, Technology and Travel, Hospitality and the Salam Pakistan Pavilion. Domestic representation came from national and provincial bodies including the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the tourism authorities of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the same provincial push that Good News Pakistan has followed in stories such as record breaking tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with over 890,000 visitors in a single month.
Inaugurated by Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi in Karachi
Pakistan Travel Mart 2026 was jointly inaugurated on April 3 by Sindh Governor Syed Muhammad Nehal Hashmi and Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, the National Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Tourism, according to the press release report published by The News with an Associated Press of Pakistan photograph of the governor opening the exhibition. The report described the exhibition as one of the largest tourism exhibitions held in Pakistan and said participants and foreign dignitaries praised its scale and organisation.
Addressing participants, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan outlined a national tourism roadmap under a five year framework, with plans to double tourism employment from 4 million to 8 million jobs, raise the sector contribution to GDP from 5 percent to 15 percent and generate up to 40 billion dollars for the economy over the next decade. Those targets sit against a growing inbound baseline, which Good News Pakistan reported in its coverage of 4.3 million foreign tourists visiting Pakistan in 2024 to 2025, as the National Assembly was told.
The Islamabad Roadshow Took the Mart to the Capital
After Karachi, the pakistan travel mart 2026 programme continued in the capital, where the Islamabad Roadshow on April 7 and 8 was held at the Movenpick Centaurus with 65 exhibitors, 2,500 trade visitors and 12 participating countries, plus eight podcast sessions, according to the impact report. The capital edition added a medical and wellness tourism vertical and a diplomatic zone hosting embassy led country representation, which positioned tourism as a tool of bilateral engagement as well as a trade business.
The Islamabad conferences carried the policy weight of the week, with a plenary panel and three sessions on Brand Pakistan, aviation connectivity and barriers to inbound tourism. Speakers included Inter Provincial Coordination Secretary Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani, the UN Tourism regional director for Asia and the Pacific, Harry Hwang, and Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan. The aviation discussion matters beyond the conference hall, because new air links are what turn destination interest into arrivals, a link Good News Pakistan readers have seen in coverage of the UAE move to launch direct flights to Skardu.
Destination Partners, From Malaysia to Rwanda
The 20 participating countries listed in the pakistan travel mart 2026 impact report were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Rwanda, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom. For destination partners, the report analysis notes, the mart is becoming the structured entry point into a large and underserved outbound market, with competition for Pakistani travellers concentrating in the Gulf, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
Malaysia was one of the most visible exhibitors. Tourism Malaysia returned to pakistan travel mart 2026 with a delegation of eight Malaysian tourism organisations and used the Malaysia Pavilion to promote leisure travel, meetings and conferences business and halal friendly tourism in support of Visit Malaysia 2026, according to Imroze Pakistan. Rwanda also set up a dedicated pavilion, and its High Commissioner, Harerimana Fatou, attended the April 3 opening ceremony, where senior Pakistani officials including Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan and Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Aftab ur Rehman Rana visited the Rwandan display.
What the Impact Report Says Still Needs Fixing
The report is candid about the gap between potential and performance. Panel discussions returned repeatedly to fragmented promotion, weak tourism data, visa and facilitation hurdles and the need for stronger coordination between policy and industry. Aviation was framed not as a support function but as the backbone that decides whether destinations remain aspirational or become accessible, and medical and wellness tourism was positioned as an emerging growth segment, alongside heritage, Buddhist, Sikh and adventure tourism as areas for diversification.
That honesty is what makes the impact report useful six months on. Pakistan Travel Mart 2026 filled six halls in Karachi, took a working roadshow to Islamabad and put provincial tourism bodies, embassies, airlines and federal policymakers in the same rooms for five days, a rare consolidation in a sector where fragmented governance is itself the recurring complaint. Whether the next edition converts that access into arrivals will depend on the fixes the report names, and after pakistan travel mart 2026 the trade now has a published baseline to measure against.
Sources
- Emerging Travel News: Pakistan Travel Mart 2026 draws 250 exhibitors from 20 countries to Karachi (official impact report coverage)
- The News (APP press release report, April 4, 2026): PTM opens at Karachi Expo Centre to boost tourism
- Imroze Pakistan: High Commissioner of Malaysia leads opening of Tourism Malaysia Pavilion at PTM 2026 (Malaysia report and photo source)
- The Diplomatic Insight: Rwanda High Commission sets up tourism display at Pakistan Travel Mart
- Pakistan Travel Mart official site: Visit us at PTM (theme and event background)
- Photo: Imroze Pakistan
Umar is an engineer by profession and a passionate writer by passion. He has a deep interest in sharing good news related to Pakistan and has been working hard to promote the positive image of his homeland. Umar has written numerous articles on various topics related to Pakistan, such as technology, sports, culture, and economy.