DITF 2026 paves the way for digital B2B matchmaking, shaping a new way of doing international tourism business

At travel trade fairs and events, the bigger the scale, the more complex effective matchmaking becomes. Hundreds of businesses may be present at the same venue, but for an international buyer with only one or two working days, what matters is not just how many exhibitors are there, but whom to meet, when to meet them and what further cooperation that meeting could lead to.

That is the challenge the Da Nang International Tourism Festival 2026 (DITF 2026), held over two main days on 17–18 October 2026 at Ariyana Convention Centre Danang, is approaching in a new way.

Rather than using technology only for communications or registration, DITF 2026 brings a digital platform directly into the trading process. The DITF 2026 Website & B2B Platform lets buyers and sellers research partner profiles, send invitations, confirm meeting schedules, exchange messages ahead of appointments and prepare for face-to-face sessions at the event.

What stands out is that business matchmaking no longer begins when the buyer walks into the hall. It starts days earlier in a digital environment, so that when they arrive at Ariyana Convention Centre Danang, businesses can turn up on time, at the right table, and go straight into a conversation that has already been prepared.

From on-site networking to pre-event matchmaking

At a large-scale, highly international B2B event, buyers' time is always a limited resource. A buyer may be interested in many different businesses, while each seller also wants to reach multiple markets and groups of potential partners.

If all networking only starts on site, a significant share of time is spent finding people, making initial introductions and working out whether the two sides are really a good fit.

DITF 2026 changes that approach through pre-matching.

Buyers and sellers can view each other's profiles in advance, proactively send invitations, confirm meetings and lock in schedules before the event. Matchmaking is thus filtered early, giving face-to-face meetings clearer objectives.

Technology here does not replace meeting in person. On the contrary, it helps face-to-face meetings be better prepared and make more efficient use of time.

A 10-minute meeting that starts days in advance

When both sides have studied each other's information beforehand, a 10-minute meeting is no longer 10 minutes spent opening with basic questions.

The buyer already knows what the seller offers. The seller, too, already has a picture of the buyer's market, direction and needs.

Time at the event can therefore be devoted to more substantive matters: which products are a good fit, which markets have potential, what cooperation might look like and what the next step after the meeting will be.

This is also what distinguishes traditional networking from a structured business matchmaking model.

The value of the event lies not only in how many people a business can meet, but in how many meetings have been prepared with the right counterpart, around the right needs, and with the potential to lead to a next step.

A website not just for information, but for preparing real meetings

For many events, the website mainly serves to provide information, publish the programme and take registrations. After that, attendees still have to arrange their own networking via email, messaging, contact lists or face-to-face conversations at the venue.

DITF 2026 brings an important part of this process onto a single platform.

The website and B2B platform do not just tell attendees “who will be there”; they also let them decide “whom I want to meet”, send invitations and arrange meetings before the event.

This is a significant change in nature.

From a passive communications tool, the platform becomes a tool for preparing business, linking the pre-event phase with the face-to-face working experience on site.

Technology helps events move from “more people” to “the right people”

International tourism events are usually described by their scale: the number of businesses, buyers, markets or delegates taking part.

But scale only truly delivers value when it is converted into the right connections.

An event with hundreds of businesses, where attendees do not know who is right for them, can easily become a networking space that is broad but scattered.

Pre-matching helps close that gap.

The platform creates a layer of preparation before the event, so that when businesses arrive in Da Nang they do not have to start from scratch. Instead, they can focus on conversations that have been selected and arranged in advance.

This approach also clearly reflects DITF 2026's spirit of “Connecting Partners, Creating Future”: connection does not begin only with a handshake at the event, but with a whole deliberate process of research, selection and preparation.

From innovation in hospitality to innovation in business matchmaking

The approach at DITF 2026 also continues the innovation track that Furama – Ariyana has pursued in recent years.

Initiatives such as i-Concierge, a digital guest-assistance tool, and AI Strategist, an AI-powered strategy assistant, share one principle: applying technology to solve a specific problem in operations and the guest experience.

i-Concierge aims to help guests access information faster and more conveniently. AI Strategist extends analytical capability and supports decision-making. The DITF 2026 B2B platform, meanwhile, focuses on a different problem: how buyers and sellers can avoid wasting time looking for each other at the event, and instead spend that time on the business conversation itself.

This also shows that digital transformation here is not seen as an extra layer of technology, but as a way of reorganising the user journey and operating processes.

At DITF 2026, the “finding each other” part moves online so that the “meeting each other” part in Da Nang becomes more substantive.

DITF 2026 does not digitalise to replace face-to-face meetings. The digital platform is used to prepare meetings better, helping businesses arrive at the event with clearer goals, meet the right partners and spend their time on what matters most: discussing the right business and opening up further opportunities for cooperation.