The third edition of Mélange concluded successfully at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, bringing to a close two days of business, conversations, networking and engagement across the travel and hospitality industry.
Over the two days, more than 80,000 meaningful exhibitor–buyer connections were registered through the Mélange system. And yet, numbers tell only part of the story.
The figure does not include the countless conversations across booths, introductions in the aisles, meetings over co ee, informal networking and relationships renewed during the event. For Mélange, perhaps the more important measure this year was not simply how many people entered the venue, but how long they stayed, how extensively they interacted and how seriously they engaged with exhibitors.
The exhibition floor remained active through both days, with buyers spending substantially longer periods at the event rather than treating the exhibition as a quick check-in-and-check-out visit. Meetings and conversations continued across the venue almost until closing time reinforcing Mélange’s objective of creating an environment where people have both the time and space to conduct meaningful business.
Senior members and decision-makers from across the travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industry also made time to visit Mélange, meet participants and engage with the trade. Their presence added considerably to the quality of interaction and reflected the growing relevance of the platform within the industry.
Mélange continued to maintain its deliberately controlled format, with emphasis on relevant participation rather than unrestricted numbers. Buyer registrations and access were carefully managed with the objective of ensuring that exhibitors were able to have productive conversations and that genuine buyers could spend meaningful time discovering new products, destinations and partners.
The second evening also marked a special conclusion to Mélange 2026 as the industry came together for the Mélange Awards on World Tourism Day, 27 September.
The Awards recognised organisations and individuals whose work, leadership and contribution have made an impact on the travel and tourism industry.
Mélange Awards 2026 – Jury Awards
Sustainable Tourism Initiative Award : RARE India, founded by Shoba Rudra
Technology Upgrade for Trade Award : Veena World
Lifetime Achievement Award : Mr. Subhash Goyal, Founder & Chairman, STIC Travel Group
Female Achiever Award : Ms. Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing
Young Achiever Award : Mr. Hari Ganapathy, CEO & Co-Founder, Pickyourtrail
The organisers expressed their sincere appreciation to the distinguished Mélange Awards Jury, who gave their time and experience to the evaluation process:
Mr. Dev Karvat – Founder & CEO, Asego
Mr. Dinesh Bhatter – Managing Director, Neptune Holidays
Mr. Hemant Mediratta – Founder & Group CEO, HMC
Ms. Nalini Gupta – Managing Director, Lotus Destination & ClickMyCruise
Mr. Nishant Kashikar – Country Manager – India & Gulf, Tourism Australia
Mr. Pranav Kapadia – Founder & Managing Director, Global Destination
Mr. Sunil Kumar Rumalla – President, TAAI – UFTAA
Their involvement brought independent industry experience and perspective to the awards process, and Mélange extends its thanks to each member for the time and thought invested.
Mélange Awards 2026 – Popular Choice Awards
The industry’s popular vote recognised:
Most Agent Friendly Airline – Domestic : IndiGo
Most Agent Friendly Airline – International : Emirates
Most Popular Hotel Chain – MICE : Marriott International
Most Popular Hotel Chain – Leisure : Taj Group
Most Agent Friendly Cruise Brand : Royal Caribbean International
Most Popular Tour Operator : Thomas Cook (SOTC)
Most Popular Destination – International : Switzerland
Most Popular Destination – Domestic : Kerala
The Awards brought Mélange 2026 to a fitting close on World Tourism Day, celebrating not only organisations and individuals, but the wider industry that continues to evolve, innovate and create new opportunities.
Mélange 2027 Dates Announced
Even as Mélange 2026 concludes, preparations for the next edition are already
underway.
Mélange 2027 will be held on 26 & 27 August 2027 at Hall VI, NESCO, Mumbai
Mélange Select
Mélange Select, which is designed to create a more compact and focused interaction between participating travel brands and relevant buyers within each regional market.
27 January 2027 – Kolkata
28 January 2027 – Chennai
29 January 2027 – Ahmedabad
30 January 2027 – Chandigarh
As Mélange 2026 draws to a close, the organisers thank the exhibitors, buyers, partners, industry associations, dignitaries, the Winners, jury members, media, supporting teams and every member of the travel trade who participated in the event.
What began as another two-day exhibition ultimately became thousands of conversations, new introductions, renewed relationships and opportunities that will continue well beyond the exhibition floor. Mélange 2026 concludes. The conversations it started continue.
MÉLANGE
26–27 September 2026 at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai
MÉLANGE 2027
26–27 August 2027 at NESCO, Mumbai
